Siren of the silver screen
Anna May Wong in Shanghai Express
Be seduced by Tinseltown's first Asian American star.
She was born in Los Angeles in 1905. As a girl she was entranced by the movies. She skipped school for trips to the cinema and haunted nearby film sets.
She was given uncredited bit parts in films before landing a starring role in The Toll of the Sea (1922), a variation of Madame Butterfly. The film was a hit and she seemed poised to be a Hollywood star - except she was a Chinese actress working in a racist industry.
She took the only roles that were offered her: an Eskimo in The Alaskan (1924), a native American Indian in Peter Pan (1924) and a Mongolian slave in The Thief of Bagdad (1924).
When her co-star in The Crimson City (1928) - the redheaded Myrna Loy in heavy makeup and a black wig - became the major 'Asian' star in Hollywood, she decided it was time to leave America and try her luck in Europe, where she thrived. Upon returning to Hollywood, however, she still struggled to overcome the bigotry in the industry (Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer deemed her "too Chinese to play a Chinese") and was shunned by Chinese Americans - including her father - who resented her for perpetuating stereotypes.
She spoke fluent French and German, loved golf, horse riding and reading, and was said to have the most beautiful hands in Hollywood. She appeared in over fifty films and died at the age of 56 in 1961. She has since been lauded by film critics, historians and the Asian American community as a Hollywood pioneer.
She was born Wong Liu Tsang but was known - and is loved - as Anna May Wong.
Anna May Wong on Film opens tonight at ACMI with the documentary Frosted Yellow Willows, including a post-screening Q&A with director Elaine Mae Woo. It is followed by Wong's most famous Hollywood film, Josef von Sternberg's Shanghai Express (also screening on Saturday).
Then, on Friday and Sunday, we present the silent classic Piccadilly accompanied by a live musical score performed by 8-piece ensemble The Disappointments.
For more details click here
Published Thursday, 27 August 2009
|
|
|
