The great character actor J. Carroll Naish played some sinister characters, but perhaps no more despicable than his evil Asian in this film, a loose remake of 1933's "White Woman". Naish takes the role played by Charles Laughton, and as vile as Laughton was, Naish makes his deplorable with no redeeming graces outside of a phony charm. The beautiful Anna May Wong continues her string of playing the saddest women on the screen by portraying a self-confessed criminal who is actually trying to find her missing father and willing to risk her own virtue by accepting Naish's invitation to be his guest.
Joining them are Broderick Crawford as a blackmailing visitor, Anthony Quinn as an old Chinese acquaintance of Wong's, and Eric Blore as an eccentric Englishman who is not as stupid and cowardly as he seems. Naish is deliciously rude and sinister, yet as a less stereotypically dressed Asian, he's equally as offensive as the white actors playing both Fu Manchu and Charlie Chan. Wong is completely somber, never even cracking a smile. Yes, this has every cliché that makes many younger audiences cringe, but it's fast moving and gripping. So put aside your sensitivity towards racial stereotypes, the subjugation towards women and even cruelty to animals. The fun is seeing the villain get his just rewards and seeing the bad guy get Hus due. Like me, you might scream at the screen, demanding that they get it painfully.
Joining them are Broderick Crawford as a blackmailing visitor, Anthony Quinn as an old Chinese acquaintance of Wong's, and Eric Blore as an eccentric Englishman who is not as stupid and cowardly as he seems. Naish is deliciously rude and sinister, yet as a less stereotypically dressed Asian, he's equally as offensive as the white actors playing both Fu Manchu and Charlie Chan. Wong is completely somber, never even cracking a smile. Yes, this has every cliché that makes many younger audiences cringe, but it's fast moving and gripping. So put aside your sensitivity towards racial stereotypes, the subjugation towards women and even cruelty to animals. The fun is seeing the villain get his just rewards and seeing the bad guy get Hus due. Like me, you might scream at the screen, demanding that they get it painfully.