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A group of Chinese farmers are being worked by the occupying Japanese army during World War II, while secretly working their underground movement to end the oppression. Kwan Mei, whose family was killed by the invaders, is questioned by the Japanese concerning the whereabouts of an American flier that was shot down. General Kaimura is taken by Kwan Mei's beauty and becomes his mistress, but she uses this to her advantage in order to obtain information vital to the Allied war effort. When she learns of a Japanese troop train that is to arrive, it is up to her to lead her fellow Chinese and allies to intercept it, overcoming the obstacles of the Japanese army and her fellow farmers who believe she betrayed them to the enemy. Very good propaganda film from PRC, which should have been done at another studio so its message of sacrifice and camaraderie would have been heard by more. Wong is simply terrific in her role as the clever Kwan Mei and her message at the end of the film captures the essence of every person oppressed by an evil captor. The scenes with Clarke, Donath, and the American fliers really take away from the main essence of the film and just seem to pad the running time. Worth a look. Rating, 7.

"Lady from Chungking" was a Wartime propaganda-style Flag-Waver made on a shoestring budget that really shows. The only real reason for watching this film today is for its' star, Anna May Wong.

Ms. Wong's career was a study in contrast and conflict. The conflict was her battle for professional recognition and against prejudice. The contrast was that so often her genuine talent and truly great beauty and poise was put on display alongside actors who couldn't hold a candle to her and in films made as cheaply as possible.

"Lady from Chungking", although made relatively late in her career, is a typical example of all the above. Ms. Wong OWNS every scene she appears in - as was true of most her work. Her co-stars appear dull and forced beside her. The "Chinese" sets are nothing but trinkets and wall-hangings and cheap furniture - usually dimly lit in hopes we won't notice. The Japanese general's uniform looks like it came from leftovers of "The Emperor Jones". As is typical of these films, only REAL Asian actors sound legit(because they talk like the ordinary Americans they were), while all the Whites playing Asian roles sound incredibly Racist and Fake precisely because they are trying to sound Asian!!

Then just when you're ready to chuck the whole thing - along comes another scene with Anna May Wong. She was an excellent talent, a True Star, and a Fashion Icon in her day and it is obvious every time she is on camera. There are certainly better Anna May Wong films out there but if this one is available take the chance to see it. Ms. Wong is the "Pearl" in this oyster of a film and you will be rewarded if you take the time to find her in it.

Six Stars only as even Anna can't work miracles here.

Overall, this is a solid if unspectacular wartime drama, with a message that was important at the time. But Anna May Wong's performance lifts it well above the norm for its genre, and although it seems likely that she was cast primarily so as to lend her charm and her reputation to the movie's message, the movie serves quite well as a showcase for her own considerable abilities.

The story has Wong as the leader of a resistance group to the Japanese occupation of China, and while the film definitely has a low-budget look to it, the atmosphere is generally convincing. Mae Clarke does a good job and is rather appealing herself, as a cynical singer whose loyalties are obscure. As the Japanese general with whom Wong's character must match wits, Harold Huber is too obviously not Asian for the role to work completely, but he does do a solid job of portraying the general as greedy yet short-sighted, egotistical but foolish.

Wong gets plenty of good material to work with, and she does an excellent job with all of it. At times she must act as a meek subject of the occupiers, at other times a tough-minded leader in a desperate situation. Then, in the scenes when she tries to win the general's confidence, she is finally able to do justice to her beauty and her elegant reserve. She makes it very convincing to believe that she could captivate a man much tougher than General Kaimura. Finally, in the speech that drives home the movie's message, her voice works very well in delivering the message.

Anna May Wong is certainly better remembered for her roles in other, far more lavish productions than this. Without her, "Lady from Chungking" would a well-meaning but generally nondescript feature. But it's easily worth seeing for the opportunities that it gives her to provide an example of her wide range of abilities.

This is a stilted and rather creaky wartime film, made on a low budget and meant to boost morale, so it certainly won't be for everyone. It made for interesting viewing for me, however, because of the luminous presence of Anna May Wong, who didn't disappoint. It's fantastic that her character is the leader of the Chinese resistance to Japanese occupation which gave the film an unexpected aspect of feminism, and her performance is strong. Mae Clarke is wonderful here too. The story is skeletal and rather hokey, but there is power in the film being set in China given the atrocities that were taking place there, and Wong's speech at the end still inspires:

"You cannot kill me. You cannot kill China. Not even a million deaths could crush the soul of China, for the soul of China is eternal. When I die, a million will take my place, and nothing can stop them, neither hunger, nor torture, nor the firing squad. We shall live on until the enemy is driven back over scorched land and hurled into the sea. That time will come soon, for the armies of decency and liberty are on the march. China's destiny is victory. It will live because human freedom will not perish. Out of the ashes of ruin and the old hatreds, the force of peace will prevail, until the world is again sane and beautiful."

Anna May Wong's regal beauty and charisma stands out like a diamond in a in a sea of rhinestones in Lady From Chungking, one of two wartime propaganda film she did for PRC Pictures. The film looks like it was shot on a western film location and has some western like aspects.

Anna's a patrician lady here who is doing a little espionage work for the Chinese Resistance. Once exposed to her charms Japanese general Harold Huber shows absolutely no resistance. Mata Hari had nothing on Anna May Wong.

This film's location is some backwater part of western China. Until Chiang Kai-Shek chose it as his capital in exile Chungking itself was as backwater a town as you could find. Huber's presence means that a Japanese army can't be far behind and Anna's mission is to find out what Huber is up to.

in the backwater is also Ludwig Donath as a German café owner with Mae Clarke who plays a singer in his dive. Clarke is an anachronism here. Her character is supposed to the daughter of a Russian father and an American mother and Clarke's never seen the USA. She may never have seen it, but she sure sounds it. She must have listened to a lot of radio broadcasts and seen a lot of movies, especially Joan Blondell movies.

Add a couple of downed Flying Tigers, Rick Vallin and Paul Bryar who is from, where else, Brooklyn and you have all the ingredients.

Anna May Wong gives this film an extra couple of notches, but it's still a Poverty Row PRC film and that's never a good sign.

The US does not have a cornered market on Jingoistic films during WW 2. The Chinese (and French) also had their share of Jingoistic films. This is one of them. All these films have one thing in common; they overemphasize the romantic notion that 90% of the occupied country (China, France etc) was ready to resist and stand up against the invader at a moment's notice. Unfortunately, this was not true. A small, courageous percentage of Chinese and French resisted the Japanese and Germans ACTIVELY. The vast majority of the populations of both China and France did not ACTIVELY resist; but PASSIVELY resisted. This film is well-made and has a good story line. The acting is top-notch, and even the blond airhead with the Mae West mannerisms does a decent job. But Anna May Wong was a legitimate first-rate actress and she steals the film. She is the first lady of Chinese Cinema and the predecessor of Gong Li, the second great wave actress from China. Yes, the film is anti-Japanese in every respect, as it well should be. This is why China and Japan will never be allies in Asia. Worth viewing.

Anna May Wong plays the leader of a Chinese resistance group under the control of Japanese invaders during World War 2. Basically, she is the only good thing about the film. Wong fools the Japanese General Harold Huber that she loves him so that she can obtain information about incoming Japanese troops which she can then pass on to the Resistance fighters. She gets the required info and carries out her own mission. It's an OK film that is carried by Anna May Wong. It has a cheesy preachy ending and the cast are all wrong except the actual Chinese people and Wong. It scores marks for its different setting and for Wong. That's it – nothing more to say.

I saw this film at the Museum of the Moving Image in Astoria, Queens quite by accident; film screenings are included in the price of admission. (If you get the chance, be sure to visit the museum. It is a wonderful small museum.) My husband and I loved the film. While the picture quality and the sound were not great it was manageable. In the context of the time period, the story line is realistic and Wong was excellent in the title role. I will be sure to look for more films with her. If you get a chance to see this, it is definitely worthwhile. Another piece of history to fill in the gaps left out of the history books.

Anna May Wong lends much more dignity--and professionalism--to this cheapjack PRC production than it deserves. Directed by Monogram stalwart William Nigh--he must have misbehaved and was punished by being loaned out to PRC--and written by longtime hacks Sam Robins and Milton Raison, this bears all the hallmarks of a PRC production that we've come to know and love: tinny sound, at times barely visible photography, inconsistent scripting and amateurish performances from newcomers on their way up and over-the-top performances from veterans on their way down. This one has Wong as the leader of a Chinese group resisting the Japanese occupation of China during World War II, and must match wits with a wily Japanese general (Harold Huber, miscast again, as he often was). I gave this three stars, based entirely on Wong's presence. She was almost criminally misused by Hollywood over the years, and she deserved better--and she certainly deserved better than this. Without her, it wouldn't be worth watching.

Anna May Wong gives a poised and dignified starring performance that fully demonstrates a great but indefinable quality: screen presence. It is even more remarkable since this film has a grade-c level budget.

Harold Huber is miscast as a Japanese General (he often was miscast in his movie roles) but he does manage to subdue his usual tendency to shout dialog, and imbues his performance with the pompousness and ego that the character requires.

Ms. Wong is convincing as a leader of brave Chinese WWII resistance, a cause that was close to her international viewpoint and efforts at the time.

I would give a 10 star rating to Ms. Wong and maybe a 5 to the film itself. But I absolutely recommend that everyone view "Lady From Chungking" for Anna May Wong's performance. It is indisputably the performance of a true Movie Star.

This turns out to be a very watchable programmer from PRC. Anna May Wong commands the screen throughout and Mae Clarke isn't bad either. The whole story is told in little more than an hour, as per most poverty row productions, and considering the budget, it looks rather convincing. These little studios gave some one-time big stars such as those in this film a chance to show that they still had it. The production is directed by poverty row ace William Nigh, who does a fairly good job here. This was obviously but one of dozens of WW2 propaganda films, but this still has the power to entertain. Available on DVD or streaming on YouTube.

That's a direct quote from one of the American fliers in this rugged PRC paean to the Glory of China and the March of Democracy. And only a fool would argue with the assessment. There's some surprisingly nasty stuff in this for the early 1940s. And of course Anna May Wong continues to hold down her position as the No. 1 most beautiful female actress of all time. Plus, we get Mae Clarke. See it.

To focus on the archaic aspects of this film, like having a white man play a Japanese general (which, of course, is extremely unconvincing and just comes off as silly, on top of being a terrible practice of those decades), is to ignore what it did right and that was unheard of among other films of the time. This is Anna May Wong's film all the way, an Asian-American woman in a respectable lead role, and she does a great job in it. Her final scenes actually gave me chills. It takes a lot to make a viewer forget about the silliness of Japanese general being clearly played by an actor of European descent and put the viewer back into a suspension of disbelief. I'd say it's my favorite of her roles. And besides the general, I think pretty much every other Asian role is played by someone that's actually of East-Asian descent. And if one female action hero wasn't enough, this film actually has two women leading the turning of the tide on the fortunes of the Japanese invaders. One more issue I have, though, is of course the racist language towards the Japanese, but that's honestly just realistic and expected from anyone who faced the Japanese as enemies at the time. I was going to give this a 7, but Anna May Wong's final scenes made me push it to an 8.