There are a lot of positives about the depiction of Chinatown in this film from 1939, which is more than I can say about many other films from the decades before and after. Rather than a den of iniquity, with subterranean chambers and evil schemers dealing in white slavery, it's a place of honest businessmen. There is organized crime, but it's imposed from the outside the community by a gangster, who in turn faces competition to be "King of Chinatown" from a disloyal lieutenant and a rival. They shake down shopkeepers, kill those who resist, and run the usual sorts of rackets. Providing dignified spiritual strength is a dealer in traditional medicine (Sidney Toler in yellowface), his daughter (Anna May Wong), and her boyfriend (Philip Ahn), all of whom are presented sans stereotypes. Wong plays a skilled surgeon which is incredibly refreshing in light of the number of servant roles she was relegated to her in her career. She's radiant, and Ahn's character, while a little flat, is sharp about the corruption going on around him. There are other little bits, like how one of the characters points out how chop suey is an Americanized version of Chinese food, and a pretty tough Chinese-American boxer in the ring.
It's a simple film and only 57 minutes long, but drama comes in two ways: the aforementioned vying to be top dog which results in a murder attempt, and the fact that it's Wong's character who then saves the gangster's life against long odds and tends to him. The rivals then scheme against one another and try to exert pressure on the doctor through her father. There are a couple of violent scenes and some backstabbing, but the plot is a constrained and not one you'll probably get too excited over. Watch it for Anna May Wong, Philp Ahn, and 24-year-old Anthony Quinn though. These actors, along with the film's feminism and progressive depiction of Chinese-Americans, make it worth seeing.
It's a simple film and only 57 minutes long, but drama comes in two ways: the aforementioned vying to be top dog which results in a murder attempt, and the fact that it's Wong's character who then saves the gangster's life against long odds and tends to him. The rivals then scheme against one another and try to exert pressure on the doctor through her father. There are a couple of violent scenes and some backstabbing, but the plot is a constrained and not one you'll probably get too excited over. Watch it for Anna May Wong, Philp Ahn, and 24-year-old Anthony Quinn though. These actors, along with the film's feminism and progressive depiction of Chinese-Americans, make it worth seeing.