Dragon Seed is a 1944 American war drama film, about Japan's WWII-era actions in China.The movie directed by Jack Conway and Harold S. Bucquet, based on the 1942 novel of the same name by Pearl S. Buck. The film stars Katharine Hepburn, Walter Huston, Aline MacMahon, Akim Tamiroff, and Turhan Bey. It portrays a peaceful village in China that has been invaded by the Imperial Japanese Army during the Second Sino-Japanese War. The men in the village choose to adopt a peaceful attitude toward their conquerors, but the headstrong Jade (Hepburn) stands up to the Japanese.
| Dragon Seed | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | |
| Screenplay by | |
| Based on | Dragon Seed 1942 novel by Pearl S. Buck |
| Produced by | Pandro S. Berman |
| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Sidney Wagner |
| Edited by | Harold F. Kress |
| Music by | Herbert Stothart |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Loew's Inc. |
Release date |
|
Running time | 147 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $3 million[1] |
| Box office | $4.6 million[1] |
Aline MacMahon was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.
Plot
editA peaceful Chinese village is invaded by the Japanese prior to World War II. The men elect to adopt a peaceful attitude towards their conquerors, and the women are understood to stoically acquiesce as well, but Jade, a headstrong young woman, intends to stand up to the Japanese, whether her husband Lao Er approves or not. She even goes so far as to learn to read and to handle a weapon, so that she may be properly equipped for both psychological and physical combat. Jade's attitude spreads to the rest of the village, convincing even the staunchest of male traditionalists that the Japanese can be defeated only by offering a strong united front, male and female.[2]
Cast
edit- Katharine Hepburn as Jade
- Walter Huston as Ling Tan
- Aline MacMahon as Ling Tan's Wife
- Akim Tamiroff as Wu Lien
- Turhan Bey as Lao Er Tan
- Hurd Hatfield as Lao San Tan
- J. Carrol Naish as Japanese kitchen overseer
- Agnes Moorehead as third cousin's wife
- Henry Travers as third cousin
- Robert Bice as Lao Ta Tan
- Robert Lewis as Captain Sato
- Frances Rafferty as Orchid Tan
- Leonard Strong as a Japanese Official
- Jacqueline deWit as Wu Lien's wife
- Clarence Lung as fourth cousin
- Paul E. Burns as Neighbor Shen
- Anna Demetrio as Wu Sao
- Lionel Barrymore as the narrator (uncredited)
Production
editReportedly, Judy Garland wanted the role of Jade.[citation needed]
Box office
editAccording to MGM records, the film earned $3,033,000 in the U.S. and Canada and $1,594,000 elsewhere, but, because of its high cost, it incurred a loss to the studio of $281,000.[1]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b c The Eddie Mannix Ledger, Los Angeles: Margaret Herrick Library, Center for Motion Picture Study.
- ^ "Dragon Seed (1944) - Harold S. Bucquet, Jack Conway - Synopsis, Characteristics, Moods, Themes and Related - AllMovie". AllMovie.
External links
edit
- Dragon Seed at IMDb
- Dragon Seed at AllMovie
- Dragon Seed at the AFI Catalog of Feature Films
- Dragon Seed at the TCM Movie Database