| Abstract: | Anna May Wong is, undoubtedly, the most luminous Chinese American actress ever to grace the silver screen. Between 1919 and 1960 she starred in over fifty films and shared equal billing with Douglas Fairbanks, Sr., Marlene Dietrich, and Warner Oland. But her life, though glamorous, is almost the prototypical story of an immigrant's difficult path through America. Born in Los Angeles in 1905, she was the second daughter of eight children born to a laundryman and his wife. Growing up in Los Angeles fuelled her fascination with Hollywood, and in 1919 she secured a small part in her first film, The Red Lantern with Alla Nazimova. Her most famous film roles were in Toll of the Sea, Piccadilly, The Thief of Bagdad, Daughter of the Dragon, and most importantly, Shanghai Express, opposite Dietrich. Anna May Wong was an international celebrity whose friendships with intellectuals and artists included the famed Chinese actress Butterfly Wu, Walter Benjamin, Carl Van Vechten, Paul Robeson, Edward Steichen, and Mei Lan Fan. Even though Anna May Wong made many landmark films, discrimination against Asians in Hollywood insured that she was passed over for the lead role in the film version of Pearl Buck's The Good Earth. Apparently Wong was "too Asian" for the role. The British Film Institute recently released a newly restored version of Wong's classic film Piccadilly and the world will, once again, thrill to the artistry of this great actress. Graham Hodges' biography of Anna May Wong rediscovers one of Hollywood's most legendary actresses and is a must for film lovers. |
|---|