The General Died at Dawn

The General Died at Dawn is a 1936 American drama film that tells the story of a mercenary who meets a beautiful girl while trying to keep arms from getting to a vicious warlord in war-torn China. The movie was written by Charles G. Booth and Clifford Odets and directed by Lewis Milestone. It stars Gary Cooper, Madeleine Carroll, Akim Tamiroff, and Dudley Digges. Director Milestone has a cameo role. Plot General Yang, a warlord with control of one of China's twelve provinces, plans to overtake them all with his army to corner the markets of silk, rice, and opium. However, the opposition in General Wu knows that Yang is lacking in enough men to hinder any chance of invasion, complete with desertion in certain numbers minus the most loyal. As such, Wu searches out for O'Hara, a soldier of fortune, to go to Shanghai to buy weapons from a gunrunner in Brighton that is selling to the first bidder. The money is kept in a belt that was funded by peasants under the oppression of Yang. In the way of all of this is the Perrie family, made up of Peter and his daughter Judy. Peter is dying soon and plans to take some of the money so Judy can see America. She reluctantly goes with her father's plan to distract O'Hara while Yang makes his way across the train to entrap him and snatch him in order to buy the weapons. The romantic plan works to capture O'Hara, but Judy has second thoughts about the trip to America. Complicating matters is a man named Leach that tries to get a cut from Peter's theft. Peter hides the money in the lining of his suitcase and ignores his daughter's desire to not engage with the money. O'Hara escapes the capture of Yang and gets to the house where Wu is awaiting him. Peter tries to save himself and his hiding place by shooting him in the hand, but O'Hara get the upper hand and kills him. Yang arrives and takes Judy, O'Hara, and Wu all captive on the boat and want the money. Leach, trying to play at the hand of the General, is left to be shot by his men. Judy is prepared to tell Yang where the money is to save the lives of the other two, but Yang cruelly orders her to kiss O'Hara goodbye first. A man named Brighton finds the money in a stupor wanting alcohol when he awakens to see Yang's soldiers. When he angrily states the currency being American and tries to escape the clutches of soldiers, he stumbles onto an incoming Yang while having a knife that mortally wounds the general.