Copyright 4 September 1936 by Paramount Pictures, Inc. New York opening at the Paramount: 2 September 1936. Australian release: 19 December 1936. Sydney opening at the Prince Edward: 19 December 1936 (ran 5 weeks). 98 minutes.
SYNOPSIS: The Northern districts of China are being terrorized by the ruthless Chinese bandit chief General Yang. He and his twelve aides hope one day to rule the twelve provinces and subjugate China's millions. O'Hara, an American soldier of fortune, sides with the suppressed peasants, accepting the job of carrying a large sum of money to Shanghai to buy guns for their defense. He is to go to Pengwa, then fly to Shanghai where he is to meet with the loyal Mr Wu and Mr Chen, who are in contact with an American gun-runner named Brighton... Oxford, General Yang's chief aide, makes an attempt on O'Hara's life at Pengwa, but fails. He enlists the services of a cowardly American, Peter Perrie, to help him. Perrie plays on the sympathy of his daughter Judy, inducing her to lure O'Hara aboard a train.
NOTES: Number 5 at Australian ticket windows for 1937. Tamiroff was nominated for a prestigious Hollywood award for Best Supporting Actor, losing to Walter Brennan in "Come and Get It". Milner's Cinematography was also Award-nominated, but lost out to Tony Gaudio's "Anthony Adverse". Also losing out were Boris Morros and Werner Janssen, defeated by Korngold's "Anthony Adverse" for Best Score.
VIEWERS' GUIDE: Adults.
COMMENT: A visual feast created by a master of the cinema, "The General Died at Dawn" is one of the most stylishly accomplished, pictorially exciting films of the 1930's. However, the story is not just an excuse for dazzling set-pieces. It provides wonderful opportunities for the players to shine in well-honed, highly memorable roles. When you think of the dozens of great performances delivered over the years by Akim Tamiroff, for instance, it would normally be a daunting task to select a single portrait that transcends many magnificent others. But fortunately the actor lent his talents to the title role of this movie — which makes selecting the ultimate front-runner easy!
The same observation could be applied with equal veracity to other players, such as Porter Hall, William Frawley and J. M. Kerrigan. As for Cooper and Carroll, they make the perfect screen couple!
Realized on a no-expense-spared budget, with stunningly imaginative sets, engrossing atmospheric photography, bizarrely off-beat editing, and a weirdly appealing music score, The General Died at Dawn provides thrillingly exotic entertainment in its every powerfully composed frame, its every brilliant stratagem of camera movement, its every breathtakingly novel cut, juxtaposition and dissolve.
Formerly available on an excellent Universal DVD.
SYNOPSIS: The Northern districts of China are being terrorized by the ruthless Chinese bandit chief General Yang. He and his twelve aides hope one day to rule the twelve provinces and subjugate China's millions. O'Hara, an American soldier of fortune, sides with the suppressed peasants, accepting the job of carrying a large sum of money to Shanghai to buy guns for their defense. He is to go to Pengwa, then fly to Shanghai where he is to meet with the loyal Mr Wu and Mr Chen, who are in contact with an American gun-runner named Brighton... Oxford, General Yang's chief aide, makes an attempt on O'Hara's life at Pengwa, but fails. He enlists the services of a cowardly American, Peter Perrie, to help him. Perrie plays on the sympathy of his daughter Judy, inducing her to lure O'Hara aboard a train.
NOTES: Number 5 at Australian ticket windows for 1937. Tamiroff was nominated for a prestigious Hollywood award for Best Supporting Actor, losing to Walter Brennan in "Come and Get It". Milner's Cinematography was also Award-nominated, but lost out to Tony Gaudio's "Anthony Adverse". Also losing out were Boris Morros and Werner Janssen, defeated by Korngold's "Anthony Adverse" for Best Score.
VIEWERS' GUIDE: Adults.
COMMENT: A visual feast created by a master of the cinema, "The General Died at Dawn" is one of the most stylishly accomplished, pictorially exciting films of the 1930's. However, the story is not just an excuse for dazzling set-pieces. It provides wonderful opportunities for the players to shine in well-honed, highly memorable roles. When you think of the dozens of great performances delivered over the years by Akim Tamiroff, for instance, it would normally be a daunting task to select a single portrait that transcends many magnificent others. But fortunately the actor lent his talents to the title role of this movie — which makes selecting the ultimate front-runner easy!
The same observation could be applied with equal veracity to other players, such as Porter Hall, William Frawley and J. M. Kerrigan. As for Cooper and Carroll, they make the perfect screen couple!
Realized on a no-expense-spared budget, with stunningly imaginative sets, engrossing atmospheric photography, bizarrely off-beat editing, and a weirdly appealing music score, The General Died at Dawn provides thrillingly exotic entertainment in its every powerfully composed frame, its every brilliant stratagem of camera movement, its every breathtakingly novel cut, juxtaposition and dissolve.
Formerly available on an excellent Universal DVD.