Daughter of the Dragon

This Grade B film offers a rare opportunity to see the underused Anna May Wong in a lead role as a noted Chinese dancer on tour in London who also happens to be the daughter of the sinister Fu Manchu. Playing a Chinese detective is the Japanese actor Sessue Hayakawa no less. One can see why Hayakawa would have been a successful silent film actor with his elegant physical presence and one can simultaneously hear why he didn't cut the mustard in talkies - the accent is so thick that one must strain to understand him. He never improved. Even in late films such as THREE CAME HOME and THE BRIDGE ON THE RIVER KWAI the accent blunted the power of his performances to some extent. Warner Oland, the Swedish actor best known for playing Charlie Chan, is Fu Manchu. Finally, we also get a chance to see the fine actor Bramwell Fletcher in a rather substantial role as one of Fu Manchu's intended victims. He is probably best known as the archaeologist who screams so memorably well in THE MUMMY when the monster approaches him in a tomb. Otherwise, this film is just a passable crime melodrama with some colorful exotic touches of costuming and decor. Editing and continuity are noticeably clumsy. Wong makes a spectacular entrance dressed in a sparkling Chinese goddess gown with a huge Ziegfeld-style headdress. If this were a silent it would be worth watching just to look at her in an array of flattering outfits from scene to scene. Her emoting is as good as one could expect from the comic book-level material she is given. She had a beautiful, somewhat deep speaking voice similar to that of Claudette Colbert with just the slightest trace of an accent, making it all the more enchanting to the ear. Judged on its own terms, DAUGHTER OF THE DRAGON is a reasonably diverting suspense offering with some real excitement in the final reel as the bad guys fight it out with the heroes as well as a beautiful and romantic closing shot which I won't give away.

Dr. Fu Manchu (Warner Oland) terrorized London looking for undeserved revenge against the Petrie family. With his supposed death twenty years before, the terror is over. Unaware of her own origins, his daughter Princess Ling Moy (Anna May Wong) lives next to the Petries. At Scotland Yard, Sir Basil Courtney is warned by Ah Kee of the return of Fu Manchu.

There is a case of racism especially with Fu Manchu. It's a modern criticism of old Hollywood with a white actor playing a cartoon Chinese villain. At least, this does have Chinese actress Anna May Wong. She's very appealing. There is too much standing and talking for my modern tastes. For its era, this is more good than not good. The use of Asian actors as leads is commendable.

Early talkie bears no resemblance to the book on which it is supposedly based. Wong is lovely, rest of cast wooden in tale of Fu Manchu's daughter carrying out her father's vengeance. Early Hayakawa is interesting. Several scenes, especially last ten minutes, still pack a punch, such as Hayakawa's sacrificing himself to warn others. Oland, as Fu, shows opposite of later casting as Charlie Chan.

Warner Oland played the sinister Dr. Fu Manchu in a series of three pre-Code movies: The Mysterious Dr. Fu Manchu (1929), The Return of Dr. Fu Manchu (1930), and finally this one, Daughter of the Dragon (1931). It has the disadvantage that it's the sequel to the sequel, repeating the concept that Fu Manchu had actually not died in the previous film, but the advantage that it stars the lovely Anna May Wong. What a concept, an actual Asian actor in an Asian role, and a primary role at that - and not just her, but also a detective (Sessue Hayakawa). It was Wong's first talking picture, and the first time two major Asian stars appeared in the same movie.

Unfortunately, the plot is pretty contrived and the pace is creaky. Early on, Fu Manchu has a drug that allows him to both choke a person and control their mind, which is a little comical. However, after failing to complete his revenge on a wealthy family, he passes the torch to his daughter, Anna May Wong. Using secret passageways and her feminine wiles, she attempts to fulfill her promise, but things get complicated when she begins having feelings for both her target (Bramwell Fletcher) and the detective (Hayakawa).

There are some beautiful shots of Wong in the film, and mercifully the film is not blatantly racist. She oftentimes uses her character's name instead of the pronoun "I" in sentences, and where the idea an Asian person who otherwise speaks perfect English would do this is baffling. Otherwise, her character is strong, smart, and beautiful, though subject to the script's questionable character motivations, which have her swinging between love and murderous rage kind of oddly. As in other films, I'm not wild about Warner Oland in the role, but he turns in a decent enough performance. It was refreshing to see Fletcher have a romantic interest in Wong without recriminations, since miscegenation was so taboo then.

The film just squeaks by with an average rating, but I bumped it up a bit because of Wong and Hayakawa. If those actors don't appeal to you in any particular way, I'd probably advise skipping this one. If you're interested in a more entertaining and campy plot, where Fu Manchu is played by Boris Karloff and with Myrna Loy as his 'exotic' assistant, I would recommend 'The Mask of Fu Manchu' (1932), though that one does dial up the stereotypes and 'yellow fear'.

This film continues the saga of Fu Manchu, whose wife and son were killed by a member of the Petrie family. After killing two of the four males in the family, he was not seen or heard of for 20 years and presumed dead. He returns, kills Sir John Petrie, but is shot before he could kill the last one. Anna May Wong plays exotic dancer Ling Moy who finds out Fu Manchu is her father and vows to kill the last member of the Petrie family. The film goes from there, as you see whether the revenge will be carried out. This film is a bit campy and very dramatic but it boasts the talents of two major Asian actors in the early years of cinema. Sessue Hayakawa plays officer Ah Kee, and you may remember him for his Oscar winning work in "The Bridge On The River Kwai" decades later. He was a star before this film also. Anna May Wong was an accomplished actress and later stage performer in China and Europe, even though she was born in the United States. An uncommonly beautiful lady, every film I've seen her in is worth watching. So is this one, its a good drama. It is actually not 79 minutes, the version I watched is 69 minutes. Its a good afternoon film, moving along at a good pace. The cable television station TCM recently did a tribute to Asian actors and featured Mr. Hayakawa and Ms. Wong. If they decide to repeat any of their films, they are all good. You can enjoy this one also.