The lives of a small Chinese village are turned upside down when the Japanese invade it, and a heroic young woman leads her fellow villagers in an uprising against these invaders.
Directors:
Writers:
Awards:
- Nominated for 2 Oscars.
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Photos and Videos
Cast verified as complete
| Katharine Hepburn | ... |
Jade Tan
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| Walter Huston | ... |
Ling Tan
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| Aline MacMahon | ... |
Ling Tan's Wife
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| Akim Tamiroff | ... |
Wu Lien
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| Turhan Bey | ... |
Lao Er Tan - Middle Son
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| Hurd Hatfield | ... |
Lao San Tan - Youngest Son
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| J. Carrol Naish | ... |
Japanese Kitchen Overseer
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| Agnes Moorehead | ... |
Third Cousin's Wife
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| Henry Travers | ... |
Third Cousin
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| Robert Bice | ... |
Lao Ta Tan - Eldest Son
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| Robert Lewis | ... |
Capt. Sato
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| Frances Rafferty | ... |
Orchid Tan - Lao Ta's Wife
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| Jacqueline deWit | ... |
Wu Lien's Wife
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Clarence Lung | ... |
Fourth Cousin
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| Paul E. Burns | ... |
Shen - Neighbor
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Anna Demetrio | ... |
Wu Sao
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| Rest of cast listed alphabetically: | |||
| Philip Ahn | ... |
Leader of City People (uncredited)
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Albert Baldo | ... |
Japanese Soldier (uncredited)
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| Lionel Barrymore | ... |
Narrator (uncredited) (voice)
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| Abner Biberman | ... |
Capt. Yasuda (uncredited)
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John Bleifer | ... |
Japanese Guard (uncredited)
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Luke Chan | ... |
City Man (uncredited)
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| Spencer Chan | ... |
Farmer (uncredited)
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Marlowe Chuck | ... |
Wu Lien's First Child (uncredited)
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Noel Cravat | ... |
Japanese Guard (uncredited)
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Johnny Dong | ... |
Student (uncredited)
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| Claire Du Brey | ... |
Hysterical Woman (uncredited)
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Arthur Dulac | ... |
Japanese Soldier (uncredited)
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Edward Emerson | ... |
Japanese Soldier (uncredited)
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Frank Eng | ... |
Student (uncredited)
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| Benson Fong | ... |
Sudent (uncredited)
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Harold Fong | ... |
Clerk (uncredited)
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| Lee Tong Foo | ... |
Innkeeper (uncredited)
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Wing Foo | ... |
Student (uncredited)
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Paul Fung | ... |
Farmer (uncredited)
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Roland Got | ... |
Speaker with Movies (uncredited)
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Alex Havier | ... |
Japanese Soldier (uncredited)
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| Ted Hecht | ... |
Maj. Yohagi (uncredited)
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| Al Hill | ... |
Japanese Officer (uncredited)
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David Hui | ... |
Jade's Child (uncredited)
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Percy Incion | ... |
Japanese Guard (uncredited)
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Pete G. Katchenaro | ... |
Japanese Officer (uncredited)
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Joseph Kim | ... |
Japanese Officer (uncredited)
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Paul King | ... |
Farmer (uncredited)
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Eddie Lee | ... |
City Man (uncredited)
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Norman Lee | ... |
Wu Lien's Second Child (uncredited)
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| Robert Lee | ... |
Young Farmer (uncredited)
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James B. Leong | ... |
City Man (uncredited)
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Jung Lim | ... |
Farmer (uncredited)
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Emil Luna | ... |
Japanese Official (uncredited)
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Charles Lung | ... |
Japanese Diplomat (uncredited)
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Ma | ... |
Water Buffalo (uncredited)
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Abraham Mirkin | ... |
(uncredited)
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| Leonard Mudie | ... |
Old Peddler Selling Poison (uncredited)
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| Jay Novello | ... |
Japanese Soldier (uncredited)
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| Frank Puglia | ... |
Wu Lien's Old Clerk (uncredited)
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Jack Santos | ... |
Japanese Guard (uncredited)
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| Teru Shimada | ... |
Villager (uncredited)
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| Hayward Soo Hoo | ... |
Orchid's First Child (uncredited)
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| Leonard Strong | ... |
Japanese Official (uncredited)
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| Frank Tang | ... |
Farmer (uncredited)
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Edna Mae Tom | ... |
Chinese Woman (uncredited)
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Wei Fan Tseui | ... |
Student (uncredited)
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Irene Tso | ... |
Wu Lien's Third Child (uncredited)
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| Philip Van Zandt | ... |
Japanese Guard (uncredited)
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Prince Waln | ... |
Japanese Soldier (uncredited)
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Richard Wang | ... |
Japanese Soldier (uncredited)
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Beal Wong | ... |
Farmer / Japanese Officer (uncredited)
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Tai Ling Wong | ... |
Orchid's Second Child (uncredited)
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| Victor Wong | ... |
Japanese Officer (uncredited)
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Winifred Woo | ... |
Jade's Child (uncredited)
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Richard Yee | ... |
Student (uncredited)
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Beverly Young | ... |
Orchid's Second Child (uncredited)
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Directed by
| Harold S. Bucquet | ||
| Jack Conway | ||
Written by
| Pearl S. Buck | ... | (novel) |
| Marguerite Roberts | ... | (screenplay) and |
| Jane Murfin | ... | (screenplay) |
Produced by
| Pandro S. Berman | ... | producer |
Music by
| Herbert Stothart | ||
Cinematography by
| Sidney Wagner | ... | director of photography |
Editing by
| Harold F. Kress | ||
Casting By
| Rufus Le Maire | ... | (uncredited) |
Art Direction by
| Cedric Gibbons | ||
| Lyle R. Wheeler | ||
Set Decoration by
| Edwin B. Willis | ||
Costume Design by
| Valles | ||
Makeup Department
| Jack Dawn | ... | makeup designer |
| Irma Kusely | ... | hair stylist (uncredited) |
Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
| Andrew Marton | ... | second unit director (uncredited) |
| Al Shenberg | ... | assistant director (uncredited) |
Art Department
| Hugh Hunt | ... | associate set decorator |
| Frank Wesselhoff | ... | painter (uncredited) |
Sound Department
| Douglas Shearer | ... | recording director |
| Robert Shirley | ... | sound mixer (uncredited) |
| Newell Sparks | ... | sound mixer (uncredited) / unit sound mixer (uncredited) |
| Michael Steinore | ... | sound mixer (uncredited) |
| John A. Williams | ... | sound mixer (uncredited) |
Special Effects by
| Warren Newcombe | ... | special effects |
Visual Effects by
| Mark Davis | ... | special effects camera (uncredited) |
| A. Arnold Gillespie | ... | miniatures (uncredited) |
| Charles D. Hall | ... | miniatures (uncredited) |
Camera and Electrical Department
| John Schmitz | ... | second camera operator (uncredited) |
Costume and Wardrobe Department
| Irene | ... | costume supervisor |
Music Department
| Edward Baravalle | ... | music mixer (uncredited) |
| Murray Cutter | ... | orchestrator (uncredited) |
| Paul Marquardt | ... | orchestrator (uncredited) |
| M.J. McLaughlin | ... | music mixer (uncredited) |
| Herbert Stothart | ... | conductor (uncredited) |
Additional Crew
| Robert Lewis | ... | screen test director |
| Wei Fan Hsueh | ... | technical advisor (uncredited) |
| Robert Lewis | ... | dialogue director (uncredited) |
| Mitch Rawson | ... | publicist (uncredited) |
Production Companies
- Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (controlled by Loew's Incorporated)
Distributors
- Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1944) (United States) (theatrical) (controlled by Loew's Incorporated)
- Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1944) (United Kingdom) (theatrical)
- Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1945) (France) (theatrical)
- Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1945) (Sweden) (theatrical)
- Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1946) (Belgium) (theatrical)
- MGM Home Entertainment (1985) (United States) (VHS) (included in clamshell series "MGM/UA Great Books on Video" series)
- MGM Home Entertainment (1993) (United States) (VHS)
- MGM Home Entertainment (1993) (United States) (VHS) (included in 3 vhs set "Katharine Hepburn Gift Set")
- MGM Home Entertainment (1997) (United States) (VHS) (for Warner Home Video)
- Warner Home Video (2002) (United States) (VHS)
- Warner Home Video (2007) (United States) (DVD)
- Warner Home Video (2007) (United States) (DVD) (included in 5 dvd collection "Katharine Heppburn Collection")
- Warner Home Video (2007) (United States) (VHS)
- Warner Bros. Home Entertainment (2017) (United States) (Blu-ray)
- Warner Home Video (2017) (United States) (Blu-ray)
- Warner Bros. Home Entertainment (2017) (United States) (DVD)
Special Effects
Other Companies
- MGM/UA Home Entertainment Group (package by) (1985 release)
Storyline
| Plot Summary |
Ling Tang and his family live on his prosperous farm in rural Southern China and have not yet felt the impact of the Japanese invasion in the North. Tang's two oldest sons, Lao Ta Tan and Lao Er Tan are married and hard working while youngest son Lao San Tan remains a free spirit. Er's wife Jade is also willfully unconventional and desires to exercises her literacy skills by reading books, a most unfeminine practice in 1930's China. Tang's only daughter is married to Wu Lien, a city merchant who profits from selling Japanese goods. When the dreaded invasion reaches their village, the family is scattered as the sons join the resistance while Wu Lien survives by collaborating with the enemy. Written by duke1029@aol.com |
| Plot Keywords | |
| Taglines | M-G-M's immortal production of the great novel See more » |
| Genres | |
| Parents Guide | Add content advisory for parents » |
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Additional Details
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Box Office
| Budget | $3,000,000 (estimated) |
Did You Know?
| Trivia | Filmed in 1943 on the MGM lot in Culver City, CA, the film features an unusual assortment of non-Asian actors with odd accents playing Chinese and Japanese: Russian-born and Stanislavski-trained Akim Tamiroff as Wu Lien; Turhan Bey, Viennese born son of a Turkish father and Czechoslovakian mother as the middle son, Lao Er Tan; New England patrician Katharine Hepburn as his wife; American Aline MacMahon--no longer one of the wisecracking Gold Diggers of 1933 (1933)--as the wife of Ling Tang; English-born Henry Travers (best remembered as Clarence the Angel from It's a Wonderful Life (1946)) as the Third Cousin"; Irish-American J. Carrol Naish as the Japanese Kitchen Overseer; and finally Jewish Robert Lewis, co-founder of the Actors Studio and Meryl Streep's teacher at the Yale Drama School, as Japanese Capt. Sato. See more » |
| Movie Connections | Edited from The Good Earth (1937). See more » |
| Soundtracks | Chee Lai See more » |
| Quotes |
Wu Lien:
Yes, yes, I read often in the winter to warm my blood, sometimes in the summer to cool it. See more » |