The Bitter Tea of General Yen
Encyclopedia
The Bitter Tea of General Yen is a pre-Code
1933 film, directed by Frank Capra
based on the novel by Grace Zaring Stone
and starring Barbara Stanwyck
and Nils Asther
.
The film was the first to play at the Radio City Music Hall
upon its opening in January, 1933. It was one of the first movies ever to deal openly with interracial sexual attraction.
Bitter Tea was a box office failure upon its release and has since been overshadowed by Capra's later efforts. In recent years, the film has grown in critical acclaim. In 2000, the film was chosen by British
film critic Derek Malcolm
as one of the hundred best films in The Century of Films.
) comes to China
to marry a missionary (Gavin Gordon
) and help in his work. During the Chinese Civil War
, Davis and her fiancé enter the war zone to rescue orphans. They become separated at a railway station, and Davis is rescued/kidnapped by warlord General Yen (prototype of Yen Hsi-shan. Acted by Nils Asther
, a white actor).
Yen becomes infatuated with Davis, and knowing that she is believed to be dead, keeps her at his summer palace. Davis meets Yen's financial adviser, American self-styled renegade Jones (Walter Connolly
), the general's concubine, Mah-Li (Toshia Mori
), and his aide, Captain Li (Richard Loo
). When Jones discovers that Mah-Li has been spying for the enemy, Yen sentences her to death, but Davis pleads with him to spare her. Yen realizes that Mah-Li will not change her ways, but sees this as an opportunity to "convert a missionary". He dismisses Davis' appeal to the Christian ideal of forgiveness as empty words, but accepts Davis's offer to serve as a hostage against the future conduct of Mah-Li, against Jones' advice. Davis finds herself subconsciously attracted to her captor (as shown in a dream sequence).
When Mah-Li and Captain Li betray the location of the general's money to the enemy, his army deserts him. Realizing that she has destroyed Yen, Davis goes to him willingly, as Yen prepares to drink poisoned tea.
, it was scheduled for a minimum two-week run, but the theater yanked it after eight days and $80,000 in grosses, despite the certainty of a $20,000 loss on its $100,000 rental fee. In his memoir, Capra proudly recalls that "it was chosen as the film to open Radio City Music Hall," omitting its less-than-glorious performance on the occasion.
Barbara Stanwyck blamed its poor box-office showing on racist backlash. Miscegenation
, so soon to become taboo in Hollywood, is made palatable and attractive as a natural outcome of passions molded by tumultuous times. McBride quotes her as saying, "The women’s clubs came out very strongly against it….I was so shocked. [Such a reaction] never occurred to me, and I don’t think it occurred to Mr. Capra when we were doing it."
The New York Times
reviewer said it was "a handsomely mounted affair with conspicuously good portrayals by Nils Asther and Walter Connolly. ... It is a story that is scarcely plausible but which has the saving grace of being fairly entertaining." The one scene that everyone remembers takes place during one of Stanwyck's fevered dreams, in which she succumbs to Yen, as she imagines him as a Fu Manchu-type rapist, who then melts into a gentle, courtly suitor. Mr. Asther's make-up is impressive, with slanting eyes and dark skin. He talks with a foreign accent. "Stanwyck is satisfactory … but the most noteworthy female member of the cast is Toshia Mori
, a sloe-eyed Japanese girl…" according to Time
magazine.
Bitter Tea was banned in parts of the British Empire
for miscegenation and as a result lost money. When Columbia
sought to reissue the film in 1950, the PCA
was adamant that its characterizations of Americans and Chinese and a scene in which the heroine offered herself to the general were both "very questionable", and the film was not re-released.
Pre-Code
Pre-Code Hollywood refers to the era in the American film industry between the introduction of sound in the late 1920s and the enforcement of the Motion Picture Production Code censorship guidelines. Although the Code was adopted in 1930, oversight was poor and it did not become rigorously...
1933 film, directed by Frank Capra
Frank Capra
Frank Russell Capra was a Sicilian-born American film director. He emigrated to the U.S. when he was six, and eventually became a creative force behind major award-winning films during the 1930s and 1940s...
based on the novel by Grace Zaring Stone
Grace Zaring Stone
Grace Zaring Stone was an American novelist and short story writer. She is perhaps best known for having three of her novels made into films: The Bitter Tea of General Yen, Winter Meeting, and Escape. She also used the pseudonym of Ethel Vance.-Biography:Stone was the great-great-granddaughter of...
and starring Barbara Stanwyck
Barbara Stanwyck
Barbara Stanwyck was an American actress. She was a film and television star, known during her 60-year career as a consummate and versatile professional with a strong screen presence, and a favorite of directors including Cecil B. DeMille, Fritz Lang and Frank Capra...
and Nils Asther
Nils Asther
Nils Anton Alfhild Asther was a Danish-born Swedish actor active in Hollywood from 1926 to the mid 1950s, known for his beautiful face and often called "the male Greta Garbo"...
.
The film was the first to play at the Radio City Music Hall
Radio City Music Hall
Radio City Music Hall is an entertainment venue located in New York City's Rockefeller Center. Its nickname is the Showplace of the Nation, and it was for a time the leading tourist destination in the city...
upon its opening in January, 1933. It was one of the first movies ever to deal openly with interracial sexual attraction.
Bitter Tea was a box office failure upon its release and has since been overshadowed by Capra's later efforts. In recent years, the film has grown in critical acclaim. In 2000, the film was chosen by British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
film critic Derek Malcolm
Derek Malcolm
Derek Malcolm is a British film critic and historian.Malcolm was educated at Eton College and Oxford University. He worked for several decades as a film critic for The Guardian, having previously been an amateur jockey and the paper's first horse racing correspondent. In 1977, he was a member of...
as one of the hundred best films in The Century of Films.
Plot
Megan Davis (Barbara StanwyckBarbara Stanwyck
Barbara Stanwyck was an American actress. She was a film and television star, known during her 60-year career as a consummate and versatile professional with a strong screen presence, and a favorite of directors including Cecil B. DeMille, Fritz Lang and Frank Capra...
) comes to China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
to marry a missionary (Gavin Gordon
Gavin Gordon (actor)
Gavin Gordon was an American film actor.He was born in Chicora, Mississippi], and died in Canoga Park, California, on his 82nd birthday....
) and help in his work. During the Chinese Civil War
Chinese Civil War
The Chinese Civil War was a civil war fought between the Kuomintang , the governing party of the Republic of China, and the Communist Party of China , for the control of China which eventually led to China's division into two Chinas, Republic of China and People's Republic of...
, Davis and her fiancé enter the war zone to rescue orphans. They become separated at a railway station, and Davis is rescued/kidnapped by warlord General Yen (prototype of Yen Hsi-shan. Acted by Nils Asther
Nils Asther
Nils Anton Alfhild Asther was a Danish-born Swedish actor active in Hollywood from 1926 to the mid 1950s, known for his beautiful face and often called "the male Greta Garbo"...
, a white actor).
Yen becomes infatuated with Davis, and knowing that she is believed to be dead, keeps her at his summer palace. Davis meets Yen's financial adviser, American self-styled renegade Jones (Walter Connolly
Walter Connolly
Walter Connolly was an American character actor who appeared in almost fifty films between 1914 and 1939.Connolly was a successful stage actor who appeared in twenty-two Broadway productions between 1916 and 1935, notably revivals of Pirandello's Six Characters in Search of an Author and Chekhov's...
), the general's concubine, Mah-Li (Toshia Mori
Toshia Mori
Toshia Mori was a Japanese born actress, who had a brief career in American films during the 1930s. Born as Toshia Ichioka in Kyoto, Mori moved to the United States when she was ten years old....
), and his aide, Captain Li (Richard Loo
Richard Loo
Richard Loo was a Chinese American film actor who was one of the most familiar Asian character actors in American films of the 1930s and 1940s. A prolific actor, he appeared in over 120 films between 1931 and 1982....
). When Jones discovers that Mah-Li has been spying for the enemy, Yen sentences her to death, but Davis pleads with him to spare her. Yen realizes that Mah-Li will not change her ways, but sees this as an opportunity to "convert a missionary". He dismisses Davis' appeal to the Christian ideal of forgiveness as empty words, but accepts Davis's offer to serve as a hostage against the future conduct of Mah-Li, against Jones' advice. Davis finds herself subconsciously attracted to her captor (as shown in a dream sequence).
When Mah-Li and Captain Li betray the location of the general's money to the enemy, his army deserts him. Realizing that she has destroyed Yen, Davis goes to him willingly, as Yen prepares to drink poisoned tea.
Cast
- Barbara StanwyckBarbara StanwyckBarbara Stanwyck was an American actress. She was a film and television star, known during her 60-year career as a consummate and versatile professional with a strong screen presence, and a favorite of directors including Cecil B. DeMille, Fritz Lang and Frank Capra...
as Megan Davis - Nils AstherNils AstherNils Anton Alfhild Asther was a Danish-born Swedish actor active in Hollywood from 1926 to the mid 1950s, known for his beautiful face and often called "the male Greta Garbo"...
as General Yen - Toshia MoriToshia MoriToshia Mori was a Japanese born actress, who had a brief career in American films during the 1930s. Born as Toshia Ichioka in Kyoto, Mori moved to the United States when she was ten years old....
as Mah-Li - Walter ConnollyWalter ConnollyWalter Connolly was an American character actor who appeared in almost fifty films between 1914 and 1939.Connolly was a successful stage actor who appeared in twenty-two Broadway productions between 1916 and 1935, notably revivals of Pirandello's Six Characters in Search of an Author and Chekhov's...
as Jones, Yen's chief advisor - Gavin Gordon as Dr. Robert Strife
- Lucien LittlefieldLucien LittlefieldLucien Littlefield was an American actor in the silent film era...
as Mr. Jacobson - Richard LooRichard LooRichard Loo was a Chinese American film actor who was one of the most familiar Asian character actors in American films of the 1930s and 1940s. A prolific actor, he appeared in over 120 films between 1931 and 1982....
as Capt. Li - Helen Jerome EddyHelen Jerome EddyHelen Jerome Eddy was a motion picture actress from New York, New York. She was noted as a character actress who played genteel heroines in films such as Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm .-Biography:...
as Miss Reed - Clara BlandickClara BlandickClara Blandick was an American actress. Her many film appearances include the role of Auntie Em in the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz.-Early life:She was born Clara Dickey, the daughter of Isaac B...
as Mrs. Jackson - Emmett Corrigan as Bishop Harkness
Review
The first film to play at the Radio City Music HallRadio City Music Hall
Radio City Music Hall is an entertainment venue located in New York City's Rockefeller Center. Its nickname is the Showplace of the Nation, and it was for a time the leading tourist destination in the city...
, it was scheduled for a minimum two-week run, but the theater yanked it after eight days and $80,000 in grosses, despite the certainty of a $20,000 loss on its $100,000 rental fee. In his memoir, Capra proudly recalls that "it was chosen as the film to open Radio City Music Hall," omitting its less-than-glorious performance on the occasion.
Barbara Stanwyck blamed its poor box-office showing on racist backlash. Miscegenation
Miscegenation
Miscegenation is the mixing of different racial groups through marriage, cohabitation, sexual relations, and procreation....
, so soon to become taboo in Hollywood, is made palatable and attractive as a natural outcome of passions molded by tumultuous times. McBride quotes her as saying, "The women’s clubs came out very strongly against it….I was so shocked. [Such a reaction] never occurred to me, and I don’t think it occurred to Mr. Capra when we were doing it."
The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
reviewer said it was "a handsomely mounted affair with conspicuously good portrayals by Nils Asther and Walter Connolly. ... It is a story that is scarcely plausible but which has the saving grace of being fairly entertaining." The one scene that everyone remembers takes place during one of Stanwyck's fevered dreams, in which she succumbs to Yen, as she imagines him as a Fu Manchu-type rapist, who then melts into a gentle, courtly suitor. Mr. Asther's make-up is impressive, with slanting eyes and dark skin. He talks with a foreign accent. "Stanwyck is satisfactory … but the most noteworthy female member of the cast is Toshia Mori
Toshia Mori
Toshia Mori was a Japanese born actress, who had a brief career in American films during the 1930s. Born as Toshia Ichioka in Kyoto, Mori moved to the United States when she was ten years old....
, a sloe-eyed Japanese girl…" according to Time
Time (magazine)
Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
magazine.
Bitter Tea was banned in parts of the British Empire
British Empire
The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height, it was the...
for miscegenation and as a result lost money. When Columbia
Columbia Pictures
Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production and distribution company. Columbia Pictures now forms part of the Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group, owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment, a subsidiary of the Japanese conglomerate Sony. It is one of the leading film companies...
sought to reissue the film in 1950, the PCA
Production Code Administration
The Production Code Administration was established by the Motion Picture Association of America in 1934. The PCA required all filmmakers to submit their films for approval before release.-See also:* Pre-Code* Joseph Breen* Will H. Hays...
was adamant that its characterizations of Americans and Chinese and a scene in which the heroine offered herself to the general were both "very questionable", and the film was not re-released.
External links
- The Bitter Tea of General Yen A page about the 1933 movie with pictures and history