Editing Lewis Milestone (section)

==Early sound era: 1929–1936==

=== ''New York Nights'' (1929) ===

Milestone's first sound production ''[[New York Nights (film)|New York Nights]]'' proved inauspicious. The film was a vehicle for silent screen icon [[Norma Talmadge]]—whose spouse was producer [[Joseph Schenck]]. Milestone attempted to accommodate [[United Artists]]' desire to blend the "show-biz" and gangster genres in an adaptation of "the justly forgotten" Broadway production ''Tin Pan Alley''.<ref name="Millichap">Millichap, 1981 pp. 34&ndash;35: Millichap notes that "for some reason" Milestone was credited for the film and that Tin Pan Alley was "justly forgotten".</ref> According to Chanham, ''New York Nights'' "gave little indication of Milestone's ability in adapting to sound techniques".<ref>Canham, 1974 p. 75: Milestone's "first talkie, ''New York Lights'' (1929){{nbsp}}... a highly dramatic gangster film, scripted by [[Jules Furthman]] and photographed by [[Ray June]], but it gave little indication of Milestone's ability in adapting to sound techniques."</ref> According to film historian Joseph Millichap:

{{blockquote | In several ways ''New York Nights'' is best considered with Milestone's silent efforts, as it seems an obviously unimportant transitional piece. Like many early sound films it is shot from a few camera settings, and it is full of static scenes in which the cast is all too obviously speaking into hidden microphones. Milestone was so displeased with the final cut that he asked to have his name removed from the credits&nbsp;... the film is not worth considering as Milestone's first sound work.<ref name="Millichap" />}}

=== ''All Quiet on the Western Front'' (1930) ===

Milestone's anti-war picture'' [[All Quiet on the Western Front (1930 film)|All Quiet on the Western Front]]'' is widely recognized as his directorial masterpiece, and as one of the most-compelling dramatizations of soldiers in combat during the [[World War I|Great War]].<ref>Millichap, 1981 p. 38: "generally regarded as{{nbsp}}... his masterpiece{{nbsp}}... in terms of both subject and style" and p. 53: "remains Lewis Milestone's most important film."<br />Baxter, 1970 pp. 132&ndash;133: "''All Quiet on the Western Front'' (1930) is still one of the most eloquent of anti-war documents{{nbsp}}... one of the acknowledged classics of the American cinema."<br />Thomson, 2015: "It is still one of the best films about the Great War."</ref> The film was adapted from [[Erich Maria Remarque]]'s [[All Quiet on the Western Front|1929 eponymous novel]]. Milestone cinematically conveyed the "grim realism and anti-war themes" that characterize the novel. Universal Studio's head of production [[Carl Laemmle Jr.]], purchased the film rights to capitalize on the international success of Remarque's book.<ref>Millichap, 1981 p. 38: "the director had his first chance to translate a powerful literary statement into cinematic language{{nbsp}}... perhaps the best war film ever made". Editor's Forward: Milestone: "Throughout my career I've tried, not so much to express a philosophy, as to restate in filmic terms{{nbsp}}... my agreement with the author of a story I like is trying to say." From Preface: "like [[William Wyler]], a cinematic interpreter of literary texts."</ref><ref>Thomson, 2015: "The novel sold 2.5 million copies in twenty-two languages{{nbsp}}... it was purchased for pictures by Carl Laemmle Jr., head of production at Universal and son of the studio's founder."<br />Silver, 2010: "On top of the worldwide success of Remarque's novel, the film made lots of money."</ref> According to Strago (2017):
{{blockquote|When he was preparing to shoot his wrenching anti-war film ''All Quiet on the Western Front'' from the point of view of German schoolboys who become soldiers, Universal co-founder and president [[Carl Laemmle]] pleaded with him for a "happy ending." Milestone replied, "I've got your happy ending. We'll let the Germans win the war."<ref>Strago, 2017</ref>}}

''All Quiet on the Western Front'' presents the war from the perspective of a unit of patriotic, young, German soldiers who become disillusioned with the horrors of [[trench warfare]]. Actor [[Lew Ayres]] portrays the naïve, sensitive youth Paul Baumer. According to Thompson (2015), Milestone—who was uncredited—together with screenwriters [[Maxwell Anderson]], [[Del Andrews]] and [[George Abbott]], wrote a script that "reproduces the terse, tough dialogue" of Remarque's novel to "expose war for what it is, and not glorify it".<ref>Thomson, 2015: "For English and American audiences (it was banned for years in France), a part of the novelty in All Quiet is watching 'enemy' soldiers and realizing they are just like our own."<br />Millichap, 1981 p. 38: quoting Milestone, from an interview with Charles Higham and Joel Greenberg, See footnotes. And p. 39: "terse, tough" is Millichap's appraisal. And "the horrors{{nbsp}}... of the trenches."<br />Canham, 1974 p. 80: "the script wisely chose to concentrate upon the effects of war on individual characters, instead of making wordy statements about the nature of war."</ref> Originally conceived as a silent film, Milestone filmed both a silent and a talkie version, shooting them together in sequence.<ref>Canham, 1974 p. 78: "shot on location at the Irving Ranch{{nbsp}}... almost unique in that they were largely shot in ''sequence''." (italics in original)<br />Thomson, 2015: "Except that All Quiet on the Western Front was shot with two cameras, one for a sound film, and the other for a film that has music and sound effects, but no dialogue."</ref>

The most significant technical innovation of ''All Quiet on the Western Front'' is Milestone's integration of the era's rudimentary sound technology with the advanced visual effects developed during the late silent era. Applying post-synchronization of the sound recordings, Milestone was at liberty to "shoot the way we've always shot{{nbsp}}... it was that simple. All the tracking shots were done with a silent camera".<ref name="Canham" /> In one of the film's most-disturbing sequences, Milestone used tracking shots and sound effects to graphically show the effects of artillery and machine guns on advancing troops.<ref name="Canham">Canham, 1974 p. 81: "Above all it was the technique of Milestone's film that rightly led to his fame [overcoming] the problems of adapting photographic needs to the demands of [early] sound recordings" and "crane shots of soldiers being mowed down as they try to cross a field." And "above all it was the technique of Milestone's film that rightly led to his fame. The [camera] movement became the message at a time when talkies were reputed to be static and stage bound because of the problems of adapting photograph needs to the demands of sound recording" suggesting that the limitation of early sound technology "may have been exaggerated by early sound historians and that "certainly Milestone's work is one those exceptions."</ref><ref>Millichap, 1981 pp. 37&ndash;38: "Milestone was able to combine the Realism of sound in both dialogue and effects with the [[German Expressionism|Expressionistic]] visual techniques he had learned as a silent editor and director." (Capitalization of keywords in original) And see these pages for Milestone quotations.</ref><ref>Thomson, 2015: "The film was a triumph and you feel its sophisticated vision{{nbsp}}... with a feeling for depth and striking compositions that were new in 1930. Milestone became famous for aerial tracking shots of troops crossing no man's land."</ref>

The movie met with critical and popular approval, it won Academy Award for Best Picture and earned Milestone Academy Award for Best Director.<ref>Silver, 2010: "In addition to Milestone's directing Oscar, it won for Best Picture was nominated for screenplay and cinematography.</ref><ref>Millichap, 1981 p. 38<br />Thomson, 2015: "The film was a triumph{{nbsp}}... as much of a sensation as the novel{{nbsp}}... audiences came in huge numbers. ''All Quiet'' took an Academy Award for best picture and Milestone won for director. It is still one of the best films about the Great War"<br />Whitely, 2020: "This magnificent movie remains a powerful indictment of war. It was adapted from the novel by Erich Maria Remarque, and won Academy Awards for Best Picture and Best Director for Milestone, and received a special commendation from the Nobel Peace Prize committee."</ref> ''All Quiet on the Western Front'' established Milestone as a talent in the film industry; [[Howard Hughes]] rewarded him with an adaptation of [[Ben Hecht]]'s and [[Charles MacArthur]]'s 1928 play ''[[The Front Page]]''.<ref>Canham, 1974 p. 82: "The high quality of Milestone's directorial abilities [after ''All Quiet on the Western Front''] had opened up a broad spectrum of opportunity for him, but the pitfalls of fame and the studio system were not to be forgotten."</ref>

===''The Front Page'' (1931)===

''[[The Front Page (1931 film)|The Front Page]]'' (1931), in which Milestone depicted backroom denizens of Chicago newspaper tabloids, is considered one of the most influential films of 1931 and introduced the Hollywood archetype of the experienced, fast-talking reporter. The film's script retains the "sparkling dialogue [and] hard, fast and ruthless pace" of [[Ben Hecht]]'s and [[Charles MacArthur]]'s 1928 stage production.<ref>Canham, 1974 p. 82: "Probably the most famous of all newspaper dramas{{nbsp}}... backed by sparkling dialogue [and] hard, fast, and ruthless pace{{nbsp}}... Milestone's control of dialogue and performances set a new "house standard" at Warner Brothers [and] sparked off a cycle of newspaper films"<br />Wood, 2003: "The definitive fever-pitch newspaper comedy, [the] 1928 play ''The Front Page'' is a cornerstone of the screwball [film] genre."<br />Strago, 2017: Hughes and Milestone "stuck close to the original play{{nbsp}}... a trendsetter when it first hit the screen in 1931. It became famous, sometimes infamous, for its frankness about sleazy backroom politics and reckless, sensationalist newspapers{{nbsp}}... it made rapid-fire, overlapping dialogue fashionable."</ref> ''The Front Page'' began the 1930s journalism genre, which other studios imitated, and a number of remakes—including Howard Hawks' ''[[His Girl Friday]]'' (1940) and [[Billy Wilder]]'s ''[[The Front Page (1974 film)|The Front Page]]'' (1974)—appeared.<ref>Millichap, 1981 p. 60: "The success of The Front Page created a spate of newspaper films, so that the type became almost a genre during the 1930s." p. 54: "Milestone's The Front Page remains the finest film, the best artistic success of the three." p. 53: On Hawks' and Wilder's remakes<br />Wood, 2003: "serving as the foundation for several big-screen classics{{nbsp}}... innumerable imitations that followed in its wake, transforming the fast-talking, conniving reporter into a ''bona fide'' cinematic icon."</ref>

Milestone was disappointed with the casting of [[Pat O'Brien (actor)|Pat O'Brien]] as reporter "Hildy" Johnson; he wanted to cast [[James Cagney]] or [[Clark Gable]] in the role  but producer Howard Hughes vetoed this choice in favor of O'Brien, who had performed in the Chicago stage production of ''The Front Page''.<ref>Millichap, 1981 p. 53: "Hughes considered Cagney 'a little runt' while Gable's ears reminded him "of a taxi-cab with both doors open'" And O'Brien's film debut. And "Casting became the major production difficulty in the Milestone filming of ''The Front Page''{{nbsp}}... [leading man] [[Pat O'Brien (actor)|Pat O'Brien]] was too clean-cut and sincere [for the part of] Hildy Johnson, but his antagonist, the ruthless editor Walter Burns, was toned down considerably by the dapper Adolph Menjou, who had played only sophisticated ladies men"</ref>

According to Biographer [[Charles Higham (biographer)|Charles Higham]] (1973), "''The Front Page'' surpasses ''All Quiet on the Western Front'' in being wholly a masterpiece, and one of the greatest pictures of the period. Milestone achieved a perfect marriage of film and theater. The picture has a vividness not matched in a newspaper subject until [[Citizen Kane]]"<ref>Higham, 1973 p. 127</ref>

According to Joseph Millichap:
{{blockquote | Milestone employs "several framing devices, a quick cross-cutting between scenes, a moving camera intercut with close-ups, juxtaposition of angles and distances, and a number of trick shots{{nbsp}}... Overall, the deft combination of Realistic ''mise-en-scene'' with an Expressionistic camera draws the best out of the realistic, melodramatic and comedic elements of the original [play]{{nbsp}}... creating the most cinematically interesting, if not the most entertaining, version of ''The Front Page''.<ref>Millichap, 1981 Composite quote from pp. 53, 55 and 60. Note: capitalized words in the original.</ref><ref>Strago, 2017: Milestone "maintains a cinematic style even when the setups are utterly theatrical."</ref><ref>Baxter, 1970 p. 133: "Howard Hawks' remake ''His Girl Friday'' (1940) succeeded far better because of his skill with fast conversation and the Hawks-invented idea of making the reporter character a woman [[Rosalind Russell]]."</ref>}}

Milestone's technique is demonstrated in the opening tracking shots of the newspaper's printing plant, and the confrontation between Molly Malloy ([[Mae Clarke]]) and a throng of reporters.<ref>Canham, 1974 p. 82: "The visual signature of [Milestone's] long tracking shots is there at the opening, with a stunning track through the newspaper machine room."</ref><ref>Strago, 2017: Milestone "achieves some spectacular effects, like the camera traveling with Molly as she confronts a row of reporters—it's as if she were a prisoner facing down a firing line [and] when Milestone takes you on a tour of the Morning Post, the camera follows Menjou's Burns as he strides through the printing plant, with the heavy machinery of a thriving industry rumbling behind him."</ref> ''The Front Page'' received a Best Picture nomination at the Academy Awards and  a ''[[Film Daily]]'' poll of 300 movie critics listed Milestone among "The Ten Best Directors".<ref>Millichap, 1981 p. 54: Milestone "at the height of his creative powers" with The Front Page. And p. 60: Section on Rain (1932), listed as top director with Film Daily.<br />Strago, 2017: The Front Page "augmented Lewis Milestone's stature as a director and Howard Hughes's as a producer."<br />Strago, 2017: "Dwight Macdonald said it was 'widely considered to be the best movie of 1931'."<br />Koszarski, 1976 p. 317: ".his most important films were from the early talkie period, ''All Quiet on the Western Front'' and ''The Front Page''."</ref>

===1932–1936===

Milestone was troubled by film directors' declining control within the studio system and supported [[King Vidor]]'s proposal to organize a filmmakers' cooperative. Supporters for a [[Directors Guild of America|Screen Directors Guild]] included [[Frank Borzage]], [[Howard Hawks]], [[Ernst Lubitsch]], [[Rouben Mamoulian]] and [[William Wellman]], among others. By 1938, the guild was incorporated, representing 600 directors and assistant directors.<ref>Baxter, 1970 pp. 48&ndash;49: "Frank Borzage, Lewis Milestone and King Vidor [had attempted to creat with DeMille] an independent production group called The Director's Guild."</ref><ref>Millichap, 1981 p. 60: "Milestone [sought] to form a small independent production unit under the creative control of the directors themselves."<br />Durgnat and Simmon 1988 pp. 172&ndash;173: "The colleagues most actively committed to the plan [The Screen Directors Guild] were Lewis Milestone and director [[Gregory La Cava]]." And Milestone "among its founding members." Other directors who favored a guild were [[Herbert Biberman]] and [[Henry King (director)|Henry King]].<br />Whitely, 2020: "Milestone was a founding member of the Directors Guild and was one of the few major directors of the Golden Age to work as a freelance, refusing every opportunity to sign long-term contracts with the big studios."</ref>

In the mid-1930s, Paramount Pictures was experiencing a financial crisis that inhibited their commitments to their European film stylists such as Josef von Sternberg, Ernst Lubitsch and Milestone.<ref>Canham, 1974 p. 85: "the strong European influence at Paramount was on the wane, a factor that might be very relevant in accessing Milestone's apparent decline in the mid-Thirties."</ref> Under these conditions, Milestone experienced difficulty in locating compelling literary material, production support and proper casting. The first among these films is ''[[Rain (1932 film)|Rain]]'' (1932).<ref>Canham, 1974 p. 82: "The high quality of Milestone's directorial abilities opened up a broad spectrum of opportunity to him, but the pitfalls of fame and the studio system were not to be forgotten."</ref><ref>Millichap, 1981 Preface: "When Milestone combined strong literary matter with his cinematic style, the result was memorable cinema. When stuck with a weak literary vehicle, an indifferent production team, or studio miscasting, he often produced mediocre results. "<br />Koszarski, 1976 p. 317: "by the late 30s the innovative flair that had marked his earlier work had dampened."</ref><ref>Baxter, 1971 p. 135: Regarding Paramount finances, bankruptcy.</ref>

[[Monogram Pictures|Allied Artists]] assigned Milestone rising star [[Joan Crawford]], who was known for her silent film roles as a flapper, to play prostitute Sadie Thompson. Crawford expressed disappointment with her interpretation of the role.<ref>Millichap, 1981 p. 63: "Crawford's "performance in Rain, like the film, has been generally panned, and almost every comment on the film insists she was miscast{{nbsp}}... [v]iewed today, Crawford's interpretation generates considerable power{{nbsp}}... it seems hard to discover a screen actress who could have done better with the role."</ref><ref>Miller, 2007: Crawford: "I don't understand to this day how I could have given such an unpardonable bad performance. All my fault, too -- Milestone's direction was so feeble I took the bull by the horns and did my own Sadie Thompson. I was wrong every scene of the way."</ref> Milestone was not yet affected by the [[Hays Code|Production Code]], and his portrayal of the overwrought Puritan missionary Reverend Davidson ([[Walter Huston]]); his rape of Thompson blends violence with sexual and religious symbolism using swift cutting.<ref>Miller, 2007: "Although the Rev. Davidson was made a reformer rather than a missionary and references to his sexless marriage were dropped, it was still quite clear that he raped her and then committed suicide."<br />Canham, 1974 p. 84: "subjects involving the Church had to be handled with kid gloves" even in the Pre-Code period.<br />Millichap, 1981 p. 63: Huston's "characterization of the maniacal missionary Davidson has also received scant approval." p. 67: On the rape of Thompson.</ref>
The film was termed "slow and stage-bound"<ref>Canham, 1974 p. 84: "The resulting film was slow and stage-bound, enlivened only by the fervor of Walter Houston's bigot."</ref> and "stiff and stagey".<ref>Baxter, 1970 p. 133: Rain (1932) with Joan Crawford as Sadie Thomson and Walter Houston as the minister, was stiff and stagey."</ref> Milestone said of ''Rain'':

{{blockquote| I thought [audiences] were ready for a dramatic form; that now we could present a three-act play on the screen. But I was wrong. People will not listen to narrative dialogue. They will not accept the kind of exposition you use on the stage. I started the picture slowly, too slowly, I'm afraid. You can't start a picture slowly. You must show things happening.<ref>Canham, 1974 p. 84: "Milestone was definitely courting fate when he took the material completely seriously since the language had to be toned down considerably" whereas as a silent film treatment could eliminate explicit verbal passages through "visual suggestion{{nbsp}}... but the talkies had to talk."</ref>}}

''[[Hallelujah, I'm a Bum (film)|Hallelujah, I'm a Bum]]'' (1933), which was released during the [[Great Depression]], was an attempt by United Artists to reintroduce singer [[Al Jolson]] after his three-year hiatus from film roles.<ref>Arnold, 2009 TCM: "Al Jolson vanished from movie screens for nearly three years. When he finally did reappear, it was in perhaps the most offbeat and innovative film of his career{{nbsp}}... it proved to be the biggest nail in his professional coffin. Hollywood producers no longer considered him a star of the first magnitude."</ref> The film is based on a [[Ben Hecht]] story, with a score by [[Rodgers and Hart]] featuring "rhythmic dialogue" delivered in song-song; its sentimental, romantic theme of a New York City tramp was received with indifference and dismay by moviegoers.<ref>Millchap, 1981 p. 69: Milestone engaged Rogers and Hart "to liven the script through the device of rhythmic dialogue" which they had used to good effect in [[Rouben Mamoulian]]'s ''[[Love Me Tonight]]'' (1932). (Milestone specifically denies the influence of Mamoulian Lubitsch" on his 1933 film.</ref> Film historian Joseph Millichap observed that "the problem of this entertainment fantasy was that it brushed aside just enough reality to confuse its audience. Americans in the winter of 1933 were not in the mood to be advised that the life of a hobo was the road to true happiness, especially by a star earning $25,000 a week."<ref>Millichap, 1981 p. 69: ".the public chose not to be diverted." p. 70: "sing-song fashion" in delivery. And "The 1930s seemed a strange time to be sentimentalizing tramps." Also see p. 77: ".the film's ambiguity about economic issues{{nbsp}}... shattered any artistic unity Milestone might have created."<br />Arnold, 2009 TCM: "he songwriters not only penned several new songs{{nbsp}}... but they wrote sections of rhythmic, rhyming dialogue - much as they had for their recent pictures Love Me Tonight (1932) and The Phantom President (1932). This is where much of the film's innovative effect lies."</ref> Milestone's effort to make a "socially conscious" musical was generally ill-received at its New York opening and he had difficulty finding a more serious film project.<ref>Baxter, 1970 p. 133: "an attempt at a socially conscious Depression [era] musical{{nbsp}}... seemed like half-baked [[Rouben Mamoulian]]."<br />Canham, 1974 pp. 84&ndash;85: Milestone "struck out again [after ''Rain''] with ''Hallelujah, I'm a Bum'' at this point in his career, Milestone seemed to be faltering."<br />Arnold, 2009: ".n February 8, 1933, the picture finally opened in New York City. Most of the reviews were poor."<br />Millichap, 1981 p. 69:"only interesting as a rather bizarre failure." p. 77: "''Hallelujah, I'm a Bum'' is not so much as bad film as it is a strange one." p. 79: "After completing ''Hallelujah, I'm a Bum'', Milestone began work late in 1933 on a more serious project."</ref>

Milestone attempted to make a film about the [[Russian Revolution]] (working title: ''Red Square'') based on Stalinist [[Ilya Ehrenburg]]'s work ''[[The Life and Death of Nikolai Kourbov]]'' (1923), and an adaptation of [[H. G. Wells]]'s ''[[The Shape of Things to Come]]'' (1933) proposed by [[Alexander Korda]], but neither project materialized.<ref>Millichap, 1981 p. 79</ref><ref>Canham, 1974 p. 85</ref> In lieu of these unrealized films, Milestone directed "a string of three insignificant studio pieces" from 1934 to 1936.<ref name=":0">Millichap, 1981 p. 82</ref>

Milestone accepted a lucrative deal to direct a film starring [[John Gilbert (actor)|John Gilbert]] and left United Artists for [[Harry Cohn]]'s [[Columbia Pictures]].<ref>Millichap, 1981 pp. 79&ndash;80: "promised 50% of the profits"</ref> ''[[The Captain Hates the Sea]]'' (1934) is a spoof  of the 1932 movie ''[[Grand Hotel (1932 film)|Grand Hotel]]'', which stars [[Greta Garbo]], [[Joan Crawford]] and [[John Barrymore]]. Milestone's largely improvised film stars an ensemble of Columbia's character actors, among them [[Victor McLaglen]] and [[The Three Stooges]]. Joseph Millichap described ''The Captain Hates the Sea'' as "a very uneven, disconnected, rambling piece". Cost overruns on ''The Captain Hates the Sea'', which were complicated by heavy drinking by the cast members—soured relations between Milestone and Cohen. The movie is notable as the final film of Gilbert's career.<ref>Millichap, 1981 pp. 79&ndash;80: See p. 80 for use of alcohol by the cast on set. And "in all the film has a sort of improvised air" and "ill feelings" between Milestone and Cohen.<br />Canham, 1974 p. 85: "a ship-board fairy tale starring John Gilbert and Victor McLaglen, ''The Captain Hates the Sea'' ended Gilbert's career"<br />Baxter, 1970 pp. 133&ndash;134: "the last picture of a declining John Gilbert, ulcer-ridden and alcoholic, lurching through his last screen appearance."</ref><ref>Steffen, 2010 TCM: "It didn't help that the cast was full of legendary drinkers{{nbsp}}.... According to Milestone, at one point Cohn wired him: HURRY UP. THE COSTS ARE STAGGERING. To which Milestone wired back: SO IS THE CAST." (Capitals in original)</ref>

Milestone's next two films for Paramount ''[[Paris in Spring]]'' (1935) and ''[[Anything Goes (1936 film)|Anything Goes]]'' (1936), are his only musicals of his career, but are relatively undistinguished in their execution. Milestone described them as "insignificant".<ref>Millichap, 1981 p. 81: "His first two efforts [in sound] for Paramount were musical Programmers{{nbsp}}... might have shot by almost anyone in the studio." p. 82: "his only work in the genre"</ref> Milestone was assigned ''Paris in Spring'', a romantic musical farce. Leading man [[Tullio Carminati]] had just completed the operetta-like ''[[One Night of Love]]'' (1934) with [[Grace Moore]] at Columbia Studios. Paramount paired [[Mary Ellis]] with Carminati, and it was Milestone's task to direct a film to rival Columbia's success.<ref>Canham, 1974 p. 110: Filmograph section: "designed to boost the careers of the two leads; Carminati had just made a similar, highly successful film with Grace Moore, and Mary Ellis was being launched as Paramount's answer to Moore."</ref><ref>Millichap, 1981 p. 81: "Paramount was using Mary Ellis{{nbsp}}... in the same type of role" as Grace Moore.</ref> Aside from a credible replica of Paris created by art directors [[Hans Dreier]] and [[Ernst Fegté]], Milestone's directing failed to overcome "the essential flatness of the tale".<ref>Millichap, 1981 p. 81: "the proceedings are pretty even Milestone's tries to liven things up with some fancy camera work." Dreier creates "a reasonable facsimile of Paris"</ref><ref>Baxter, 1970 p. 134: "Paris in Spring and Anything Goes were innocuous"</ref><ref>Canham, 1974 p. 85: "Paris in Spring{{nbsp}}... did little for Milestone"</ref> ''Anything Goes'', a musical starring [[Bing Crosby]] and [[Ethel Merman]], and adapted from [[Cole Porter]]'s 1934 [[Anything Goes|Broadway musical]], includes some enduring songs, including "[[I Get a Kick Out of You]]", "[[You're the Top]]", and the title song. According to Canham, Milestone's directing is conscientious but he showed little enthusiasm for the genre.<ref>Canham, 1974 p. 85: "''Anything Goes''{{nbsp}}... did little for Milestone"</ref><ref>Baxter, 1970 p. 134: "''Paris in Spring'' and ''Anything Goes'' were innocuous"<br />Millichap, 1981 p. 82: "It seems that Milestone has little feel for the musical genre{{nbsp}}.... [''Anything Goes''] might have been created by any studio workhorse."</ref>

===''The General Died at Dawn'' (1936)===
Following his two lackluster musicals, Milestone returned to form in 1936 with ''[[The General Died at Dawn]]'', which is reminiscent in theme, setting and style of director [[Josef von Sternberg]]'s ''[[Shanghai Express (film)|The Shanghai Express]]'' (1932).<ref>Baxter, 1970 p. 134: ''[[Paris in Spring]]'' (1935) and ''[[Anything Goes]]'' (1936) were innocuous, but then, late in 1936, Milestone gave a film which, for style and content, is one of the Thirties undoubted masterpieces" and "Milestone considered the film of little consequence, having adapted it from a pulp magazine story to keep himself occupied between pictures."<br />Canham, 1974 p. 85: "The General Died at Dawn displayed a marked return to form, and heralded a European revival continued by Lubitsch and [[Billy Wilder]]"</ref><ref>Millichap, 1981 p. 83-84: His three previous films "insignificant" An:{{clarify|reason=unintelligible; words and letters missing?|date=May 2023}} Josef von Sternberg "an old friend{{nbsp}}... [Milestone] might have been influenced in [his] choice of materials and{{nbsp}}... styles of handling them"<br />Canham, 1974 p. 86: "It was a stylized drama, visually as well as thematically reminiscent of [[Josef von Sternberg]]'s ''The Shanghai Express'' (1932)."</ref>

The screenplay was written by [[Left-wing politics|Leftist]] playwright [[Clifford Odets]] and is derived from an obscure [[pulp magazine|pulp]]-influenced manuscript by [[Charles G. Booth]]. It is set in the Far East, and has a sociopolitical theme: the "tension between democracy and authoritarianism".<ref>Millichap, 1981 pp. 82-83: Millichap refers to Odets as "Leftist" and the film's "pulpy background" source</ref> In the opening few minutes, Milestone establishes  the American mercenary O'Hara ([[Gary Cooper]]), who has [[Republicanism|republican]] commitments.<ref>Baxter, 1970 p. 134: Baxter provides a detailed description of the opening Cooper/O'Hara sketch.</ref> His adversary is the complex, Chinese warlord General Yang ([[Akim Tamiroff]]). [[Madeleine Carroll]] is cast as the young missionary Judy Perrie, who is "trapped between divided social forces" and struggles to overcome her diffidence, and ultimately joins O"Hara in supporting a peasant revolt against Yang.<ref>Millichap, 1981 p. 82: "the film holds up well both as entertainment and art"<br>Baxter, 1970 pp. 134&ndash;135: Carroll's Judy Perrie characterization is "perfectly realized"<br />Canham, 1974 p. 87: "the skill of the script{{nbsp}}... and the acting itself combine to lift it out of the mainstream of adventure pictures that used the inscrutable Orient as a backdrop". p. 86: "The effortless ease with which [Milestone] sketches the Gary Cooper character". p. 87: "The biggest impact is in Madeline Carroll's portrayal of Judy Perrie as a frightened lost girl"</ref>

Milestone's brings to the adventure-melodrama a "bravura" exposition of his cinematic style and technical skills; an impressive use of tracking, a five-way split screen and a widely noted use of a [[match dissolve]] that transitions from a billiard table to a white door handle leading to an adjoining room; it is "one of the most expert match shots on record" according to historian [[John Baxter (author)|John Baxter]].<ref>Higham p. 130: "&nbsp;... extraordinary use of dissolves" in the billiard ball/doorknob. And "In many ways, the film was as technically exacting as anything in the oeuvre of Orson Welles."<br>Canham, 1974 p. 87: "bravura camera techniques such as split screen images or a dissolve match cut from a billiard ball to a white door knob"<br>Millichap, 1981 p. 83: "The General Died at Dawn remains bravura effort of split screens and match dissolves, almost a compendium of things a camera could do to tell a story." p. 87: See here for description of "billiard ball" match cut.<br>Baxter, 1970 pp. 134&ndash;135: "Milestone engineers one of the most{{nbsp}}... expert match shots on record, dissolving from a billiard ball to a round white door knob, which then turns to take us into the bar next door. And "In terms of cinematic invention, ''The General Died at Dawn'' is a fascinating technical exercise [and] shows the breadth of that technique." On a 4-way split screen. And "The [film's] finale.. is a bravura piece of direction"</ref>

Though disparaged by Milestone in retrospect, ''The General Died at Dawn'' is considered one of the "masterpieces" of 1930s Hollywood cinema. Milestone was served by cinematographer [[Victor Milner]], art directors [[Hans Dreier]] and [[Ernst Fegté]], and composer [[Werner Janssen]] in, according to Baxter (1970), creating "his most exquisite and exciting if not most meaningful examination of social friction in a human context".<ref>Baxter, 1970 p. 134: "for style and content, one of the Thirties' undoubted masterpieces." p. 135: "The finale, with Victor Milner's camera tracking sinuously through the Hans Dreier and Ernst Fegte Chinese junk sets, is a bravura piece of direction, a fitting finale to this, Milestone's most exquisite and exciting if not most meaningful examination of social friction in a human context." p. 134: "Milestone considered the film of little consequence". p. 136: See here for final quote "human context."</ref><ref>Millichap, 1981 p. 82: Millichap considers Baxter's "masterpiece" designation "somewhat lavish" but he agrees that "the film holds up very well both as entertainment and art.<br />Canham, 1974 p. 87: "The first symphonic musical score composed for a film by [[Werner Janssen]]"</ref>