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FIRST ASIAN AMERICAN STAR!
Her complexion was described as "a rose blushing through old ivory;" she
was beautiful, tall (5'7"), slender, and Chinese-American. The last fact
kept her from attaining the highest echelon among Hollywood's pantheon of
stars, but it did not affect her popularity, nor keep her from becoming
a household name.
She was Anna
May Wong, nee Wong
Liu Tsong, a name which translates to "Frosted
Yellow Willows," and she
was born, appropriately enough, on Flower Street in Los Angeles' Chinatown
on 3 January 1905, above her father's laundry.
A precocious child, early on she
became fascinated with the "flickers," and would spend much of her spare
time in nickelodeons watching the shadowy images which flashed on the
screen, larger than life, in stirring melodramas or rambunctious comedies.
Besides, there was plenty of filming going on in the streets of Los Angeles
- the movie industry had created a boom town and Anna May loved to hang
around the sets on location. On the screen, her favorite male star was
Crane Wilbur, Pearl White's leading man in The Perils of Pauline (Pathe,
1914). (Interestingly, she would co-star with Wilbur on Broadway in 1930-31.)
Her two favorite female stars were cowgirl/stuntwomen Pearl White and
Ruth Roland.
Her tradition-bound father, Wong Sam Sing, strongly
disapproved of Liu
Tsong's preoccupation with the movies, which kept her
from her studies. It eventually became a losing battle when the attractive
youngster
landed a bit part in the Nazimova film The Red Lantern, (Nazimova Productions,
for Metro Pictures, 1919).
Finally, in September of 1921, with the release of Bits
of Life (Marshall Neilan Productions,for Associated First National Pictures),
the first anthology film, Anna May Wong's name first appeared before the
public. In the episode entitled Hop, the adolescent actress played the
wife of Lon Chaney's character, who bore a strong resemblance to her own
father. It was directed by the talented Marshall Neilan, who had recognized
the special qualities of this young hopeful when he had cast her previously
in a bit role for Dinty (Associated First National Pictures, 1920). Unfortunately,
Bits of Life is a lost film and Dinty only survives in three of seven
reels.
Anna
May's next credit was another supporting role, in the John Gilbert
vehicle, Shame (Fox Film Corp., 1921). The budding beauty got her first
big break the following year, when she starred in The Toll
of the Sea (Technicolor Motion Picture Company, for Metro Pictures,
1922), the first true Technicolor feature to be made in Hollywood.
She gave a remarkably mature and restrained performance
in this variation on Madame Butterfly. Receiving a good deal of attention,
the film made money and should have started Anna May on a starring career,
but instead she followed it with supporting roles in a lurid melodrama
directed by Tod Browning, Drifting (1923) and the western Thundering Dawn
(1923), both for Universal.
One result of her work in The Toll
of the Sea was her being chosen by Douglas Fairbanks for the part
of the Mongol Slave in his lavish fantasy, The Thief
of Baghdad (United Artists, 1924). While only a supporting role, it
was an important one, and garnered more laurels for Anna May, but still
no offers for leads.
The still teen-aged actress never lacked for work; despite
appearing only in supporting roles, she appeared in everything from a
serial, The Fortieth Door (Pathe, 1924) to two-reel comedies, The Honorable
Mr. Buggs (Pathe/Hal Roach, 1927) in the next few years. Although she
also appeared in Paramount's sparkling version of J.M. Barrie's perennially
popular Peter Pan (Famous Players-Lasky, 1924) as "Tiger Lily, Chieftainess
of the Indians," the part called for only a few scenes.
The year 1925 saw Anna May as a dancer in a play in
a Technicolor sequence near the beginning of His Supreme Moment (Samuel
Goldwyn Productions, for First National), a Ronald Colman vehicle produced
by Samuel Goldwyn, and as a vamp in the Raymond Griffith comedy, Forty
Winks (Famous Players-Lasky/Paramount).
The following year brought more undistinguished roles,
but included a film with a checkered and mysterious history. The Silk
Bouquet was produced by an outfit called Fairmont Productions and released
in June. In January of 1927, the title was changed to The Dragon Horse
and was not heard of again. The director and most of the cast are unknown.
From the two titles, it can be conjectured that this is an all-Chinese
production, made specifically for Chinese audiences, much as the "race
movies" made for all-black audiences. Accurate records of race films are
scarce to none.
In 1927 Anna
May ran the gamut of studios, from Tiffany to M-G-M, as she added
to her list of credits. Her best films that year were Mr. Wu for M-G-M,
starring Lon Chaney and Rene Adoree, who were made-up to look Asian, and
Warner Bros.' Old San Francisco, a melodrama which also featured Dolores
Costello, Warner Oland, and the San Francisco earthquake of 1906.
It was at the latter studio the next year that the ambitious
Asian lady became fed up with Hollywood. For
years, heavily made-up Caucasian actors had been playing Asians on screen,
but recently, a young redhead from Montana seemed to be cornering the
market in those roles. So when Anna May was cast in support of Myrna Loy
in The Crimson City (Warner Bros., 1928), it was the last straw for the
twenty-three-year-old Chinese beauty. Like other talented non-whites before
her, she made the move to more tolerant Europe.
To read what happens to her when she moved to Europe
and eventually returned back to the U.S., please click HERE.
Anna's
biggest disappointment professionally occurred during this period.
It was losing a part in MGM's great film The Good Earth. She
tested extensively for the roles of Paul Muni's wife, O Lan, and that
of his concubine. The parts were eventually played by Luise Rainer and
Tillie Losch respectively. Rainer won the Academy Award for 1937 for her
terrific performance as O Lan.
In 1960 producer Ross Hunter cast her in Flower Drum
Song. However, Anna became ill in December of 1960 and was replaced by
Juanita Hall. For the next six weeks, Anna was under constant doctor's
care, receiving liver injections each week from her physician.
In
1943 it was proposed that she star in a biography of Madame
Chiang Kai- Shek, but no film materialized.
On February 3, 1961, her brother Richard summoned the
doctor to their home. The doctor arrived at 3 PM and pronounced Anna dead
from a massive heart attack. It was revealed that since 1950 she had been
suffering from Laennac's cirrhosis. The disease of the liver is caused
by an over indulgence in alcohol.
As a final note: Anna May Wong is "A Legacy Yet
To Be Rediscovered"
Anna May Wong's contribution to show business is a unique
one; she was the first Asian female to become a star, achieving that stardom
at a time when bias against her race was crushing. With determination
and talent allied to her exotic beauty, she remained the only Asian female
star throughout her forty-year career, never fully overcoming all prejudices
in maintaining that position. Perhaps the rediscovery of her art will
elevate her star to the pantheon of great performers and serve as a guiding
light to Asian performers who still struggle to find their rightful place.
Her official website can be found HERE,
Robert Payne's illuminating article (click HERE
& go to the "Arts and Entertainment" section) and a review of Toll
of the Sea provides invaluable perspectives on her career.
A straight-ahead biography on her can be viewed by clicking
HERE. A listing
of her fifty-four (54) films are listed HERE.
She also starred on Broadway in "On the Spot" and on the London stage
in " A Circle of Chalk."
If you want to hear how Anna
May Wong felt about her career, background and her life in general,
just click HERE.
You will be amazed how life hasn't CHANGED since the time
that she was acting. Just note television's lack
of diversity that still exists in the 21st century, despite the efforts
of the Asian Pacific American Media Coalition, and the prevailing Asian
stereotypes that exists in films such as Romeo
Must Die!
Anna May Wong's life and career is something that is
important for all who value greatly the Asian / Asian Pacific American
communities' many artists and what we can all contribute!
Click HERE
to read abuut an upcoming film on Anna May Wong.
FILMOGRAPHY
AND DESCRIPTION The Red Lantern. Metro 1919.
Directed by Albert Capellani. With Alla Nazimova, Margaret McWade, Virginia
Ross, Frank Currier, Winter Hall, Amy Veness, Darrell Foss, Noah Beery,
Sr., Harry Mann, Yukio Aoyamo, Edward J. Connelly, Anna May Wong. Anna
May Wong has a "bit." Dinty. Assoc. First National 1920. Directed
by Marshall Neilan and John McDermott. With Wesley Barry, Colleen Moore,
Tom Gallery, J. Barney Sherry, Marjorie Daw, Noah Beery, Sr., Walter Chung,
Pat O'Malley, Kate Price, Tom Wilson, Aaron Mitchell, Newton Hall, Yung
Hipp, Hal Wilson, Anna May Wong. Anna May Wong as "Chinatown resident." The First Born. Robertson Cole 1921.
Directed by Colin Campbell. With Sessue Hayakawa, Helen Jerome Eddy, Sonny
Boy Warde, Goro Kino, Marie Pavis, Clarence Wilson, Frank M. Seki, Anna
May Wong. Shame. Fox 1921. Directed by Emmett
J. Flynn. With John Gilbert, Mickey Moore, George Siegmann, William V.
Mong, George Nicholas, Anna May Wong, Rosemary Theby, Doris Pawn, Red
Kirby. Anna May Wong as the Lotus Blossom. Bits of Life. Assoc. First National 1921.
Directed by Marshall Neilan. With Wesley Barry, Rockliffe Fellowes, Lon
Chaney, Sr., Noah Beery, Sr., Anna May Wong, John Bowers, Teddy Sampson,
Dorothy Mackaill, Edythe Chapman, Frederick Burton, James Bradbury, Jr.,
Tammany Young, Harriet Hammond, James Neill, Scott Welsh. Anna May Wong
as Toy Sing, wife to Chaney character. The Toll of the Sea. Metro 1922. Directed
by Chester M. Franklin. With Anna May Wong, Kenneth Harlan, Beatrice Bentley,
Baby Marion, Etta Lee, Ming Young. Anna May Wong as Lotus Flower, a suicide.
Clearly inspired by Madame Butterfly, THE TOLL OF THE SEA provided Wong
with her first starring role. Lotus Flower, a beautiful Chinese maiden,
rescues a young American when he washes ashore. The two begin a doomed
affair that results in the birth of their son. For Wong, Lotus Flower
was the first of many tragic heroines she would eventually play—Asian
women who would pay the ultimate price for their love affairs with white
men. Wong’s luminous beauty, expressive face and masterful acting
abilities were already evident here, at the young age of 17. This was
the first feature film produced in the two-color Technicolor process.
Drifting. Universal 1923. Directed by
Tod Browning. With Priscilla Dean, Matt Moore, Wallace Beery, J. Farrell
MacDonald, Rose Dione, Edna Tichenor, Anna May Wong, William V. Mong,
Bruce Guerin, Marie De Albert, William Moran, Frank Lanning. Anna May
Wong as Rose Li, daughter of sinister doctor played by Mong. Thundering Dawn. Universal 1923. Directed
by Harry Garson. With Winter Hall, J. Warren Kerrigan, Anna Q. Nilsson,
Tom Santschi, Charles Clary, Georgia Woodthorpe, Richard Kean, Edward
Burns, Winifred Bryson, Anna May Wong. Anna May Wong as "Honky Tonk
Girl." Lillies of the Field. Assoc. First National 1924.
Directed by John Francis Dillon. With Corinne Griffith, Conway Tearle,
Alma Bennett, Myrtle Stedman, Crauford Kent, Sylvia Breamer, Charlie Murray,
Phyllis Haver, Cissy Fitzgerald, Edith Ransom, Charles Gerrard, Dorothy
Brock, Mattie Peters, Anna May Wong. The Thief of Bagdad. United Artists 1924.
Directed by Raoul Walsh. With Douglas Fairbanks, Julane Johnston, Snitz
Edwards, Charles Belcher, Anna May Wong, Winter Blossom, Etta Lee, Brandon
Hurst, Tote Du Crow, Sojin, Noble Johnson, Sadakichi Hartmann, K. Nambu,
Mathilde Comont, Charles Stevens, Sam Baker, Jess Weldon, Scott Mattraw,
Charles Sylvester. Anna May Wong as the Mongol slave. The Fortieth Door. Pathé serial 1924.
Directed by George B. Seitz. With Allene Ray, Bruce Gordon, David Dunbar,
Anna May Wong, Frances Mann, Frank Lackteen, Lillian Gale, Bernard Seigel,
Scott McGee, Chief Whitehorse, Omar Whitehead, Eli Stanton. Anna May Wong
as Zira. The Alaskan. Paramount 1924. Directed
by Herbert Brenon. With Thomas Meighan, Estelle Taylor, John Sainpolis,
Frank Campeau, Anna May Wong, Alphonse Ethier, Maurice Cannon, Charles
Ogle. Anna May Wong as Keok, an Eskimo. Peter Pan. Paramount 1924. Directed
by Herbert Brenon. With Betty Bronson, Cyril Chadwick, Ernest Torrence,
Virginia Brown Faire, Anna May Wong, Esther Ralston, George Ali, Mary
Brian, Philippe De Lacey, Jack Murphy. Anna May Wong as Tiger Lily. Forty Winks. Paramount 1925. Directed
by Frank Urson. With Viola Dana, Raymond Griffith, Theodore Roberts, Cyril
Chadwick, Anna May Wong, William Boyd. Anna May Wong as Annabelle Wu,
an adventuress. Fifth Avenue. PRC 1926. Directed by
Robert G. Vignola. With Marguerite De La Motte, Allan Forrest, Louise
Dresser, William V. Mong, Crauford Kent, Lucille Lee Stewart, Anna May
Wong, Lillian Langdon, Josephine Norman, Sally Long, Flora Finch. Anna
May Wong as Nan Lo, a prostitute. The Silk Bouquet/The Dragon Horse. Hi Mark Productions.
1926 with James Leong, Anna May Wong. A Trip to Chinatown. Fox 1926. Directed
by Robert P. Kerr. With Margaret Livingston, Earle Foxe, J. Farrell MacDonald,
Anna May Wong, Harry Woods, Marie Astaire, Gladys McConnell, Charles Farrell,
Hazel Howell, Wilson Benge, George Kuwa. Anna May Wong as Ohtai. The Desert's Toll. MGM 1926. Directed
by Clifford Smith. With Kathleen Key, Chief Big Tree, Anna May Wong, Francis
McDonald, Tom Santschi, Lew Meehan, Guinn Williams. Anna May Wong as Oneta. The Chinese Parrot. Universal. 1927.
Directed by Paul Leni. With Marian Nixon, Florence Turner, Hobart Bosworth,
Edward Burns, Albert Conti, Sojin, Fred Esmelton, Edgar Kennedy, George
Kuwa, Slim Summerville, Dan Mason, Anna May Wong, Etta Lee, Jack Trent.
Anna May Wong as "Nautch dancer." Driven from Home. Chadwick 1927. Directed
by James Young. With Ray Hallor, Virginia Lee Corbin, Pauline Garon, Anna
May Wong, Sojin, Melbourne MacDowell, Margaret Seddon, Sheldon Lewis,
Virginia Pearson, Eric Mayne, Alfred Fisher. Mr. Wu. MGM 1927. Directed by William
Nigh. With Lon Chaney, Sr., Louise Dresser, Renee Adoree, Holmes Herbert,
Ralph Forbes, Gertrude Olmstead, Mrs. Wong Wing, Anna May Wong, Sonny
Loy, Claude King. Anna May Wong as Loo Song. Old San Francisco. Warner Bros. 1927.
Directed by Alan Crosland. With Dolores Costello, Warner Oland, Charles
Emmett Mack, Josef Swickard, John Miljan, Anders Randolf, Sojin, Angelo
Rossitto, Anna May Wong. Anna May Wong as "girl." Why Girls Love Sailors. Pathé short 1927.
Directed by Fred L. Guiol. With Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, Bobby Dunn,
Anna May Wong, Sojin, Eric Mayne. Anna May Wong as Delamar. The Devil Dancer. United Artists 1927.
Directed by Fred Niblo. With Gilda Gray, Clive Brook, Anna May Wong, Serge
Temoff, Michael Vavitch, Sojin, Uta Mita, Ann Schaeffer, Albert Conti,
Clarissa Selwynne, James Leong, Martha Mattox, William H. Tooker, Claire
Du Brey, Nora Cecil, Barbara Tennant, Kalla Pasha. Anna May Wong as Sada. Streets of Shanghai. Tiffany 1927. Directed
by Louis Gasnier. With Pauline Starke, Kenneth Harlan, Eddie Gribbon,
Margaret Livingston, Jason Robards, Sr., Mathilde Comont, Anna May Wong,
Sojin, Tetsu Komai, Toshyie Ichioka, Media Ichioka. Anna May Wong as Su
Quan. Pavement Butterfly (aka City Butterfly). Grossstadt-Schmetterling/Germany
1928. Directed by Richard Eichberg. Screenwriter: Hans Kyser.
Based on the novel by Adolf Lantz. Cinematographers: Heinrich Gärtner,
Otto Baecker. With: Anna May Wong, Louis Lerch, Alexander Grananch, E.
F. Bostwick, 35mm, silent with English intertitles, 90 min. (24 fps).
Love, lust, greed and art don’t mix well in this silent melodrama
that moves from the circus to bohemian artists’ studios to the French
Riviera. In her second film with Richard Eichberg, Wong plays Mah, the
star performer in a circus acrobatic act. When fellow performer Koko murders
Mah’s partner, she is blamed for his death and forced to flee. Mah
finds work modeling for a handsome artist and soon falls in love with
him. But the lascivious Koko follows her, worsening her predicament as
she tries to clear her name. Though she was praised for her part, some
critics claimed that Wong, shown stylishly dressed in contemporary fashions,
wasn’t portrayed as “exotic” enough. In
the fall of 1997, Bowdoin College in Maine presented the world
premiere of "China Doll," a play by Elizabeth Wong (no
relation to the actress). "China Doll" explores the
life and career of Anna May Wong, especially the limitations imposed
on her as an actress of Chinese decent. The play
combines real events and people from Anna May's life with other
imagined scenes and characters, creating what the playwright describes
as "an exploration of the mysteries of love - the love of
work, the love of artistic pursuit, the love of men, the love
of movies." Across to Singapore. MGM 1928. Directed
by William Nigh. With Ramon Novarro, Joan Crawford, Ernest Torrence, Frank
Currier, Dan Wolheim, Duke Martine, Edward Connelly, James Mason, Anna
May Wong. The Crimson City. Warner Bros. 1928.
Directed by Archie Mayo. With Myrna Loy, John Miljan, Leila Hyams, Matthew
Betz, Anna May Wong, Anders Randolf, Richard Tucker, Sojin. Anna May Wong
as Su. Chinatown Charlie. First National 1928.
Directed by Charles Hines. With Johnny Hines, Louise Lorraine, Harry Gribbon,
Fred Kohler, Sr., Scooter Lowry, Sojin, Anna May Wong, George Kuwa, John
Bradette. Anna May Wong as Mandarin's (played by Sojin) sweetheart. Song. German 1928. Directed by Richard
Eichberg. Producer: R. Eichberg. Scenarists: Helen Gosewish, Adolf Lantz.
Based on the novel Dirty Money by Karl Vollmöller. Cinematographers:
Heinrich Gärtner, Bruno Mondi. Editor: Alfred Booth. With Anna May
Wong, Heinrich George, Hans Adalbert, Paul Horbiger. In the late 1920s,
Wong sailed for Europe, hoping to escape the stereotyped roles being offered
her in Hollywood. In her first film with German director Richard Eichberg,
Wong plays Song, a down-on-her-luck Malayan dancer who becomes involved
with a mysterious knife-thrower after he saves her from two thugs. They
form a successful act on their own, and Song soon falls for her partner
until the return of his former lover sets off a fatal series of events.
Wong enchanted film audiences across Europe with her masterfully subtle
performance and electrifying screen presence. Anna May Wong played the
role of a Malayan who marries a brutal painter played by George. The City Butterfly. German 1929. Directed
by Richard Eichberg. With Anna May Wong, Alexander Granach, Tilla Garden.
Anna May Wong as a "sideshow dancer." Piccadilly.
British International 1929. Directed by E. A. Dupont. Producer:
E.A. Dupont. Scenarist: Arnold Bennett. Cinematographer: Werner Brandes.
Editor: J.W. McConaughty. With Gilda Gray, Anna May Wong, Jameson Thomas,
Charles Laughton, Cyril Ritchard, King Ho-Chang, Hannah Jones, Ellen Pollock,
Harry Terry, Gordon Begg, Charles Paton, Debroy Somers and his Band. In
1929, after several starring roles in Germany, the young Anna May Wong
made her way to London to star in her final
silent film and her only feature with German-born director E.A. Dupont.
In this melodrama of jealousy and murder, Wong plays a scullery maid named
Shosho who, while dancing in the kitchen, attracts the attention of her
boss and becomes the star attraction at a trendy London nightclub. Dupont
lavished Wong with close-ups and glorious costumes, allowing her to easily
upstage co-star Gilda Gray. The film also features one of the very first
onscreen performances by Charles Laughton, playing a boisterous nightclub
patron. Anna May Wong played the role of Shosho, mistress to Thomas character. Elstree Calling. British International 1930.
Directed by Adrian Brunel, Alfred Hitchcock, Andre Charlot, Jack Hulbert,
and Paul Murray. With Will Fyffe, Lily Morris, Tommy Handley, Anna May
Wong, Teddy Brown, Bobbie Comber, Hannah Jones, Cicely Courtneidge, Jack
Hulbert, Helen Burnell, Donald Calthrop, James Thomas, Ivor MacLaren,
John Longden, Berkoff Dancers, Charlot Girls, Three Eddies, the Adelphi
girls, Kasbek Singers. A revue with Anna May Wong as herself. The Flame of Love. British International 1930.
Directed by Richard Eichberg. Producer: R. Eichberg. Screenwriters: Monckton
Hoffee, Ludwig Wolff. Cinematographers: Heinrich Gärtner, Bruno Mondi.
Editor: Emile de Ruelle. With Anna May Wong, John Longden, George Schnell,
Mona Goya, Percy Standing, Fred Schwartz, Lay-On. Anna May Wong as Hai-tang,
a dancer. Wong made her speaking debut in this melodrama set in pre-Revolutionary
Russia. Wong plays Hai-Tang, a young Chinese dancer who falls for a Russian
military officer, but their affair is complicated when the officer’s
superior sets his sights on her. The chance to see and hear Wong in a
talkie made the film a great attraction to contemporary audiences. By
1930 Wong had toned down the American accent that had previously moved
one of her producers to comment, “But oh! that California accent!
As thick as the smog that now covers their cities.” Wong also mastered
enough German and French to play the role of Hai-Tang in two foreign-language
versions shot at the same time, with different male leads. Hay Tang. German 1930. Directed by Richard
Eichberg, With Anna May Wong, Francis Lederer, Hermann Blass. Anna May
Wong as Hay Tang, a dancer. The German version of The Flame of Love. L'Amour Maitre Des Choses. French 1930.
Directed by Richard Eichberg. With Anna May Wong, Robert Ancelin, Marcel
Vibert. Anna May Wong as Hai-tang. The French version of The Flame of
Love. Daughter of the Dragon. Paramount 1931.
Directed by Lloyd Corrigan. Screenwriters: L. Corrigan, Monte M. Katterjohn.
Based on the novel Daughter of Fu Manchu by Sax Rohmer. Cinematographer:
Victor Milner. With Anna May Wong, Warner Oland, Sessue Hayakawa, Bramwell
Fletcher, Frances Dade, Holmes Herbert, Lawrence Grant, Harold Minjir,
Nicholas Soussanin, E. Alyn Warren, Harry Lee, Olaf Hytten, Nella Walker,
Oie Chan, Tetsu Komai, George Kuwa. Orientalist archvillain Fu Manchu
resurfaces in London, with an undying lust for vengeance directed at the
Petrie family, whom he mistakenly blames for the death of his wife and
son. Not only is Sir John Petrie shot in his own home, but his son Ronald
is at risk of succumbing to the seductive charms of the villain’s
equally malevolent daughter Ling Moy (Wong). “Yellow Peril”
tropes abound in this fantasy of Eastern threat: wafting incense, ominous
shadows, knife clutched under ample Chinese sleeve. The film is racist,
but ironically, the film is best remembered today for its Asian actors,
Wong and Sessue Hayakawa, who bring grace, subtlety and gravity to their
stereotyped roles. Anna May Wong played the role of Ling Moy, daughter
of Fu Manchu, played by Oland. This
5'7 beauty loved to study and could speak in an English accent,
as well as being fluent in German and French with more than a passing
knowledge of other tongues including Italian and Yiddish. For
exercise she rode horses, played golf, and tennis. She liked to
cook and regaled her guests with succulent Chinese dishes at frequent
dinner parties. She
preferred casual clothes, wearing slacks and sweaters at home, but
cultivated an oriental motif in her very smart formal wardrobe.
She
studied singing with Welsh tenor Parry Jones before she participated
in the film Limehouse Blues as George Raft's mistress. Anna
loved to dance to contemporary music. Anna was quoted as saying,
"I think I got my first chance because they thought I was peculiar.
But, now I like to believe that the public are fond of me because
they think I'm nice." Shanghai Express. Paramount 1932. Directed
by Josef Von Sternberg. With Marlene Dietrich, Clive Brook, Anna May Wong,
Warner Oland, Eugene Pallette, Lawrence Grant, Louis Closser Hale, Gustav
Von Seyffertitz, Emile Chautard, Madame Sojin, Willie Fung, James Leong,
Forrester Harvey, Leonard Carey, Claude King, Neshida Minoru, Miki Morita.
The combined star power of Marlene Dietrich and Anna May Wong propels
this melodrama in which two former lovers are reunited on a train during
the Chinese civil war. Von Sternberg was arguably one of cinema’s
greatest directors of women, and in SHANGHAI EXPRESS he had two illustrious
actresses to work with: Dietrich, as the notorious “coaster,”
Shanghai Lily, and Wong as her traveling companion, the reformed prostitute
Hui Fei. Wong’s outstanding performance was so powerful yet so restrained,
that Dietrich felt she had been upstaged. The steam and smoke, the stylized
performances, the minimalist but crackling dialogue and the stunning cinematography
of Lee Garmes all make for a most enjoyable ride. Anna May Wong played
the role of Hui Fei, a lady of dubious morals. A Study in Scarlet. World Wide 1933.
Directed by Edwin L. Marin. With Reginald Owen, Anna May Wong, June Clyde,
Alan Dinehart, John Warburton, Warburton Gamble, Alan Mowbray, Doris Lloyd,
Billy Bevan, Leila Bennnett, J. M. Kerrigan, Wyndham Standing, Halliwell
Hobbes, Tempe Pigott, Cecil Reynolds, Tetsu Komai. Anna May Wong as Mrs.
Pyke, a crook. Tiger Bay. Associated British 1933.
Directed by J. Elder Sills. With Anna May Wong, Henry Victor, Rene Ray,
Lawrence Grossmith, Victor Garland, Ben Soutten, Margaret Yarde, Benn
Williams, Wally Patch, Ernest Jay, Brian Buchel. This is one of three
British productions starring Wong released in 1934, she plays the beautiful
and heroic Liu Chang, dancer and proprietor of a rowdy cafe who fights
to save a young woman from a gang of thuggish sailors. British censors
insisted that the setting be relocated from London to the fictional South
American town of “Tiger Bay,” a port city filled with gangsters,
petty thieves, prostitutes and “all the riff-raff of the seven seas.”
(Note: Legendary British director David Lean earned one of his screen
credits as an editor on this film. Chu Chin Chow. Gaumont 1934. Directed
by Walter Forde. With George Robey, Fritz Kortner, Anna May Wong, John
Garrick, Pearl Argyle, Malcolm MacEachern, Dennis Hoey, Francis L. Sullivan,
Sydney Fairbrother, Lawrence Hanray, Frank Cochrane, Thelma Tuson, Myoshi
Takase. Anna May Wong as Zahret, a slave girl. Producer: Michael Balcon.
Screenwriters: Sidney Gilliat, L. DuGarde Peach, Edward Knoblock. Based
on the musical by Oscar Asche and Frederic Norton. Cinematographer: Mutz
Greenbaum. Editor: Derek N. Twist. With: Anna May Wong, George Robey,
Fritz Kortner, John Garrick. 35mm, 93 min. With production values luxuriant
enough to rival those in Hollywood, this British musical presents orientalist
fantasy at its most glamorous and grotesque. Inspired by The Arabian Nights,
the plot revolves around the bandit Abu Hassan, who plans to impersonate
Asian merchant Chu Chin Chow in order to sack Baghdad. Although she doesn’t
have a lot of screen time, Wong was top-billed as Hassan’s lover,
Zahrat—testimony to her box-office appeal. Though her singing was
dubbed, Wong’s talent shone in her skillful acting and sensuous
dance sequences, no doubt aided by her scintillating costumes. Limehouse Blues. Paramount 1934. Directed
by Alexander Hall. With George Raft, Jean Parker, Anna May Wong, Kent
Taylor, Montagu Love, Billy Bevan, Robert Loraine, John Rogers, E. Alyn
Warren, Wyndham Standing, Louis Vincenot, Keith Hitchcock, Forrester Harvey,
Desmond Roberts, Colin Kenny, Robert Adair, Eric Blore, Tempe Pigott,
Eily Malyon, Elsie Prescott, Colin Tapley, Rita Carlisle, Joe May, Otto
Yamaoka, Dora Mayfield, Angelo Bianchi, Ann Sheridan, Joe Glick. Anna
May Wong as Tu Tuan, the Raft character's mistress. Daughter of Shanghai. Paramount 1937.
Directed by Robert Florey. Producer: Edward T. Lowe. Screenwriters: Gladys
Unger, Garnett Weston. Based on a story by G. Weston. Cinematographer:
Charles Schoenbaum. Editor: Ellsworth Hoagland. With Anna May Wong, Charles
Bickford, Buster Crabbe, Cecil Cunningham, J. Carrol Naish, Anthony Quinn,
Philip Ahn, Evelyn Brent, John Patterson, Guy Bates Post, Frank Sully,
Fred Kohler, Sr., Virginia Dabney, Ching Way Lee, Maurice Liu, Mrs. Wong
Wing, Gwen Kenyon, Paul Fix, Ernest Whitman, Layne Tom, Jr., Gino Corrado,
Bruce Wong, Paulita Arvizu, Charles Wilson, Mae Busch, Michael Wu, Bill
Powell, Pierre Watkin, Carmen La Roux, Tina Menard, Jimmie Dundee, Carmen
Bailey, Alex Woloshin, Agostino Borgato, Billy Jones, Harry Strang, Alma
Ross, Joyce Mathews, Helaine Moler, Lee Shumway, Blanca Vischer, Norah
Gale, Paula de Cardo, Sheila Darcy, Chick Collins, Marie Burton, Harriette
Haddon. After a wealthy importer is murdered by a gang smuggling immigrant
workers into San Francisco, an Asian federal agent is sent to crack the
case. Meanwhile, the importer’s daughter (Wong) strikes out on her
own, determined to avenge her father’s death. Directed by Robert
Florey, an avant-garde auteur cum B-movie director, DAUGHTER OF SHANGHAI
is a rarity among Hollywood productions of the day—an Asian-themed
film with Asian-American actors in the lead roles. Committed to appearing
only in films with positive portrayals of Chinese characters, Wong moves
beyond the Dragon Lady role, instead adopting the persona of a classic
Hollywood heroine: she’s courageous, determined, and even gets the
guy—played by her long-time friend, Philip Ahn. Anna May Wong played
the role of Lan Ying Lin, who seeks her father's murderer. Although
Anna was fascinated by the land of her forebears, even meeting with
her father's first wife and son, she realized she was far too westernized
to remain long. Being
an emancipated woman in Chinese society was frowned upon, and she
met with disapproval. She
bought a great many Chinese costumes which she was subsequently
to use on stage and screen. During World War II, she was to auction
them off to aid Chinese War Relief. She
wrote of her experiences in China in a series of articles published
by the New York Herald Tribune in 1937. Hollywood Party. MGM short subject 1937.
With Clark Gable, Elissa Landi, Joan Bennett, Anna May Wong, Joe E. Brown,
Freddie Bartholomew, Leon Errol, Joe Morrison, Betty Rhodes, Clark Gable,
Joan Bennett, Elissa Landi, Charley Chase, Leon Janney. Anna May Wong
and other celebrities attend a technicolored party. Dangerous to Know. Paramount 1938. Directed
by Robert Florey. Producer: Edward T. Lowe. Screenwriters: William Lipman,
Horace McCoy. Based on the play On the Spot by Edgar Wallace. Cinematographers:
Karl Struss, Charles Schoenbaum. Editor: Arthur Schmidt. With Anna May
Wong, Akim Tamiroff, Gail Patrick, Lloyd Nolan, Harvey Stephens Anthony
Quinn, Roscoe Karns, Porter Hall, Barlowe Borland, Hugh Sothern, Hedda
Hopper, Edward Pawley, Garry Owen, Robert Brister, Stanley Blystone, Pierre
Watkin, Edward Marr, Harry Worth, Donald Brian, Ellen Drew, Rita La Roy,
Harvey Clark, Jack Knoche, Margaret Randall, Rudolph Myset, Gino Corrado,
Andre Marsaudon, Perry Ivins, Grace Benham, Wade Boteler, Ruth Rogers,
John Hart, David Newell, Frank Melton, Ivan Miller, Larry Steers, Lynn
Bailey, Sheila Darcy, Cyril Ring, Blanca Vischer, Suzanne Ridgeway, Carol
Parker, Joyce Mathews, Estelle Etterre, Harry Myers. Anna May Wong as
Madame Lan Ying, mistress to Tamiroff character. In her second film with
Florey, Wong plays Lan Ying, the “hostess” (read: mistress)
of the notorious Stephen Recka (Akim Tamiroff), a powerful Los Angeles
gangster who aims to control City Hall by using corrupt politicians. Recka
longs to be accepted by high society and eventually discards Lan Ying
in favor of a pretty young socialite. In an emotionally wrenching scene,
Lan Ying enacts the perfect revenge. The film was based on the play On
the Spot, in which Wong made her American stage debut in 1930. When Were You Born? Warner Bros. 1938.
Directed by William McGann, with Anna May Wong, Margaret Lindsay, Lola
Lane, Anthony Averill, Charles Wilson, Jeffrey Lynn, Eric Stanley, James
Stephenson, Leonard Mudie, Olin Howland, Maurice Cass, Jack Moore, Frank
Jaquet, John Ridgely, Carole Landis, Peggy Moran, Edwin Stanley, Sidney
Bracey, Tetzu Komai, Lottie Williams. Anna May Wong as Mary Lee Ling,
an astrologist. King of Chinatown. Paramount 1939. Directed
by Nick Grinde With Anna May Wong, Akim Tamiroff, J. Carrol Naish, Sidney
Toler, Anthony Quinn, Philip Ahn, Roscoe Karns, Richard Denning, Bernadene
Hayes, Ray Mayer, Archie Twitchell, Chester Gan, George Anderson, George
Magrill, Edward Marr, Charles B. Wood, Charles Trowbridge, Robert Homans,
Lily King, Pierre Watkin, Wong Chung, Alexander Pollard, Guy Usher, Pat
West, Sam Ash, Larry McGrath, Charles Lee, Jimmy Vaughn, Ivan Miller,
Ben Taggart, Grace Lem, David Dong, Gloria Williams, Luana Walters, Marie
Burton, Judith King, Dolores Casey, Ethel Clayton, Dorothy White, Helaine
Moler, Norah Gale, Gwen Kenyon, Joyce Mathews, Harriette Haddon, Florence
Wix, Sheila Darcy, Dorothy Dayton, Paula de Cardo. Anna May Wong as Mary
Ling, a doctor. Island of Lost Men. Paramount 1939.
Directed by Kurt Newmann. With Anna May Wong, Anthony Quinn, J. Carrol
Naish, Eric Blore, Broderick Crawford, Ernest Truex, Rudolph Forster,
William Haade, Richard Loo, Ralph Suncuya, Torben Meyer, Lai Chand Mehra,
Rupert Andez, Vivian Oakland, George Kirby, Rafael Storm, George Melford,
Ethel May Halls, Ruth Rickaby, Jack Perry, Philip Ahn, Philson Ahn, C.
L. Sherwood, Mitchell Ingraham, Bruce Mitchell. Anna May Wong as Kim Ling,
daughter of a general.
Chinese Garden Festival. Republic short subject,
1940. One of the "Meet The Stars" series with Rosalind
Russell, William Bakewell, Dorothy Lamour, Rita Hayworth, Anna May Wong,
Cesar Romero, Walter Pidgeon, Rose Hobart, Patricia Morison, Gertrude
Niesen, Kay Aldridge, Mary Beth Hughes, Charles "Buddy" Rogers,
Mary Pickford, Jane Withers, Beulah Bondi, Vera Vague, Mary Martin, King
Kennedy, Cliff Nazarro, Mary Howard, Gloria and Barbara Brewster. Jane
Hamilton, Susan Peters, Ona Munson, Georgia Carroll, Mary Healy. Anna
May Wong and other celebrities attend a party. Ellery Queen's Penthouse Mystery. Columbia 1941.
Directed by James Hogan. With Ralph Bellamy, Margaret Lindsay, Anna May
Wong, Charley Grapewin, James Burke, Eduardo Cianelli, Frank Albertson,
Ann Doran, Noel Madison, Charles Lane, Russell Hicks, Tom Dugan, Manton
Moreland, Theodor Von Eltz, Richard Loo, Chester Gan, Edward Earle, George
McKay, Jimmy Aubrey. Anna May Wong as Lois King, a diplomat. Bombs Over Burma. PRC 1942. Directed
by Josseph H. Lewis With Anna May Wong, Noel Madison, Leslie Denison,
Nedrick Young, Dan Seymour, Frank Lackteen, Judith Gibson, Dennis Moore,
Connie Leon, Richard Loo, Hayward Soo Hoo, Paul Fung. Anna May Wong as
Lin Ying, a schoolteacher. The Lady From Chungking. PRC 1942. Directed
by William Nigh, With Anna May Wong, Harold Huber, Mae Clarke, Rick Vallin,
Paul Bryar, Ted Hecht, Ludwig Donath, Archie Got, James Leong, Walter
Soo Hoo Anna May Wong as Kwan Mei, a guerilla leader. Impact. United Artists 1949. Directed
by Arthur Lubin. With Brian Donlevy, Ella Raines, Charles Coburn, Helen
Walker, Anna May Wong, Mae Marsh, Tony Barrett, William Wright, Robert
Warwick, Philip Ahn, Clarence Kolb, Erskine Sanford, Linda Johnson. Anna
May Wong as Su Lin, a maid. Portrait In Black. Universal 1960. Directed
by Michael Gordon With Lana Turner, Anthony Quinn, Sandra Dee, John Saxon,
Richard Basehart, Lloyd Noland, Ray Walston, Virginia Grey, Anna May Wong,
Dennis Kohler, Paul Birch, John Wengraf, Richard Norris, James Nolan,
Robert Lieb, John McNamara, Charles Thompson, George Womack, Henry Quan,
Elizabeth Chan, Harold Goodwin, Jack Bryan. Anna May Wong as Tani, a housekeeper.
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