Daughter of Shanghai

Anna May Wong's father is killed because he will not cooperate with a gang that smuggles illegal Chinese emigrants into the US. Miss Wong goes undercover to help Federal agent Philip Ahn track down the mysterious head of the ring.

Paramount gave Miss Wong a push upward with top billing on this B movie directed by Robert Florey. She's certainly given a splashy entrance in a spectacular Chinese costume, but despite popping in and out as she goes dance hall girl somewhere in the islands back to the US, the story is diffuse. Intercut with her, we see Ahn's slow track dealing with slow-witted goons, and a large cast of performers adding attraction to the story: Charles Bickford, Buster Crabbe, Cecil Cunningham, J. Carrol Naish, Anthony Quinn, Evelyn Brent... even though there are a lot of Chinese-American performers here, they're almost all uncredited.

It's the same sort of story that Poverty Row producers had been telling for a couple of years, with the sort of gloss that Paramount could provide mostly coming from Charles Schoenbaum's photography. Clearly they were aiming at a sort of Von Sternberg look that lends this a pre-noir air, but the script is too straightforward for much more than an entertaining flick.

These are indeed heady times for fans of the actress Anna May Wong. Not only are there two (2!) biographies of the woman in recent release, but a documentary of Anna May's life is purportedly in the works, a restored print of Wong's late silent classic "Piccadilly" has just been released, AND, for those lucky of us to live in NYC, an Anna May Wong retrospective has just unreeled in this town's Museum of Modern Art. Although hugely popular in the 1920s and '30s, up until recently Hollywood's first Asian actress of any kind of renown has languished in relative obscurity, known only to fans of old-timey movies...perhaps. When I told some coworkers that I was going to see some Anna May, I half expected them to make some remark about Japanese comics (anime). I have been a fan of Ms. Wong's for many years now, although that fandom has been largely based on just a handful of films, most especially the 1932 von Sternberg classic "Shanghai Express." Her part in this picture is not large, but she makes such a mysterious and exotic impression that that brief performance was enough to make a convert of me. With the exception of the 1949 film noir "Impact" and one or two others, though, it has been extremely hard for fans of this once-famous actress to see her other work. It was therefore with great anticipation that I attended the MoMA's double bill of two of Anna May's rare '30s work: "Dangerous to Know" and "Daughter of Shanghai." The first is a compact little B picture, in which Anna May is the kept mistress of crime boss Akim Tamiroff. It was a lot of fun, and very interesting, but the latter is the one that I really enjoyed. Anna May is without question the star of "DOS," and the picture, although admittedly in the B category, is as fun as can be. In this one, Ms. Wong plays the daughter of a Chinese shop owner in San Francisco. When her dad is killed by alien smugglers who are pressuring him into taking on a load of their human cargo, Anna May goes undercover to track down the bad guys. Her quest takes her to Central America, where she winds up taking a job as a dancer in one of the seediest dives you've ever seen on film. The owner of this joint is Charles Bickford, who is believed to be one of the heads of the smuggling operation. "DOS" features some surprisingly gritty action scenes, and some real cliffhanger moments. Ms. Wong is aided in her quest to smash the alien smugglers by a G-man played by Philip Ahn. I'd never seen Mr. Ahn play a "good guy" before; he was so often cast as a sneaky weasel type. Anyway, he's very effective in the role of Anna May's partner. J. Carrol Naish and Anthony Quinn (in a very early role) are both hissably fun as two of the nasty smugglers. It is really quite remarkable how much story and action are packed into this film's short, 63-minute running time. And for fans of Anna May Wong, the picture is heavenly. What a delight it is to see this charming actress take the lead role in a smashing action picture, and go undercover in that Central American sleazepit. The audience at the MoMA burst into spontaneous applause at the conclusion of this nifty B picture, and that applause was certainly merited. This is one fun hour at the movies!

One of the most frustrating things about being a classic film fan is keenly knowing how many talented people's careers were inhibited by the racism of the period. Anna May Wong was a gifted actress with a unique, beautiful face, and yet her roles were often limited due to her Chinese heritage. DAUGHTER OF SHANGHAI was allegedly her favorite of her films because for once the Chinese characters were the heroes-- and they were actually played by Asian characters rather than white actors in yellowface.

DAUGHTER OF SHANGHAI is a better than average potboiler. It's fast-paced like a serial and the atmosphere is one of heady adventure. But it is Anna May Wong who is the central attraction, outthinking her enemies and kicking ass. I really loved her character and am so glad this film still exists. It's such a shame opportunities like this were so few for Wong.

If there was a role for an asian female from 1920 to 1950, Anna Wong was first in line to get it! she was actually born in Los Angeles, but could play so many foreign, exotic types. Co-stars Charles Bickford, Buster Crabbe, Anthony Quinn, Philip Ahn. someone is smuggling people into the US, and when they knock off her father, Lan Ying Lin (Wong) goes to rich old Mrs. Hunt (Cecil Cunningham) for help. everyone knows that "Hartman" is the guy smuggling people underground, but no-one seems to be able to find him or track him down. we go to Port O'Juan, where she sees the whole operation. Lan wants to take the ledgers and bring em back as evidence, but it will be dangerous. this is another film where we sail off to the exotic "south seas", but we're really on the back lot of hollywood. pretty good stuff. fun to tag along as the adventure unfolds. In the happy years between the depression and WW II.

Anna May Wong and Charles Bickford make this human-trafficking film work very well. There is a shocking scene at the very beginning of the film where a load of illegals are just dumped into the ocean to avoid legal problems with the air patrol. Anthony Quinn, in an early role, does the dumping. Philip Ahn, the Master in the Kung Fu series with David Carradine, plays an undercover cop, and Wong has her own agenda to take down the notorious human traffickers. An entertaining film from beginning to end.