James B. Leong Movies

Peking Express was the second remake of Josef vonSternberg's Shanghai Express. In the original film, a group of railroad passengers escaping war-torn China are overtaken by Chinese; in the first remake, Night Plane to Chungking, a plane is forced down in a jungle surrounded by Japanese troops. In Peking Express, the chief villains are Chinese again, but the passengers are now refugees of the Communists. Joseph Cotten (as a doctor) and Corinne Calvet (as a "woman of the world") are among the pilgrims threatened by Oriental outlaw Marvin Miller and his gang. The elements of social and religious hypocrisy in the original Shanghai Express are downplayed in the 1951 version, as is the shady past of leading lady Calvet (who inadequately fills the role originated by Marlene Dietrich). Peking Express is not the classic that the vonSternberg film had been, but on its own is a snappy little melodrama. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The 161-minute costume drama Green Dolphin Street is set in 1840, on an island off the coast of Newfoundland, (or at least, the MGM backlot facsimile of same). Boiled down to essentials, it's the story of two sisters, blonde Marguerite Patourel (Donna Reed) and brunette
Marianne Patourel (Lana Turner), daughters of the wealthy Octavius Patourel (Edmund Gwenn). The two women meet New Zealander William Ozone (Richard Hart) and both quietly fall in love with him, though he's far more interested in Marguerite. To get William away from her sister, the conniving Marianne encourages the young man to fulfill his dreams by enlisting in H.R.H.'s Navy, whereby he'll be shipped off to China. But William misses the boat (no pun intended) and becomes a fugitive. He and buddy Timothy Haslam (Van Heflin) pair up and ship out to New Zealand, where they found a lumber business. William gets soused one night and writes to the sister he loves, inviting her to join him in marriage - but drunkenly uses the other sister's name by mistake. Marianne, believing he meant to write to her, decides to set off for New Zealand to be with her intended. Meanwhile,
Timothy secretly pines for Marguerite - and that's only the set up for this broadly-scaled melodrama. Reportedly budgeted at $4 million, Green Dolphin Street was based on the somewhat better bestseller by Elizabeth Goudge. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Based on the novel by A.J. Cronin, The Keys of the Kingdom was the first big-budget effort of movie-newcomer Gregory Peck. This is the 137-minute chronicle of a Scottish priest (Peck), who is assigned a mission in China. Never very focused in his life or work, the priest finds plenty to keep his mind occupied in his new post; when he isn't coping with the starvation and poverty plaguing his flock, he must contend with China's bloody civil war. Nonetheless, he perseveres, and finds it difficult as an elderly man to retire. He returns to Scotland, where he finds a new purpose in life; that of ministering to youngsters who, like him, have trouble determining their place in the world. Keys of the Kingdom was one of the last 20th-Century-Fox films produced by Joseph L. Mankiewicz before his career-shift to directing; Rose Stradner, Mankiewicz' then-wife, has an important role in the film. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Though cheaply produced in the time-honored tradition of PRC Productions, The Lady from Chungking was nothing if not timely. Anna May Wong heads the cast as Kwan Mei, the aristocratic leader of a band of Chinese partisans. Operating secretly, Kwan Mei's compatriots wage vicious guerilla warfare against the occupying Japanese troops. The oddly chosen supporting cast includes Harold Huber as a Japanese general and Mae Clarke as White Russian patriot; the nominal leading men, are pair of downed Flying Tigers pilots, are played by general-purpose actors Ric Vallin and Paul Bryar. The second of Anna May Wong's films for PRC, The Lady From Chungking was a distinct step down from the first, Bombs over Burma, which benefited from the directorial knowhow of Joseph H. Lewis. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

They Met in Bombay is a typical MGM star vehicle, in which the leading players are called upon to carry a pencil-thin plotline on the force of sheer personality. Clark Gable and Rosalind Russell play Gerald Meldrick and Anya Von Duren, a pair of rival jewel thieves at large in India. Both parties are after the same prize, a priceless diamond owned by the Duchess of Beltravers (Jessie Ralph). To inveigle their way into the Duchess' confidence, Gerald poses as a Scotland Yard detective, while Anya pretends to be an aristocrat. After several reels of cross-purposes, hero and heroine decide to team up, keeping one step ahead of a diligent police inspector (Matthew Boulton) and mercenary freighter captain Chang (Peter Lorre). Both Gerald and Anya betray the nobler sides of their natures in the final reels, participating in a pitched battle against invading Japanese military forces. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this fourth of 20th Century-Fox's "Mr. Moto" series, a beautiful young aviatrix (Rochelle Hudson) on a secret diplomatic mission crash-lands in a remote Indochinese jungle province ruled by a despotic potentate (J. Edward Bromberg). Japanese adventurer Mr. Moto (Peter Lorre) is in the vicinity on an archeological expedition, while two hotshot American newsreel cameramen (Robert Kent, Chick Chandler) also stumble upon the scene. The aviatrix tries to get the potentate to help quell an insurrection led by a maniacal high priest (George Regas), but it turns out that the duplicitous ruler is in on the rebellion as a means of increasing his own wealth and power. Moto takes charge by posing as the high priest; he rescues the aviatrix and the newsreel men, vanquishes the villains and destroys a munitions site. And all this in 63 minutes! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this adventure, set in Shanghai, a gunrunner gets entangled with a conspiracy to deliver customs certificates. Unfortunately, his contact has died and the money has disappeared. He being pursued by other smugglers when Japanese bombs are dropped. He is saved from the firestorm by a French singer. Together they flee the city and board a refugee ship. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

The second of eight 1930s films based on J. P. Marquand's Japanese detective, Thank You, Mr. Moto finds Moto (Peter Lorre) coming to the aid of Chinese royalty. The last remaining members of an ancient Chinese clan (Pauline Frederick and Philip Ahn) have in their possession six of seven scrolls, which when put together reveal the secret hiding place of Genghis Kahn's treasure. Moto has the seventh scroll, which he sneaks into Peking in hopes of contacting the family. The villains torture and kill the Chinese royals, then lure Moto to a rendezvous on a Chinese river junk. Moto is aided in thwarting the villains by the quick thinking of ingenue Jayne Regan; then, rather than risk the scrolls falling into the wrong hands and thus disgracing the Chinese family who died for their sake, Moto burns all seven parchments. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this anti-Japanese WW II propaganda film, Japanese invaders attempt to raid Alaska and are totally obliterated. The trouble begins when a stranger visits a small town and tells them that the U.S. is going to be taken over by a powerful country. The story turns out to be true when the Japanese bomb Pearl Harbor. The town then rises up and slaughters a Japanese raiding party. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Notorious Hollywood tightwad Sam Katzman's first serial, Shadow of Chinatown stars Bela Lugosi as Victor Poten, a Eurasian with a destructive hatred of both whites and Asians hired by Sonya Rokoff (Luana Walters) to ruin the tourist trade in San Francisco's Chinatown. But, as Sonya discovers and Poten himself acknowledges, she has inadvertently created a seemingly unstoppable "Frankenstein's monster." The forces of good opposing Poten and Rokoff include Martin Andrews (Herman Brix, aka Bruce Bennett), a novelist specializing in all things Oriental, sob-sister-turned-crime-reporter Joan Whiting (Joan Barclay), and Chinese houseboy Willy Fu (Hawaiian crooner Maurice Liu). Sonya Rokoff, whose allegiance to the madman quickly comes under some strain, is destroyed by a falling chandelier in Chapter 14, but Victor survives to be carted off to jail in the 15th and final chapter, "The Avenging Powers." Shadow of Chinatown was filmed in two weeks in Culver City, CA, and on rental stages at Hollywood's Talisman Studios. A slightly altered feature version in which Lugosi's character is killed off in the final reel was released simultaneously. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

To the world at large, Mr. Wong (Bela Lugosi) is a harmless shopkeeper in the Chinatown district (where no one seems unduly put off by his Hungarian accent) In truth, however, Wong is an eeeeevil Mandarin who'll stop at nothing to get his hands on the Twelve Coins of Confucious, which according to legend will allow him to rule over the Chinese province of Keelat. In his efforts to obtain these coins, Wong leaves a trail of corpses behind, eventually arousing the suspicions of wisecracking reporter Jason Barton (Wallace Ford). Narrowly escaping assassination in a Chinese restaurant, Barton and his sweetheart Peg (Arline Judge) take refuge in Wong's humble shop, where they stumble into a gathering of the villain's henchmen. Will our hero and heroine escape in time to thwart the sinister, seemingly all-powerful Mr. Wong? Boasting a full-blooded performance by Bela Lugosi and campy dialogue to spare (much of it astonishingly racist!), Mysterious Mr. Wong is a bad-movie buff's delight. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Harold Lloyd plays Ezekial Cobb, a missionary's son who has spent his entire life in China. Cobb is sent to his father's home church in California, where it is hoped he will find a wife. A true babe in the woods, Cobb is befriended by politician Jake Mayo (George Barbier). Mayo is a cog in a crooked political machine whose bosses plan to set up a "reform" candidate for mayor, so that they can continue their underhanded activities unmolested. The candidate drops dead, so Mayo sets up the innocent Cobb as the mayor-to-be--a "cat's paw" to deflect attention from the system's corruption. But once elected, Cobb takes his duties quite seriously and begins to clean up the town. The machine frames Cobb with planted evidence of wrongdoing, destroying the lad's political career. Undaunted, Cobb remembers the story of an ancient Chinese leader, who, similarly disgraced, took the law in his own hands and executed all known criminals in his last days of power. Cobb orders that every crook in town be rounded up and brought to a dark cellar. He insists that they confess their crimes or face instant death--and backs up his words by "beheading" two of the crooks on the spot! Actually, these executions are cleverly designed magical illusions, and no one is really killed; but the terrified criminals are so hoodwinked by Cobb's apparent cold-bloodedness that they literally climb over one another to confess. Cobb is exonerated, and honesty is restored to his administration. While not Harold Lloyd's best feature film, The Cat's Paw is definitely his most unorthodox. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide