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The Bitter Tea of General Yen Overview:

The Bitter Tea of General Yen (1933) was a Drama - Romance Film directed by Frank Capra and produced by Frank Capra and Walter Wanger.

SYNOPSIS

Though tame by contemporary standards, Capra's tale of suggested interracial romance proved to be shocking in its day. Missionary Megan Davis (Stanwyck) travels from her staid New England home to Shanghai during China's civil unrest in the 1930s. There, she joins her fiance, Robert Strike, but the couple is separated while trying to liberate an orphanage - and Megan falls into the hands of Chinese warlord General Yen (Asther). To their mutual surprise, Megan and General Yen develop an affinity for one another. Though he orders the massacre of hundreds during the day, Yen at night reveals a rueful, poetic side, and their affection deepens. However, the inroads made by Chinese rebels threaten to end their tentative courtship in a bloody manner that, Yen surmises, has been predetermined by his own deeds.

(Source: available at Amazon AMC Classic Movie Companion).

The Bitter Tea of General Yen BlogHub Articles:

Audio Commentary for 1933's THE BITTER TEA OF GENERAL YEN

on Dec 1, 2024 From GlamAmor

This past summer I was honored to be asked by Sony to record the audio commentary for The Bitter Tea of General Yen (1933). This feature is part of the studio's recently released 20 film box set Frank Capra at Columbia. You can hear me discuss many details of this Pre-Code drama while you watch, inc... Read full article

The Bitter Tea of General Yen (1933)

By 4 Star Film Fan on Dec 15, 2018 From 4 Star Films

The Bitter Tea of General Yen is no doubt a perplexing film to come at today but, in some respects, that makes the experience all the more gratifying. There’s still something within it 80 years on that will simultaneously rub up against our contemporary perspective while also surprising us ... Read full article

The Bitter Tea of General Yen (1933) (1)

By Angela on Nov 11, 2012 From Hollywood Revue

On the night they were to be married, American missionaries Megan Davis (Barbara Stanwyck) and Dr. Bob Strike (Gavin Gordon) have to put their wedding on hold to rescue some children from an orphanage stuck in the middle of a war zone. In order to get through safely, Dr. Strike asks the feared Gener... Read full article

The Bitter Tea of General Yen (1933) (2)

By Lindsey on Nov 3, 2012 From The Motion Pictures

(Source) Megan Davis (Barbara Stanwyck) is headed to Shanghai to wed her childhood sweetheart, Bob Strike (Gavin Gordon), who is living there and working as a missionary. However, civil war is raging in the area. When the Chapei (Zhabei) district of the city goes up in flames on the night of Megan&#... Read full article

Pre-Code: The Bitter Tea of General Yen(1933) .

By Dawn on Dec 3, 2010 From Noir and Chick Flicks

The Bitter Tea of General Yen is a pre-Code 1933 film, directed by Frank Capra based on the novel by Grace Zaring Stone. Cast: Barbara Stanwyck and Nils Asther. The film was the first to play at the Radio City Music Hall upon its opening in January, 1933. Even though the General Yen, is played by a ... Read full article

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The Bitter Tea of General Yen Quotes:

General Yen: There has never been a people more purely artist, and therefore more purely lover, than the Chinese.
Megan Davis: You can always do so much more with mercy than you can with murder. Why don't you give her another chance?
Megan Davis: I want you to think of all those things and then forgive her.
Jones: Between war and women, the General's got me by the nuts.
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The Bitter Tea of General Yen Facts
Jessie Perry is in studio records/casting call lists playing "Miss Reid," but that role was played by Helen Jerome Eddy.
This movie was the first to play at Manhattan's fabled showplace, Radio City Music Hall, beginning on January 11, 1933.
Chinese officials in Washington, D.C. complained about the depiction of the treatment of war prisoners in this film (which were toned down a bit) and some dehumanizing language about the Chinese people, such as "Human life is the cheapest thing in China," (which remains in the film).
Swedish actor Nils Asther played General Yen. Asian actors were never cast in lead roles in American productions at the time. Although multilingual, Asther did not speak Mandarin. However, he did use a Mandarin dialect for the part.
The sets for this film were reused for Columbia's One Night of Love.
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