The General Died at Dawn

In a China at civil war, an American adventurer is carrying money to buy weapons on behalf of a village community. Against him stands General Yang, who terrorises the region, and between them a woman whose employer is unclear. The film is not interested in action. It is interested in who betrays whom: everyone here has a calculation, and which side the woman is on stays unresolved to the end. The long sequence on the train is where that distrust is built best. The form rests on a studio China: foggy streets, crowded interiors, hard light. Lewis Milestone shoots the crowd scenes with a moving camera. The screenplay was Clifford Odets's first Hollywood work. He was among the most talked-about playwrights of the period, and the dialogue plainly comes from the stage; on release the style was both praised and found too literary. Gary Cooper and Madeleine Carroll lead. Akim Tamiroff, who plays the general, was nominated for an Oscar for it. Who it is for: viewers who like thirties adventure films and sharp dialogue. Who it is not for: anyone attentive to the representation of Chinese characters. Many roles, including the general, are played by white actors and the conventions of the period are plainly on display.