The General Died at Dawn **** (1936, Gary Cooper, Madeleine Carroll, Akim Tamiroff, Dudley Digges, Porter Hall) – Classic Movie Review 5,585

The 1936 American drama film The General Died at Dawn stars Gary Cooper as a mercenary who meets beautiful Madeleine Carroll while trying to keep arms from vicious warlord Akim Tamiroff in war-torn China.

Director Lewis Milestone’s 1936 film-noir adventure crime thriller The General Died at Dawn stars Gary Cooper as the American mercenary (or soldier of fortune) O’Hara who tries to stop ruthless warlord General Yang (Akim Tamiroff) from taking over part of China.

He has to smuggle a large sum of money across hostile territory to Shanghai to buy arms for the resistance against General Yang.

Meanwhile beautiful spy Judy Perrie (Madeleine Carroll) becomes reluctantly involved in a plot to betray O’Hara. She lures him on to a train to pinch his cash and do her worst on behalf of her weak and dying dad Peter Perrie (Porter Hall), who is employed as an agent by Yang. 

Famed playwright Clifford Odets comes up with an intelligent, literary screenplay (from Charles G Booth’s novel) in his first film script and director Milestone brings out all the story’s excitement and atmosphere.

Cooper, Carroll, Tamiroff and the fine cast are excellent in this deserved big hit of its day. It is perhaps a bit silly to give away the plot in the title, but never mind.

There were three Oscar nominations, but no wins.

Tamiroff’s standout performance earned him an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor in the first year of that category. Cinematographer Victor Milner was also nominated for an Oscar for his moody images, including split-screen. And Werner Janssen was also nominated for an Oscar for his Best Music, Score.

O’Hara is based on a real person, the Anglo-Canadian Jewish adventurer Morris Abraham Two-Gun’ Cohen, who ran guns for warlords in mainland China in the early 1930s.

It is supposedly the first film to use foam latex prosthetics, when makeup artist Charles Gemora applied sponge rubber eyelids.

Release date: September 2, 1936.

The General Died at Dawn is directed by Lewis Milestone, runs 96 minutes, is made and released by Paramount Pictures, is shot in black and white by Victor Milner, is produced by William LeBaron, is scored by Werner Janssen, Gerard Carbonara and Ernst Toch, and is designed by Hans Dreier and Ernst Fegté.

Also in the cast are Dudley Digges, William Frawley, J M Kerrigan, Philip Ahn, Lee Tung Foo, Leonid Kinskey, Val Durand, Willie Fung, Hans Fuerberg, John O’Hara, Sarah Edwards, Paul Harvey, Russell Hicks, Barnett Parker, Hans von Morhart, Lewis Milestone (cameo), and Clifford Odets (cameo).

Gary Cooper and Madeleine Carroll also appear together in North West Mounted Police (1940).

The cast

The cast are Gary Cooper as O’Hara, Madeleine Carroll as Judy Perrie, Akim Tamiroff as General Yang, Dudley Digges as Mr Wu, Porter Hall as Peter Perrie/ Peter Martin, William Frawley as Brighton, J M Kerrigan as Leach, Philip Ahn as Oxford, Lee Tung Foo as Mr Chen, Leonid Kinskey as Stewart, Val Durand as Wong, Willie Fung as Bartender, Hans Fuerberg as Yang’s Military Advisor, John O’Hara as Newspaper Reporter, Sarah Edwards, Paul Harvey, Russell Hicks, Barnett Parker, Hans von Morhart, Lewis Milestone (cameo), and Clifford Odets (cameo).

© Derek Winnert 2017 Classic Movie Review 5,585

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