DAUGHTER OF SHANGHAI-1937-Lan Ying Lin (Anna May Wong) wants revenge on the smugglers who killed her dad when he threatened to expose their gang leader Frank Barton (J Carroll Nash; known for playing phony Asians) and his thugs (including Buster Crabbe and Anthony Quinn) who deal in illegal aliens. She tries to find out the identity of the mysterious Hartman (Charles Bickford) and his dealings in human traffic. Federal agent Kim Lee (Philip Ahn) goes undercover to discover the big boss, who turns out to be a seemingly kind and caring rich woman, Mary Hunt (Cecil Cunningham) whose chauffeur turns against her and helps stop her.
This Paramount production is one of those unique features that has 2 actual Asian actors in the leads! Anna May Wong also made WHEN WERE YOU BORN? the same year and later would find decent roles hard to come by. Director Robert Florey manages to rise above the mundane story line to make this a great but forgotten vehicle for Wong.
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