The Bitter Tea of General Yen (1932)

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Barbara Stanwyck plays an engaged Christian missionary who is separated from her husband-to-be during the Chinese civil war in Shanghai. She is rescued by General Yen (Danish actor Nils Asther with ‘squinty eyes’ makeup), who takes her to his palace and looks after her. But Stanwyck soon realizes she hasn’t so much been rescued as kidnapped. While begging to be reunited with her husband, Stanwyck gets involved in Yen’s personal and political affairs, and somehow the two develop feelings for one another.

The Bitter Tea of General Yen wants me to sympathize with Stanwyck’s and Asther’s forbidden love — but it simply isn’t possible. Yen is portrayed as a callous character who barely even stops his car after he’s runover a rickshaw driver. And when Stanwyck awakens in his palace, its to the sound of gunfire outside her window — as Yen’s troops line up and assassinate dissidents. So, don’t try to make Yen sympathetic to me. What’s more, Stanwyck’s fiancee is literally risking his life to save orphans before the two are separated. And this movie wants me to think Babs would give up on that good man for goofy-looking Nils Asther’s murderous bully?

Despite the script’s critical failings, the film does feature a strong opening act with impressive scenes of fires and civil unrest. It’s probably one of the prettiest-looking films in director Frank Capra’s filmography, with beautifully large, ornate sets and gorgeous high-contrast cinematography by Joseph Walker. Toshia Mori is memorable as Yen’s mistress who befriends Stanwyck and betrays Yen. With Walter Connolly and Gavin Gordon.