Bitter Tea of General Yen

Bitter Tea of General Yen (1933)

  • 100% of critics liked it
    (7 reviews)

  • 64% of users liked it
    (722 ratings)

The Bitter Tea of General Yen is the oddest, least characteristic talkie effort of director Frank Capra. Barbara Stanwyck stars as the intended of an American missionary (Gavin Gordon) who is sent to spread the good word in China. During a military revolution, Stanwyck and her fiance inadvertently… More

Unrated,
Directed By
Genres
Drama, Romance, Classics
In Theaters
Jan 3, 1933 Wide
On DVD
Sep 1, 1993
Columbia Pictures

Critic Reviews

  • Gabe Leibowitz, Film and Felt

    An odd duck to be sure: substantially darker than the other Capra films I've seen, with a Chinese civil war and firing squads serving as the backdrop for a love story that never really comes together.

  • Tim Brayton, Antagony & Ecstasy

    If any Hollywood film from the '30s is positively begging to be rediscovered...this is it.

  • Ken Hanke, Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)

    Weird, poetic, deliberately pretentious drama from Capra.

See more critic ratings and reviews on Rotten Tomatoes

Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)

Featured Audience Ratings

  • Cindy I


    This early Frank Capra film is much different and more serious in tone than the later, lighter films that made his reputation. The story, of a young fiancee' of a missionary in China who is kidnapped by a general with whom she eventually falls in love, must have given the censors… More

  • Stella D


    capra's most daring film was a box office disaster in 1933. it was denounced by women's groups and religious organizations in america and banned in the british empire for obliquely portraying an interracial love story between star barbara stanwyck and a chinese general… More

  • jay n


    Strange and unusal for a 30's film

  • Matthew Y


    A darker toned film than Capra fans may be used to, The Bitter Tea of General Yen is famously shot with great performances by the leads especially Nils Asther as the titular character. An excellent screenplay, authentic art direction and some grand costume designs keep the piece… More

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