Horoscope Mystery

 

 (imdb)

WHEN WERE YOU BORN?-1938-Interesting but forgotten Warner Brothers mystery feature with Anna May Wong as astrologer Mei Lei Ming and her pet monkey. She predicts the death of a merchant named Corey (James Stephenson) who's partner (fake Chinese) Mr. Gow (Leonard Mudie) wants some letters Corey had in his safe. Through the use of the horoscope Mei helps fat police Sgt. Kelly (Frank Jacuet) and Inspector Gregg (Charles Wilson) solve the case. Who's the culprit? Doris Kane (top billed Margaret Lindsey), Corey's fiancée? Her brother Harry (Anthony Averell), who had an argument with Corey? How about Shields (Eric Stanley), Corey's butler? Olin Howland is a lawyer in one scene. 

Bela Lugosi's pal, Manly P. Hall (who's credited with the original story) explains that astrology is a science in an introduction to the film. Also Jack (Clayton) Moore and Maurice Cass. Director William C. McGann (SH! THE OCTOPUS (1937)) made over 50 movies and also did SFX on many others (THE HORN BLOWS AT MIDNIGHT (1945), THE BEAST WITH 5 FINGERS (1946)).

It's a shame this wasn't considered for a whole or at least a sequel but perhaps Hollywood's prejudice toward Asian actors (American born or otherwise) at the time had something to do with it. A white American actress has top billing over the Asian American real star after all!

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Anna May Wong

 (imdb)

 

DAUGHTER OF THE DRAGON-1931-We learn that the evil Fu Manchu went crazy after the accidental deaths of his wife and son during the Boxer Rebellion. He wrongfully blamed Gen. Petrie (Holmes Herbert). Scotland Yard defeated him and he is dead. Now his daughter Ling Moy (Anna May Wong) is an “Oriental dancer”, not knowing who her father is. But it turns out Fu (Warner Oland) is not dead and in fact he kills Petrie with poison tobacco in front of his wife (Nella Walker) and son Ron (Bramwell Fletcher), Sir Basil (Lawrence Grant) and Ah Kee (Sessue Hayakawa). 

Kee shoots Fu but he gets away with help of the butler. He dies but when Ling learns that Fu is her father, she vows to kill Ron, the last Petrie. “I will be your son!”, she declares. Fu makes it seem like Sir Basil and the police kill him while he's in the act of killing Ling so Ling can get close to Ron, whose girlfriend Joan (Francis Dade) doesn't like the fact that Ron is sweet on Ling but Kee also professes his love for Ling. When Ling has a chance to kill Ron, she hesitates having now fallen in love with him but later shows her true self, holding Joan captive and threatening to pour acid on her. 

Sometimes clumsy but well-done mystery drama with a great finale. It's based on the novel “The Daughter of Fu Manchu” by Sax Rohmer. One of 13 films directed by actor Lloyd Corrigan between 1930 & 1937. His penultimate film was NIGHT KEY (1937) with Boris Karloff.

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Are You With Me, Dr. Wu?

 

 (imdb)

MR. WU-1927-Mandarin Wu (Lon Chaney) hires American Mr. Muir (Claude King) to teach his son "the ways of the west". When young Wu grows to manhood, he (also Chaney) marries but his wife dies after giving birth to their daughter Nang Ping (Rene Adoree'). Years later young Wu is a powerful mandarin and Nang Ping, a precocious young woman who will soon wed a man she's never met. Everything seems OK until she accidentally meets Basil Gregory (Ralph Forbes), the son of a racist diplomat (Holmes Herbert). They fall in love and have secret meetings in the lotus garden. Only her friend Loo Song (Anna May Wong) knows. When she meets his parents, Nang realizes their romance is doomed. The gardener tells Wu he saw them together so in anger Wu kills him! Then he watches Nang as she and Basil declare their love. Later saying Nang has disgraced the family Wu kills her to save her soul. Then he tortures Basil and torments Mrs. Gregory (Louise Dresser) by making her choose who should live or die: her son or daughter (Gertrude Olmstead). 

Strange little drama with Chaney once again carrying the picture as the honorable Wu. Ironically, director William Nigh years later directed the “Mr. Wong” series of films with Boris Karloff. Lead actress Renee Adoree' (from France) was a big star at the time but later contracted tuberculosis and died in 1933.

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Anna May Wong (New Named Blog)

 

 (wikipedia)

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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 (wikipedia)