The General Died at Dawn (1936)

Synopsis: Gary Cooper stars as O'Hara, in this tale of an American soldier of fortune who agrees to take a money belt across China to buy weapons for a popular uprising against the cruel and corrupt warlord... Gary Cooper stars as O'Hara, in this tale of an American soldier of fortune who agrees to take a money belt across China to buy weapons for a popular uprising against the cruel and corrupt warlord General Yang (Akim Tamiroff). Although advised by rebel leader Wu (Dudley Digges) to bring the money by plane, Judy (Madeleine Carroll), the beautiful daughter of one of Yang's agents Peter Perrie (Porter Hall), persuades him to take the train, where he's robbed and taken prisoner by Yang, who turns the money over to Perrie. It appears that Judy has double-crossed O'Hara, but there's more to the story than he realizes. Despite dated elements (caucasians playing Asians), this is an atmospheric and beautifully shot adventure film, with a fine script by Clifford Odets. Unfortunately, the film's sympathy for the Chinese peasantry did little to help director Lewis Milestone when he appeared before the House Un-American Activities Committee. [More]

Starring: Gary Cooper, Madeleine Carroll, William Frawley, Akim Tamiroff

Starring: Gary Cooper, Madeleine Carroll, William Frawley, Akim Tamiroff, Dudley Digges, Porter Hall, J. M. Kerrigan, Philip Ahn, Lee Tung Foo, Leonid Kinskey

Director: Lewis Milestone

Director: Lewis Milestone
Screenwriter: Clifford Odets
Producer: William LeBaron
Composer: Werner Janssen

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