Hollywood Party

When this short was produced in 1937 three strip technicolor had only been in use four years. The color photography is beautiful and vibrant -astonishing really when you first see it. The subject matter is another matter. This short has an Asian theme with obviously Caucasian actors and actresses masquerading as Asians in full Asian dress. There is much poking fun at Asian speech and manners. Black Americans are also stereotyped in this film. All of the latter greatly detract from the film. As far as subject matter is concerned the only sensible moment in the whole thing is a brief appearance of Anna May Wong. There are also very brief cameo introductions of Clark Gable, Joe E. Brown and Freddie Bartholomew. So, from a technical point - wonderful, from all other points - a disaster by current standards.

Apart from its historic value as an early example of Technicolor, this is a truly dreadful film. In fact, even the Technicolor itself was just awful--with way over-saturated colors that were very, very hard on the eyes--particularly the greens and pinks.

As for the plot, there isn't much of one. Charley Chase and some lady are the emcees at some bizarre beach party where they and some not especially talented performers act Chinese--or at least act like a dreadful stereotype of Chinese circa 1937. Chase, who could be a funny man, was given absolutely NOTHING to do but make slant-eyed faces at the camera and speak in an awful Chinese-like accent.

In addition to the dreadful acts and narration, there are some very pointless cameos by Clark Gable, Joe E. Brown and others. All the appearances really amount to are exceptionally short clips of only a couple seconds that have no relationship to the rest of the film.

Dumb, pointless and wretched--this is a terrible short that only has some tiny historical value and is as entertaining as watching paint dry. Sadly, while this sappy Hollywoodized version of China was presented, the real plight of the Chinese (who had been invaded and decimated by the Japanese during the 1930s) was never mentioned--they all were portrayed more like "happy children".

The premise of this 20-minute short is an Asian-based Hollywood theme party, a light bit of fluff with a few musical/dance numbers. Most of it is entertaining and harmless, but there are some exceptions, most notably with host Charley "Chan" Chase, who appears fresh off of having left Hal Roach. He treats this like a Halloween party of sorts, donning an obviously fake Fu Manchu mustache and traditional Chinese clothes. Several times he mimics stereotypical broken English while doling out his humor ("Old Chinese proverb say, when on visit, always give hostess the bird," he says, offering his co-host, Elissa Landi, some parrots). There are a couple of other examples of this, including some band members who briefly imitate Mandarin or Cantonese by squawking unintelligibly. A few of the dancers wear Eastern outfits, but there are no attempts at cultural accuracy when they perform, and at times it feels like the broad brushstroke "Asian" cultures are being treated like a cartoon.

I don't believe there was anything at all malicious intended here and there are far worse films from the period, including some that still remain popular. Most of those present appear normally, like Elissa Landi, who has class as a host, and no one appears in exaggerated yellow-face, with eyelids taped, saying or doing aggressively demeaning things. However, at a minimum, there is a level of cultural ignorance and insensitivity that's distressing to modern eyes, and certainly has to be acknowledged.

On the other hand, I would say if you can get through the initial antics of Charley Chase, there are also some pretty nice things to be found here. At the top of that list is Anna May Wong, who is radiant, cultured, fashionable, and gorgeous. It was a treasure to see her here - and what better way to refute the silly affected accents of others than speaking fluently in direct contrast to them? Having just returned from her trip to China following the biggest injustice and disappointment in her career, not being cast as O-Lan in The Good Earth, she puts on a short fashion show. Also, by asking her assistant if she speaks "Beiping Hua" (Beiping being the name in use for Beijing at the time), she subtly points out that Mandarin and Cantonese are separate languages.

Another big highlight were the vibrant colors and beautiful cinematography of James Wong Howe. The use of Technicolor at the vanguard of the technology really showed off the flowers in the setting and the various outfits of the dancers. Howe's framing and color composition on shots like the musical group The Jones Boys gave the simple show high production value.

Much of the rest of the show is simply Western entertainment of the period. This includes:

• The arrival of Clark Gable, Joan Bennett, Joe Morrison, and Freddie Bartholomew through doorways framed in flowers, Morrison "making" a sound by opening his hands like a pair of jaws.

• The Jones Boys performing Chinatown, My Chinatown with nice guitar and vocalization while the Ahern Sisters dance about.

• Sunnie O'Dea performing a tap dance routine after being carried in on a litter.

• Al Lyons and his band performing Igga Dagga, with some humorous lyrics and a variety of musical instruments, including the accordion and one band member playing both the saxophone and clarinet at the same time.

• Betty Jane Rhodes, Leon Janney, and Joe Morrison sing "South Sea Island Magic," with the scene shifting to white dancers in hula skirts on the beach, seen initially through blinds. One of the dancers then performs an interpretation of the hula.

• Jack Goode and his female "graduates" performing a little soft shoe number.

Each segment is just a couple/few minutes long, and the show moves along quickly. None of it is extraordinary, but it had a laidback charm to it. There is also a skit developed in the background with a drunk guy (Leon Errol) trying to order a drink from a "Chinese" bartender who can't understand him. The Caucasian actor playing the bartender warbles in broken Chinese (to say the least) but appears to say "wo bu zhidao" (I don't know) at the end of his lines. The drunk then just helps himself to the liquor. Silly stuff, providing a silly ending.

Overall, at a bare minimum, watch this for Anna May Wong, and the work of James Wong Howe. Try to get past the problematic bits, and enjoy the musical numbers.

This short serves as both a fashion show and as a demonstration of the beauty of Technicolor. It's interesting as the former and terrific as the latter. As others have pointed out, the color is superb--clear, crisp and deep as only three-strip Technicolor can be, and while I've never been much of a connoisseur of '30s fashions, I actually liked some of the stuff I saw here. There's one segment with a bevy of showgirls passing in a sort of "Miss America" review dressed in some Las Vegas-type costumes that rank among the skimpiest I've ever seen in a non-stag movie of that period--not that I'm complaining--that serves to show off both the costumes' spectacular colors and the girls' spectacular bodies (which it does to a very satisfying degree; I don't know how MGM got away with showing so many almost-nude women back then). There's a rather boring hula by a woman who fortunately looks good but unfortunately can't dance very well, a forced and unfunny "novelty" Spike Jones-type number by the Al Lyons Band, a rather pedestrian tap dancing act, a few other musical interludes--none of them even remotely memorable--and some VERY brief cameos by such MGM stars as Clark Gable and Joan Bennett. The film's main drawback, however, is the premise--a group of white actors dressing up and acting like "Chinamen" (comedian Charley Chase is particularly embarrassing doing an awful Fu Manchu/Charlie Chan impersonation), including everyone from the band to the waiters. Leon Errol does his patented drunk routine but it doesn't seem to really have anything to do with the movie--it just involves him and a waiter for a minute or two and then they're gone--and a quartet of black singers does a clever "hum" of "Chinatown My Chinatown". Even for the "unenlightened" 1930s, this short really pours on the stereotypes about Asians, especially Chinese. It gets embarrassing every so often--well, okay, it gets embarrassing A LOT--but even so, it's extremely interesting as an historical document. I gave it four stars: two for the beautiful color (and zero for the lame musical numbers, the witless "comedy" and the offensive and insulting racial stereotyping) and two for the all-too-brief appearance of the luminous Anna May Wong, who looks sexier than I've ever seen her (and in color, yet!) modeling a beautiful blue (apparently silk) gown and then an even more beautiful yellow one. She just radiates charm, grace and class, three things this short is completely devoid of. It could have used much more of her and much less of everybody else.

This is a 20 min short Chinese-themed outdoor garden party hosted by Elissa Landi and Charley Chase playing Charley Chan Chase. The performers are vaudevillian depictions of Chinese culture. It does have Chinese-American actress Anna May Wong doing a short presentation. Otherwise, it's mostly white performers dressed in Chinese costumes and one black comedy musical group.

On the technical side, this has the brilliant Technicolor. The green is brilliantly green. The primary colors really pop. It's a great example of early color on film. The production value is good for an outdoor party. Most comments are concentrating on the racial insensitivity. Let's be clear. This is racially insensitive... for today. They are however not mean-spirited in their depictions. It is a show of its time. Making the point even more clearer is the presence of Anna May Wong. I'm not saying it's right but it wasn't wrong back then. It's just very icky now. Otherwise, this is standard vaudeville of that era and it's hard to judge the skill level. It doesn't make me laugh but I do understand the attempted concepts. The colors are great and I always applaud any movie that would have Anna May Wong.