Asian Images in Film

[MikeBSG]

I watched "Bitter Tea of General Yen" earlier this year on VHS.

I was really surprised by the movie. Capra seemed to dismiss it a lot in his interviews. He said he went "Academy Award crazy" and made this film in a cynical attempt to be serious and win an Oscar, implying that this was a stiff and airless movie.

Well, I thought it was a very vibrant and alive movie, BUT it stood utterly opposed to the usual trio of Deeds/Smith/Doe that has come to represent Capra ever since. Face it, the most sympathetic character in "Bitter Tea" is a fascist dictator (more or less.) Yen is the guy who makes his own destiny, and he is brought low by love for the American woman, but after his death he has the two American characters (Stanwyck and Connolly) somewhat caught up in his way of thinking by the end of the film. Is this from the guy who made "Why We Fight?"

Is TCM showing "The General Died at Dawn" in this series? That almost seems like an "answer" to "Bitter Tea of General Yen" with a more positive outlook for the American characters and Americanism.

[moira finnie]

Thanks so much for mentioning Capra's dismissive attitude toward The Bitter Tea of General Yen. I found it to be a revelation of the director's talent. Oddly, I've enjoyed his other early work much more than his familiar later films since some have recently made it to dvd as well, particularly Forbidden and American Madness.

Unfortunately, Mike, The General Died at Dawn isn't part of the lineup for this series, though I would bet that the TCM programmers probably tried to nail down the Lewis Milestone movie about China during the '30s.

While the adventures of Gary Cooper & Madeleine Carroll vs. Warlord Akim Tamiroff were highly entertaining, they might have given us an invaluable view of good and bad intentions, exploitation of a helpless people and sometimes naive expectations of the West toward the Far East in that turbulent period, (which was wonderfully illustrated in Cooper's confrontation with Russell Hicks early in the film). The characters--both Chinese, as played by Westerners Tamiroff and the wonderful Dudley Digges, and other nationalities are a fantastic assortment of those humans who feed on chaos in every stage of history. On one level it's a great adventure story, on another some serious points are made by author Clifford Odets & Milestone.

Not to get political, but many of the events and after-effects dramatized in the film seem sadly relevant still.

Btw, Twitch.com has an interview here with the personable scholar, Peter X. Feng, associate professor of film, ethnic, and cultural studies at the University of Delaware, who is introducing the films in this series on TCM. I hope that his intros will be posted on the TCM site and perhaps included on TCM On Demand in the near future.

Can't wait to see the Anna May Wong documentary and films, listed below, which starts at 7pm EDT tonight (6/5). I've only seen The Toll of the Sea, Piccadilly & Shanghai Express, but won't mind seeing them again if I can. Does anyone else have any comments on the Anna May Wong movies tonight? Thanks!

June 5th Program
Anna May Wong - Frosted Yellow Willows: Her Life, Times & Legend
The Toll of the Sea
Old San Franciso
Piccadilly
Daughter of the Dragon
Shanghai Express

[melwalton]

I saw " the General Died at Dawn' back in the thirties and there"s this about it I"ll always rememBer;
In this scene, Gary Cooper is reading the riot act to Akim Tamiroff. He really lets loose a tirade and ends up pointing his finger an shouting, 'The Day Will Come'. Tamiroff replies quietly and calmly. 'Many days she come but you no see', .... mel

[jdb1]

I really enjoyed Toll of the Sea. Anna May Wong was certainly very good for just 18. Does anyone know -- was the child Baby Peggy (dressed as a boy)? The credits listed merely "Baby Moran," with no first name.

The two-color thing was very interesting to see - very Christmasy, actually. It made me think of those 3-D comics we used to read, although those were primarily blue and red, not green and red. The color effect was odd, but not unpleasant.

Unfortunately I didn't get to see the others, only the first 20 minutes or so of the second one. I hope they are shown again in the regular scheduling.

So -- is the University of Delaware now going to become a major player in film studies?

[Gagman 66]

Actually, TCM got the date, and Anna May Wong's age wrong, and did it repeatedly! She was just 17 when THE TOLL OF THE SEA was released in 1922, not 1923! They also said it was her very first film, and this is not accurate either. It was her first Starring role, but not her first film. The 2-strip Technicolor is at times quite beautiful.

THE TOLL OF THE SEA is a simple, yet highly moving story of lost love, and sacrifice. Anna May has not as yet evolved into the arrestingly beautiful young woman that she was to become a few years later. However, she gives a truly magnificent performance. This is a film that you are not likely to forget once seeing it. Sadly the final reel, and ending is lost.

I was pleased that TCM didn't tack on some new fangled score to this movie too, like they did with BROKEN BLOSSOMS!

There is no Technicolor in OLD SAN FRANCISCO (1927), just some tinted scene's. Though there may have been Technicolor at one time? This film is highly underrated. The transfer is good, but not great. Rather dark at times. It could do with some re-mastering. The superb Vita-phone track, gives you a much an idea of a proper Silent film score from this period. Delores Costello was a gorgeous, lady! Anna Mae does not appear in the film until it is better than half over, and it is not a very long part for her. Still her luminous presence just radiates from the screen.

The Brithish made Carl Dupont feature PICCADILLY (1929) is very much a Silent "Film Noir". A brilliant picture in so many respects. One of the best films of 1929. In whirlwind fashion Anna May Wong goes from Dish-washer, to Star, to Statistic in this riveting murder mystery of tragic and bitter ironies. Truly a powerhouse movie!

The Talkie THE DAUGHTER OF THE DRAGON (1931) was suprisingly good. Anna May was a true vision as the estranged daughter of Fu Man Chu plotting his revenge! The new documentary on Ms. Wong was informative and very well done. Although there were not many film clips. All in all a very nice envenings worth of programing on TCM.

[moira finnie]

I was pretty much caught up in Anna May Wong's sensitive portrayal of poor Lotus Flower in The Toll of the Sea and thought that for a relatively inexperienced actress, she was remarkably poised and expressive. I felt that the documentary about Anna May Wong whet my appetite for more info about the actress, so I've ordered the book Anna May Wong: From Laundryman's Daughter to Hollywood Legend by Graham Russell Hodges. Has anyone read this?

I thought that Anna May Wong: Frosted Yellow Willows gave a well-deserved look at her career, but it seemed that the woman herself was missing. I liked the interesting comments from Kevin Brownlow, Nancy Kwan, Leonard Maltin, and A. C. Lyles at the end of the film very much, though I wished that some of her descendants might have been included in on camera interviews about her clearly complex relations with her family and community.

I enjoyed The Daughter of the Dragon (1931) but not really for Anna May Wong's performance. Through no fault of her own, she seemed to be mired in an impossible to play character--but Sessue Hayakawa was the bee's knees. How about that fall off the roof?! And his last scene? Lawdy, that guy was memorable & I'm not really surprised that he was a matinee idol in his day. He was, even in a goofy adventure movie, dignified, mysteriously magnetic and, not to put too fine a point on it, sizzling.

Does anyone know -- was the child Baby Peggy (dressed as a boy)? The credits listed merely "Baby Moran," with no first name.

Judith,
I don't think that the baby in The Toll of the Sea was Baby Peggy (dressed as a boy) but you're right, it was a girl, Priscilla Moran, born in 1917, (and apparently still among us). Here's one more sad tale about a showbiz childhood gone wrong from the poor kid's IMDb biography

I was pleased that TCM didn't tack on some new fangled score to this movie too, like they did with BROKEN BLOSSOMS!

Aw, com'n, Gagman, TCM didn't, as we all know by now, "tack" anything deliberately awful onto any of the silents they've broadcast within the last 10 years. Yes, they fostered the composition of scores for several silents in that time when they sponsored the film composer's competition, and perhaps you didn't care for them, and I certainly appreciate your desire to hear the best musical accompaniment to a silent movie. (Frankly, I often prefer to watch silent films without any score, since I've a limited appreciation for organ music and dramatic piano noodling myself.)

But, as has been repeatedly stated, TCM does not own their films though they do contribute toward film restoration. (One exception about the ownership of a film library are the 6 "re-discovered" Merian C. Cooper flicks broadcast last year).

They take what they can get from the distributors, though they really do try to get the best quality prints and sound at all times. Even if you don't like the music for a silent, at least they are being shown, sometimes restored well, and not sitting unseen in a vault. Besides, how many organizations on a scale of TCM do you see putting together an examination of race in American film on a national level? That's a real public service to the arts.

Believe me, the people at TCM don't rule the world of film restoration...yet. (Besides, if anyone is going to rule that "kingdom", it should probably be Kevin Brownlow, ).

[Gagman 66]

Sorry, but you are mistaken! TCM actually did tack on a previously unheard score to BROKEN BLOSSOMS out of the clear blue! The credits clearly showed this was the case!

When this movie aired just some 7 to 9 months ago, it had a fairly recent recording of the original 1919 score, the same as found on the Image Entertainment DVD edition. Still not as good as the Carl Davis version of the same score, but much better than this new fangled sounding junk they ran with the picture on Tuesday evening!

Actually, I liked several of the Young Composers on TCM. Michael Picton was a standout with this scores to Garbo's THE TEMPTRESS, and Marion Davies THE RED MILL. also felt Marcus Sjowell's score to SOULS FOR SALE was quite brilliant!

[charliechaplinfan]

I love Anna May's performance in Toll Of The Sea it's so measured and she conveys so much dignity. I think she carried the role of perfectly. It's just a gorgeous film to watch.

I've read The Laundry Man's Daughter. It gave me a fuller insight into her career and into the conditions in Hollywood that held her back but I didn't feel like I knew her or got near her. I don't think the author got the essence of her, I don't think it is possible to get the full essence of her, she seemed to be an extremely private person. It's worth reading, I just felt sad that she hadn't been given more chances, she was an extremely capable actress.

I think you'll like the book Moira

[Synnove]

I second everything said about Toll of the Sea. Anna May Wong's performance seemed astonishingly natural to me when I saw it, it was free from the dramatic conventions a lot of other actors of that time might have used. Anna May Wong got to play an entirely different character in Picadilly, and there she also shines, in what should have been a star-making performance. From what I understand, there are at least two biographies about her available, and one more in the works? Does anyone have more concrete information?

[moira finnie]

Okay, Gagman, my buddy, if they did tack something on for some reason, I guess I'm tone deaf, 'cause all I remember after seeing Broken Blossoms twice now in the last year are Lillian Gish & Richard Barthelmess doing the best they could as actors--though honestly, D.W. Griffith's handling of the dramatic material made me admire the actors' restraint even more, all except for Donald Crisp, who 'went large' a wee bit too much. Oh, and those eyebrows! In a sense, I guess it was a remarkable performance from Crisp too, since it contrasts so with his memorably solid and real characterizations in the sound era.

Btw, I completely agree about Carl Davis' scores. They are the best. I am sorry if inadvertently misled you, but will check with TCM about why this might have happened.

Thanks for the heads up about the Anna May Wong biographies, Synnove & CCfan. Is there any chance that you have access to this month's fascinating programming on Asian images in Western films & the documentary that TCM broadcast about Ms. Wong in Europe?

Btw, for those who have access to Time Warner digital cable in the U.S., The Dragon Painter(1919) & Teahouse of the August Moon (1956), including Prof. Feng's interesting introductions have just been added to TCM On Demand in many parts of the country.

[charliechaplinfan]

TCM doesn't show the same films over here. For some reason they don't seem to think that the British audience might want to watch silents unless it's Chaplin. Very occasionally one will get through.

We do have a few classic movie channels here but from what I can make out it's the same movies that come through on a loop. I rent or buy movies instead.

Silents get shown in France and Germany, I'm not sure about Sweden. Synnove will be able to answer that.

ALison

[traceyk]

Toll of the Sea was beautiful and Anna May Wong was amazing for as young as she was. That child was adorable--cuter than Dickie Moore.

I liked her in Old San Francisco too. I was kind of bored by Dolores Costello--all she did was look alternately horrified and flirtacious--and fwd to the Chinatown sections. Anna May was fun--even if she was evil. I loved when she threw the knife to shut off the power so she and Warner Oland could escape.

I would like to have seen a few more of her European films--they definitely did not seem to have as many hang-ups about race as America.

The Slanted Screen documentary was interesting. I never really thought too much about it, but it's true--Asians do seem to be either servants, bad guys or ninjas, even today. There was a vampire film on SCIFI channel Saturday starring Lucy Lui. She was a vampire determined to kill her maker and somehow learned martial arts and sharpshooting (with a crossbow) skills. Mako, who was in the documentary was also in this film and he played...wait for it...a servant who was also a bad guy AND a martial arts expert. Sheesh.

[Synnove]

Traceyk, I can recommend Picadilly to you. It's a worthwhile film, not only because it's a showcase for Anna May Wong, but because it brings up the issue of race in an interesting way. Dupont's direction makes it special as well.

CCfan wrote:

silents get shown in France and Germany, I'm not sure about Sweden. Synnove will be able to answer that.

I complain too much about Nordic TCM sometimes. I've stopped watching its programme now, but it has shown a few silents regularly: The Wind, Flesh and the Devil, Greed and The Jazz Singer.

[mrsl]

Well Happy Day - I find I'm enjoying many of these Asian movies, and do think it was foolish not to have Anna May Wong instead of Kate Hepburn, but all of that aside, this Peter Weng is sending me on a real trip. The man cannot admit that China was still rather uneducated before WWII, as was most of the rest of the world.

He fairly bristles when talking about the intelligence of the Chinese race. He should relax a little, they've already proven their smarts. He goes on about how they know what a train is, yet they 'prefer' to do their farm work with oxen and hand held instruments. I hate to tell him, that was due to finances, not necessarily intelligence. I love watching Bob walking on those egg shells trying to get a point across. WWII is what gave us the real industrial revolution in farm work - why break your back when there is a machine that will do the work?

Anne

[moira finnie]

Well Happy Day - I find I'm enjoying many of these Asian movies, and do think it was foolish not to have Anna May Wong instead of Kate Hepburn, but all of that aside, this Peter Weng is sending me on a real trip. The man cannot admit that China was still rather uneducated before WWII, as was most of the rest of the world.

Isn't it funny how different people can hear something so different when watching the same program, Anne?? It's so interesting how we interpret things and boy, am I glad I'm not the only person getting such a kick out of this month's revelatory & great batch of movies.

The way my ears heard it, Peter Feng was actually gently trying to get across the point that while Pearl S. Buck & Hollywood were trying to dramatize the life of average Chinese prior to and during WWII, it was inevitable that the images would need to be first and foremost commercially viable, and therefore a bit clichéd since it was always going to be second-hand and refracted through a still somewhat provincial American cultural lens. The necessary commercialism of a studio products made it unlikely to enable casting of a talented actress such as Anna May Wong in a leading position in a major picture since it might not find the very large audience needed to recoup the costs on films such as The Good Earth or Dragon Seed. This was especially so since during the war years, the overseas market, (especially Europe) where Miss Wong continued to be very popular and often appeared on stage. Inevitably, casting choices also reflected the aesthetic narrowness of Hollywood's concept of beauty, leading to Wong's rejection by casting directors for these crucial films, as "not beautiful enough".

Prof. Feng also seemed to be pointing out that, like it or not, some of the pigeon English meant to approximate Chinese speech in the films was pretty laughable, as was the casting of a Hepburn in the lead--a point, btw, that wasn't lost on reviewers at the time of the release of these films. James Agee even wrote back then that Kate looked as though she'd been shopping at Peck & Peck (a toney NYC clothier) for those nifty duds she wore throughout the film Dragon Seed.

He [Feng] fairly bristles when talking about the intelligence of the Chinese race. He should relax a little, they've already proven their smarts. He goes on about how they know what a train is, yet they 'prefer' to do their farm work with oxen and hand held instruments. I hate to tell him, that was due to finances, not necessarily intelligence

I didn't hear Prof. Feng imply that the Chinese preferred oxen & hand held instruments, but used them out of necessity. I thought that he was really trying to communicate that the average peasant might well be aware of trains, which he pointed out is literally translated s "fire-wagon" in Chinese, though the filmmakers' use of the term made it sound as though the peasants were so simple that they were unaware of the concept of machinery. I didn't think that he was trying to make a case for Chinese or American superiority in any case, but pointing out the salient distortions in even our sympathetic perceptions of Asians on film, but maybe it's just me.

I do have the impression that Robert Osborne as host must necessarily guide the conversation along in its two or five minute segments, making him seem a bit rushed at times. I kind of wish that they could talk longer about the nuances of this area, but I'm very glad for all the time being spent on such an interesting aspect of classic film.