Kukan: The Battle Cry of China (1941)

Name: Kukan: The Battle Cry of China
Genre: Documentary
Released: 1941-06-23

1h 30m

Running Time

Plot.

Rey Scott received an Honorary Academy Award for this documentary "for his extraordinary achievement in producing Kukan, the film record of China's struggle, including its photography with a 16mm camera under the most difficult and dangerous conditions." Producer David O. Selznick thought so much of it, that he distributed KUKAN in 35mm, even after the film had already had an extensive run in 16mm.

Where to Watch.

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Cast & Crew.

Niles Welch

Narrator (voice)

Rey Scott

Director / Producer / Cinematography / Writer

Li Ling-Ai

Producer / Technical Advisor

Bud Pollard

Director

Herbert T. Edwards

Producer

Charlie Bellante

Editor

Sam Citron

Editor

Yutang Lin

Writer

Ralph Schoolman

Adaptation

Edward Craig

Music Director

Eric Pleskow

Additional Editor

Details.

Release Date
June 23, 1941

Status
Released

Running Time
1h 30m

Genres
Documentary

Last updated: 2025-02-19

Wiki.

Kukan (originally subtitled The Secret of Unconquerable China) is a 1941 American documentary film co-produced by Li Ling-Ai and Rey Scott, and directed by Scott about the Chinese resistance to Japanese aggression during the early part of World War II (see Second Sino-Japanese War). Though Li served as co-producer and sponsor, she was credited as a "technical advisor" in its credits.

The film was distributed in 16mm by Adventure Epics and given an Honorary Academy Award at the 14th Academy Awards. United Artists acquired the film for broader distribution in April 1942 and renamed it KUKAN: The Battle Cry of China before releasing it in 35mm in August of the same year. Considered lost for many years, a print was located and partially restored at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

In 2016, Robin Lung produced a documentary about Li, Finding Kukan. Kukan is available as an extra on Finding Kukan's home release.