Dragon Seed (1944) Movie Review
Dragon Seed is a 1944 American war drama film, based on the novel by Pearl S. Buck. The film depicts the Japanese invasion of China and the resistance of a rural village, led by a young woman named Jade, played by Katharine Hepburn. The film also stars Walter Huston, Aline MacMahon, Akim Tamiroff, and Turhan Bey.
Key points
Dragon Seed received mixed reviews from critics, who praised the action scenes and the performances of Hepburn and Huston, but criticized the script and the use of non-Asian actors in Asian roles. The film was also a commercial failure, losing money at the box office. However, the film has some historical value, as it features actual footage of the Japanese bombing of China.
Dragon Seed (1944) Summary
When the Japanese invaded their region in China, farmer Ling Tang’s family of redneck farmers perished. Ling Tang (Walter Huston) is a peaceful and conscientious man who supports his scholarly Third Cousin (Henry Travers!!) and his wife (Agnes Moorehead!!) and has three sons, Lao Tu (Robert Bice), Lao Er (Turhan Bey), and Lao San (Hurd Hatfield).
Lao Tu has married the pretty but undemanding Orchid (Frances Rafferty), while Lao Er has married the However, just as Lao Er and Jade begin to turn into hot tomatoes, the “evil midgets” in their flying ships begin dropping bombs on the rice fields.
Based on a Pearl Buck novel, this kept the make-up artists busy by giving most of the ensemble semi-believable Oriental appearances, with the exception of Akim Tamiroff, who looks like a big drag queen, and Hepburn, who appears like she’s shooting a tanning clinic ad. Nonetheless, it’s an often too naive-for-words portrayal of rural China.
They’re mainly illiterate, but that doesn’t stop them from babbling on and on in interminable pseudo-poetic nonsense. And Bey and Hepburn depart to assist pull a disassembled factory 1,000 miles south, the shakiness is generally left behind – but the chatter continues – as the plot picks up. Just in case killing the dog didn’t persuade you they’re the evil guys, the community is overtaken by lusty occupiers who rape and murder Orchid.
Despite assisting them, Bice and Hatfield become into eager and ruthless guerrilla warriors, but Huston stays a calm spirit. Huston’s merchant in-law, Tamiroff, sells Japanese products, making him a significant target for nationalists, therefore he lives in a large home in neurotic seclusion. Moorehead, poisoned by hate and envy, informs Tamiroff about Ling Tan and his family’s actions, which may or may not need Tamiroff’s immediate silence.
Dragon Seed is well-shot and put together, but it’s simply too lengthy and talky to be a good picture. However, it maintains interest and manages to provide a unique perspective on the war film by focusing on nice, moral individuals who contemplate the gap between what they want to do and what they’re forced to do.
Hatfield’s third son, who learns to relish murdering and becomes, as Huston puts it, “the type of guy I loathe,” and who, as history would reveal, would end up leading the country in a few years, is particularly noteworthy, if only as a footnote. The main reason to see is Huston’s outstanding performance as the paterfamilias, who attempts to maintain dignity and love in a world that is brutally altering all of his points of reference.
If you are interested in watching Dragon Seed, you can find it on Amazon or [The Movie Database]. You can also read more about the film on IMDb, Rotten Tomatoes, or Movies List. I hope you enjoy the film!
