Like Chaplin, Frank Capra began his film career as a simple, effective comic talent and progressed to 'message movies'. And, as with Chaplin, the populism of his later films demonstrated both a decline in humor and disturbing political ambiguities
Capra's films during the early '30s were likable adventures and comedies notable for polish, pace and variety... "The Miracle Woman" and the witty "Platinum Blonde" were sparkling vehicles for Barbara Stanwyck and Jean Harlow, but it is "The Bitter Tea of General Yen" that remains Capra's finest film
This is an exotic romance in which Stanwyck's prim American missionary is held hostage by a sinister but seductive Chinese warlord
Its story of a converter converted is not only erotic a startling dream sequence reveals the woman's hesitant, nervous awakening to her physical desires but a complex, tragic investigation of culture clash
25 out of 42 found this helpful