King Ho Chang Movies
- 1930
Adapted from a story by Rex Beach, Son of the Gods stars Richard Barthelmess as Sam Lee, a young Chinese-American, anxious to distance himself from his oriental heredity. While travelling throughout the world, Sam falls in love with wealthy white girl Allana (Constance Bennett). He chooses not to tell her about his Chinese ancestors -- a wise decision, as it turns out, since she mercilessly lambastes him with a stream of hateful racist epithets when she does learn the truth. Only after she walks out on him does Sam discover that he hasn't a drop of Chinese blood after all. Even so, he now despises the entire white race and vows revenge against the woman who so viciously spurned him. But when Allana finds out that he's a racially "acceptable" sweetheart, the two fall in love all over again! Modern-day viewers who may find the denouement of Son of the Gods both offensive and unbelievable can take comfort in the fact that reviewers in 1930 experienced a similar reaction. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Richard Barthelmess, Constance Bennett, (more)
Just before making his talkie directorial debut with Atlantic, director E.A. DuPont dashed off the silent "backstage" drama Piccadilly. By the time the film was released in 1929, talking pictures had taken a firm hold of the British film industry, obliging DuPont to reshoot much of the picture with dialogue. American screen favorites Anna May Wong and Gilda Gray (the girl who popularized the "shimmy dance") head the cast, the former as Shosho, a dishwasher in the London nightclub where the latter, cast as dancer Mabel Greenfield, performs nightly. Jealous of Mabel's dancing partner Victor Smiles (Cyril Ritchard), club owner Wilmot (Jameson Thomas) fires Victor, whereupon business drops off dramatically. In desperation, Wilmot takes Shosho out of the kitchen and puts her on stage, where she scores a big success. Feeling threatened by Shosho, Mabel heads to her rival's apartment with blood in her eye. A shot rings out, Shosho falls dead, and Mabel is accused of murder. But during the trial, it turns out that Shosho was done in by her Chinese sweetheart Jim (Kim Ho Chang). In his first feature film appearance, Charles Laughton performs an outrageous bit as a rowdy night club patron; also seen in a minuscule role is young Ray Milland. The talkie version of Piccadilly wasn't released in the U.S. until 1932. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Gilda Gray, Jameson Thomas, (more)
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