Where East Is East

This film is so easy to watch and enjoy, Lupe Velez is a great under-rated actress and such an expert at pantomime (when she is happy, the viewer is happy, when she is sad, the viewer is sad). It could have been filmed with synchronous sound, but it is superb as a silent with some subtle sound effects. Lupe's eyes and body poses tell all her emotions, and her smile is so charming when it blossoms on screen into laughter. Lon Chaney is, well, um Lon Chaney, but there are some strange seamy undertones of incest with his jealous protection of Lupe (playing his daughter, Toyo) particularly when he pretends to be a tiger crouching on the floor and growling at Toyo whose laughter turns to tears as she rushes into his lap to cry and says she does "not want to play". Estelle Taylor as the absentee mother is sultry, seductive and gorgeous, her exotic costumes are extensions of her character. The surprise is that Lupe (the STAR) does not have any fantastic gowns to wear, not even at her own engagement dinner party. The scene with the enraged gorilla walking up the stairs to find her mother is chilling. Seems like the gorilla's eyes were visually enhanced, they shone with anger! You knew something awful would happen when the gorilla went insane when the mother showed up unexpectedly at the house. (Only Lon Chaney could have a caged pet African gorilla in Asia). A woman servant in the house prayed for the ancestors to remove the evil - that woman was the sweeter counterpart of the mother's personal maid who constantly betrays her. I kept waiting for the gorilla to get loose and I was not surprised. Reminds me of the climactic scenes at the end of "FREAKS" .. you never see the horrible brutality being committed, but you can easily imagine it. Estelle's wide open eyes were the same as Olga Baclanova's eyes in the rain before she was "chickenized". From start to finish the viewer correctly imagines the conclusion of all events, but you want to keep watching, and congratulate yourself for being right. This is film as art. This is very much a TOD BROWNING film.

Lon Chaney hunts the jungles of French Indo-China for ferocious animals to sell to zoos and circuses. With this he maintains a nice house in Saigon, where he lives comfortably with his daughter, Lupe Velez. When she announces she's in love with Lloyd Hughes, he's skeptical. His lack of faith grows when they run into Estelle Taylor on ship upriver; she finds out he's Miss Velez' fiancee and proceeds to vamp him. Chaney explains she's his daughter's mother. They return to his house, but Miss Taylor follows them.

It's director Tod Browning's last silent movie, filled with his usual depravity, and Miss Taylor's eye makeup is quite remarkable, as is her placid, self-satisfied voraciousness. With Willie Fung, Chris-Pin Martin, and the inevitable Charles Gemora as a gorilla.

The plot to "Where East Is East" is a bit kinky...and probably something the studios wouldn't have been allowed to make after the new, toughened Production Code took effect in mid-1934. While there's no nudity in the film, its plot is pretty odd and definitely pushed the boundaries back in 1929.

The story is set in Southeast Asia. Toyo (Lupe Velez) has fallen for Bobby and they plan on marrying. However, before this Bobby and her father, 'Tiger' (Lon Chaney) are taking a trip together. On the ship, Bobby is vamped by an older woman, Madame de Silva. However, what Bobby doesn't know is that de Silva is his fiancee's estranged mother!!! And, when Tiger tells his ex-wife what she is doing, she doesn't seem to care....and actually seems to think it's even more of a challenge! Will this horny cougar destroy the upcoming nuptials or will something happen to stop this heartless woman?

Now my first thought about all this is that the mother isn't the main villain. After all, Bobby is engaged and chasing another woman....so I was kinda hoping Tiger would punch him in the mush or toss him overboard during their trip. What actually does happen? See the film.

While the film was very well made and acted, it should, of course, be pointed out that the Asians are not played by Asians. This was the norm in 1929 and my attitude is to look past this and realize it was just a product of its times and refusing to watch a film because of this seems like a bit of an overreaction...especially since it is such a good film. I loved Chaney in particular in the movie, as he not only was a very good actor but the makeup job he did on himself to make it look like his face had been mauled years ago was VERY convincing....not gross but pretty realistic. What's a bit less realistic is the guy in the gorilla suit...albeit it's a great looking gorilla suit compared to most in older films.

As far as the story goes, it is lurid but also quite exciting. The sets and costumes are also lovely and, fortunately, most of the extras are actually Asians by heritage. Compared to other full length silents, it's quite good and still is very watchable.

By the way, after the movie I thought "What's a gorilla doing in Southeast Asia?!"....and that is a puzzler!!

"Where East is East" is another entertaining and somewhat disturbing film from Director Tod Browning and Lon Chaney, this one set in Asia. Chaney plays a wild animal trainer whose daughter (Lupe Vélez) falls in love with a young man (Lloyd Hughes). After some initial reluctance, Chaney supports their intended marriage, but then trouble comes in the form of Madame de Sylva (Estelle Taylor), an Asian seductress. As she moves in on Hughes, we find out she's actually Chaney's old wife and Vélez's mother, who abandoned them long ago. A disturbing love triangle is thus formed between a young man and a mother and her daughter. Chaney snarls and is and tries to protect his daughter, compelling as always, but it's the women who steal this show. Vélez is a bundle of energy and plays her part with a touching innocence and charm, and Taylor absolutely lights up the screen from the moment she appears – her face and hair are just stunning. The two of them and a macabre (if a bit contrived) ending easily make this a film worth watching.

Some notes of interest in the personal lives of the cast: Chaney would sadly die just one year later, and Vélez and Taylor would become such close friends that it would be Taylor at Vélez's side the night she committed suicide 15 years later.

Also, some notes on the subject of race, always a lightning rod in watching these old films: It's disappointing that none of the principal Asian roles are played by Asians, Asian countries and cultures are muddled together, and Asian characters are shown butchering basic grammar even when they should be speaking in their native languages to one another. On the other hand, Browning doesn't play to other stereotypes, wisely doesn't attempt to make Taylor or Vélez look "more Asian" with garish make-up, knowing it would be ridiculous (see Renee Adoree in 1927's Mr. Wu, among others), and also includes three lines in correct Chinese, as opposed to putting up a hodgepodge of nonsensical characters. (And interestingly enough, he doesn't even translate those lines into English.) Not bad, especially for 1929.

Where East is East (1929)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

Set in China, Lon Chaney plays animal trapper Tiger Haynes who has spent his entire life making sure his daughter (Lupe Velez) is happy. She informs him that she's going to marry a man (Lloyd Hughes) but soon her estranged mother (Estelle Taylor) shows up to cause trouble and try to steal the man from her. This would be the final time that star Chaney and director Browning would work together and sadly it's not nearly as good as many of their films together. This certainly isn't a bad movie but at the same time when you consider the talent involved you can't help but be somewhat disappointed. Those expecting a horror film or for that matter anything bizarre are going to be disappointed because this is a pretty straight melodrama. The story itself is a pretty weak one as you sit there waiting for some sort of big revelation to happen but it really never does. The story is played right down the middle and when the film is over you get pretty much everything you'd expect but at the same time you'll be wondering what the entire point was. There really aren't any major twists in the story and anyone will see the ending coming. What makes the film worth viewing are the performances with Chaney leading the way. It's a shame some people have labeled him (incorrectly) a "horror star" because he was always capable of so much more and you can see that here. It's hard to think of very many other actors who could deliver so much emotion in their face but Chaney delivers the goods and manages to make Tiger a memorable character. Thankfully he has a strong supporting cast with Taylor doing a terrific job in her part. The screenplay doesn't do her any favors but the actor is really terrific on screen and you can't help be drawn to her character. Velez is excellent in her role and manages to have a great relationship with Chaney. Their early scenes together are so fun because they really do come across as a real father and daughter. The sex appeal is also quite high with Velez. There's no question the screenplay is a problem but another issue is the direction by Browning. Those expecting to see that wonderful style and vision are going to be disappointed because this looks like anyone could have directed it. Browning turned in some lazy directorial jobs in this period and sadly this is one of them. With that said, fans of Chaney will certainly want to check it out and at just 67-minutes there's really nothing too bad that would make you want to stay away.