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.
18 Reviews
Solid intro to the Realities of Anna May Wong's Films
rock_bustin26 March 2012
"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.
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.
"There is a fragile but durable beauty in you, Madame"
hwg1957-102-2657047 October 2017
Warning: Spoilers
A Japanese general comes to stay in a Chinese village to await his main force. Also becoming involved in the story are two American airmen, a German night club owner, a partly Russian singer and a Chinese woman who leads the local partisan group. It is low budget but quite effective in its way at portraying the oppression of an occupied people. The firing squad scene is quite chilling and the ending is sad and uplifting at the same time. William Nigh directed over a hundred films and is probably thought of as a hack director but there are some little gems in his long career and this is one of them.
The shining centre of the film is Anna May Wong as Kwan Mei. She is believable as the elegant woman charming the general, a worker in the paddy fields and the leader of the village rebels. She can be sweet and she can be ruthless. Of the supporting cast Mae Clarke is very good as the cynical singer Lavara but not in it enough unfortunately. Harold Huber as the Japanese general doesn't look the part but is solid enough.
It's a wartime piece of propaganda but the message doesn't impede the drama.
The shining centre of the film is Anna May Wong as Kwan Mei. She is believable as the elegant woman charming the general, a worker in the paddy fields and the leader of the village rebels. She can be sweet and she can be ruthless. Of the supporting cast Mae Clarke is very good as the cynical singer Lavara but not in it enough unfortunately. Harold Huber as the Japanese general doesn't look the part but is solid enough.
It's a wartime piece of propaganda but the message doesn't impede the drama.
Anna May Wong Excels in a Solid Wartime Drama
Snow Leopard1 August 2005
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.
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.
Harold Huber plays a Japanese General...'nuff said.
planktonrules5 August 2011
Warning: Spoilers
Wow....were there so few Asian actors in Hollywood that they had to make Jewish-American Harold Huber (who often played Hispanic or Brooklyn characters) a Japanese General in this film...or were the film makers just idiots? Well, considering the Russian lady with perfect American diction and accent, I can just assume they were idiots. Regardless, it's pretty funny seeing the terrible casting in this movie. And, since it was made by a so-called 'poverty row' studio (because of their extraordinarily low budgets and resources), this sort of thing isn't at all surprising to those familiar with these third-rate production companies...nor are the obviously balsa wood planes used when the film begins.
The film is set in Occupied China during WWII. The Japanese are in charge and LOTS of international folks drop by--including Germans, Russians and Americans. However, as I said above, the casting is weird so they all seem about the same. Anna May Wong plays a Chinese lady (this is bizarre as she really was Chinese) who cozies up to the General and pretends to be loyal to the new order--all the while she works to help her country regain its freedom. And, to further her plan, she helps free two downed American pilots. Then, things get pretty crazy--ending in an incredibly preachy little speech from Wong that is just too goofy to explain--you just need to see it.
I have seen dozens and dozens of American WWII propaganda films, and while this is not the very worst...it's close. No one in the film playing any of the ethnic parts did them justice (except Wong) and the acting was pretty limp at times. Additionally, the script just seemed cheap as did the entire production. Watchable...but nothing more.
The film is set in Occupied China during WWII. The Japanese are in charge and LOTS of international folks drop by--including Germans, Russians and Americans. However, as I said above, the casting is weird so they all seem about the same. Anna May Wong plays a Chinese lady (this is bizarre as she really was Chinese) who cozies up to the General and pretends to be loyal to the new order--all the while she works to help her country regain its freedom. And, to further her plan, she helps free two downed American pilots. Then, things get pretty crazy--ending in an incredibly preachy little speech from Wong that is just too goofy to explain--you just need to see it.
I have seen dozens and dozens of American WWII propaganda films, and while this is not the very worst...it's close. No one in the film playing any of the ethnic parts did them justice (except Wong) and the acting was pretty limp at times. Additionally, the script just seemed cheap as did the entire production. Watchable...but nothing more.
Anna May Wong is radiant
gbill-748772 July 2022
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."
"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."
A cheap wartime thriller from PRC.
gordonl5622 February 2008
Warning: Spoilers
Produdcers Releasing Corportion comes to the rescue in this low, low-budget flag-waver from the mid war years. PRC films always have that filmed in a week for 50 bucks look for a reason. They were filmed in a week for 50 bucks! Having said that, every so often they knocked off a watchable cheapie. This "is", one of those watchable programmers. Anna May Wong plays the leader of the local Chinese guerrilla fighters taking on the Japanese. She dolls herself up and cuddles up to the Japanese garrison commander. She extracts all the info she needs before pulling out a pistol and dispatching the swine. There is secondary sub-plot with some downed Flying Tigers pilots. This film is no great masterpiece, but as an example of a wartime flag-waver it is worth a look. Hack director William Nigh did manage to turn out a couple of decent time-wasters with great titles like, I WOULDN'T BE IN YOUR SHOES, DOOMED TO DIE, ESCAPE FROM HONG KONG etc.
Long live China! Long live the B movie!
mark.waltz3 November 2015
Warning: Spoilers
By allowing many films to fall into the public domain, copyright owners have given movie audiences the chance to see obscure movies that otherwise they may not have thought of watching. Through the many public domain video and DVD companies, these movies have become rediscovered and future film-goers are looking at them and sometimes even more creative than the features made during the golden age of cinema.
PRC, sometimes referred to as pretty rotten cinema, had a few masterpieces. Some of them truly stand the test of time and are truly influential in giving ideas to independent filmmakers as to how to make the type of movies that is part of their artistry. The new wave of films in the 1940s and 1950s created a whole new set of filmmakers who probably were lucky enough to see these B films made while they were at their movie-going teenage height.
During World War II, there were hundreds of movies made that dealt with the issues of the war. Some to be honest are crap. They have stereotypical villains of German or Japanese backgrounds. Italians for the most part were usually sparred such one dimensional portrayals. I guess when you have a short man with an angry looking mustache and a Donald Trump hair don't and an evil looking Asian man, it's easy to type cast them as the villains. The Japanese got some horrible typecasting in their villains, but a few films managed to show the leaders of the Empire's military as slightly more human than some other filmmakers did. That is the case here, where the beautiful Anna May Wong plays a Chinese woman who becomes the Joan of Arc of her nation by standing up to the invading Japanese, becoming almost a Mata Hari herself as she leads the efforts to destroy them. Wong gives an excellent performance, and every action that comes from her face is as revealing as the lines she is reading.
She gives a sneer without squinting her nose and it indicates both hatred and fear, not necessarily for herself but for her people. With Harold Huber playing the Japanese general, she is willing to come off almost as a prostitute in order to reach her mission. Anna knows that her life is at stake, it is worth the risk. May Clark, the actress famous for having the grapefruit shoved in her face by James Cagney, has another good role as a tough Russian singer.
I don't know how realistic this is in the lives of the Chinese peasants who found their homeland being invaded by the Japanese but you can't help but admire the ones who are willing to give up their own lives to preserve liberty. There are many great little details in this film, particularly the excellent photography which while still rather shoddy compared to the a Studios is still impressive. This is a film that has managed to stand the test of time because it shows both of Chinese and the Japanese in a different light then they are normally given and does a great chance to see the much neglected walk in a leading role even if it is at one of the poverty row studios.
PRC, sometimes referred to as pretty rotten cinema, had a few masterpieces. Some of them truly stand the test of time and are truly influential in giving ideas to independent filmmakers as to how to make the type of movies that is part of their artistry. The new wave of films in the 1940s and 1950s created a whole new set of filmmakers who probably were lucky enough to see these B films made while they were at their movie-going teenage height.
During World War II, there were hundreds of movies made that dealt with the issues of the war. Some to be honest are crap. They have stereotypical villains of German or Japanese backgrounds. Italians for the most part were usually sparred such one dimensional portrayals. I guess when you have a short man with an angry looking mustache and a Donald Trump hair don't and an evil looking Asian man, it's easy to type cast them as the villains. The Japanese got some horrible typecasting in their villains, but a few films managed to show the leaders of the Empire's military as slightly more human than some other filmmakers did. That is the case here, where the beautiful Anna May Wong plays a Chinese woman who becomes the Joan of Arc of her nation by standing up to the invading Japanese, becoming almost a Mata Hari herself as she leads the efforts to destroy them. Wong gives an excellent performance, and every action that comes from her face is as revealing as the lines she is reading.
She gives a sneer without squinting her nose and it indicates both hatred and fear, not necessarily for herself but for her people. With Harold Huber playing the Japanese general, she is willing to come off almost as a prostitute in order to reach her mission. Anna knows that her life is at stake, it is worth the risk. May Clark, the actress famous for having the grapefruit shoved in her face by James Cagney, has another good role as a tough Russian singer.
I don't know how realistic this is in the lives of the Chinese peasants who found their homeland being invaded by the Japanese but you can't help but admire the ones who are willing to give up their own lives to preserve liberty. There are many great little details in this film, particularly the excellent photography which while still rather shoddy compared to the a Studios is still impressive. This is a film that has managed to stand the test of time because it shows both of Chinese and the Japanese in a different light then they are normally given and does a great chance to see the much neglected walk in a leading role even if it is at one of the poverty row studios.
Anna does her Mata act
bkoganbing21 May 2014
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.
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.
Better Than Most American WW2 Films - Lady from Chungking
arthur_tafero9 April 2021
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.
Never trust them
AAdaSC15 December 2015
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.
The Lady from Chungking was excellent.
mlauerba18 April 2006
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.
Wong only bright spot in this murky "actioner"
fredcdobbs57 January 2018
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- A Movie Star
Panamint17 May 2015
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.
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.
China at war
nickenchuggets1 June 2022
Warning: Spoilers
Recently, I talked about Daughter of Shanghai, a 30s movie starring Anna May Wong in what is considered one of the first films to have asian protagonists that aren't portrayed stereotypically. This film is not as refined as Daughter of Shanghai for some different reasons, but because it has to do with the second world war, my viewing experience of it was mostly positive. The historical background for this movie's setting is the most interesting thing about it in my view. Wong, who was Chinese, traveled there around the time of the Japanese invasion and donated money to help chinese forces beat back Imperial Japan, who was currently committing too many horrendous atrocities against civilians to keep track of. Even though Hitler would not invade Poland until 1939, many argue that world war 2 started when japan invaded china. While Lady from Chungking takes place in the early 40s, it still prominently features the japanese as the unmistakable enemy, and Wong has to try and stop them from murdering people by any means. The story starts by showing chinese laborers working in a rice field under the supervision of some japanese soldiers. A girl named Kwan Mei (Wong) is secretly planning to get together a group of civilian fighters to wage a bitter guerrilla war on the invaders. When forced to interact with them face to face, she makes it seem like china is a huge but submissive country that needs to be dominated by japan in order to benefit the future of east Asia as a whole. Kwan organizes a large amount of peasants (unknown to the japanese) in order to take back their homeland. She later comes to be the mistress of a high ranking japanese commander, General Kaimura (Harold Huber), and repeats her beliefs to him about china deserving to be under the rule of Hirohito's empire. This gets her on Kaimura's good side and she is allowed to be in his presence from this point on, but Kwan is only doing this to get him to lower his guard. Meanwhile, the japanese have also shot down two American fighter pilots sent to assist china's efforts and captured them. The freedom fighters under Kwan's command eventually manage to rescue them, but a pivotal moment happens when some of her followers are threatened with being executed by firing squad. The general and Kwan (now his mistress) watch as several of them are about to be shot, but Kwan gets the general to change his mind. His new decision isn't much better, since he orders his men to kill the fathers of the accused instead. This incident causes relations to sour between Kwan and some of her followers, since she just sat there smiling as several people were executed. Little do they realize, she had to refuse to act or else the general would discover her intentions. After Kwan herself returns to the partisans to explain why she had to behave this way, her followers free the american pilots, much to Kaimura's frustration. In her last confrontation with him, Kwan tells Kaimura her true motives and shoots him. Knowing he is about to die, he orders Kwan to be executed. As she is seconds away from being shot, Kwan says how even though merciless cruelty and bullets can kill her fellow citizens, they can never destroy the foundations of china. Kwan is dead, but her actions have saved many people from violent fates at the hands of the japanese and inspired more chinese to fight for their country. This a pretty good movie. It's a bit confusing at times because the short runtime of 66 minutes didn't really allow for the telling of a very coherent story, so events here seem to move faster than they should. The ending of this movie was surprisingly dark and I didn't see it coming. Two of the film's most important characters are both killed by each other. More importantly, I liked how they implemented actual ww2 history into the movie, such as when they mention the captured american pilots being part of the Flying Tigers. More officially known as the American Volunteer Group, they were a number of fighter plane squadrons sent by the US government to fight japanese aircraft over chinese skies. What makes their story so interesting is how the Flying Tigers started fighting in April 1941, months before america was even in the war. As a consequence, american pilots serving in the group had to lie and sign up as chinese pilots so as not to provoke a declaration of war from japan. Overall, I liked this movie because not only is it world war 2 oriented, but it takes place in china; a country whose role in the war is often ignored.
Anna May Wong was great
earlytalkie22 March 2013
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.
What a woman
fchase-7247414 May 2017
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.
Ahead of its time, which isn't saying much.
oninagiinochi8 June 2022
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 Easy-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.
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