Dragon Seed (1944)

Prior to WWII, a peaceful Chinese village is invaded by the Imperial Japanese Army. The male villagers adopt a peaceful attitude toward the conquerors but a headstrong woman (Katharine Hepburn) insists that they must resist the invaders. Based on the novel by Pearl Buck (THE GOOD EARTH) and directed by Jack Conway (LIBELED LADY) and Harold S. Bucquet (ADVENTURES OF TARTU). Before we get to the elephant in the room which irretrievably compromises the movie, let's talk about the film. It's a good solid "epic" about a generation gap between the old and the young and their conflict on how to deal with the Japanese invaders. The horrors inflicted on the Chinese by the Japanese conquerors are graphic although at the time the film was released, Japan was our "enemy" too. But it's a solid well crafted film, a good example of the quality product often turned out by MGM during its golden years. Alas, as was usual for its era, the Asian roles are played by Caucasians in "oriental" make up. PC aside, sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn't and it doesn't here. Katharine Hepburn stands out like a sore thumb! Luise Rainer won a best actress Oscar playing Chinese in THE GOOD EARTH (1937) and PC aside, that worked. But Rainer was foreign and didn't have Hepburn's obvious mannerisms and vocal pattern. Hepburn is more Kate Hepburn than ever here. As the family patriarch, perhaps wisely Walter Huston doesn't even try to be Chinese and Hurd Hatfield as his youngest son is plain bad. Not all of the actors are bad. Agnes Moorehead, for one, suggests a Chinese woman without dipping into stereotyping. So there you have it. It's a good movie but with the casting, how seriously can you take it in the long run? With Aline MacMahon (who got an Oscar nomination for her matriarch), Turhan Bey, Akim Tamiroff, J. Carrol Naish, Frances Rafferty, Robert Rice and Jacqueline DeWit.