Flower Drum Song 1961  N/R, 130 min.
Genre: Musical / Comedy / Romance
Director: Henry Koster
Cast: Nancy Kwan, James Shigeta, Miyoshi Umeki, Juanita Hall, Benson Fong, Jack Soo, James Hong, Victor Sen Yung, Kam Tong, Reiko Sato, Patrick Adiarte, Soo Yong, Ching Wah Lee, Irene Tsu, George Chakiris
This screen version of the Rogers and Hammerstein Broadway musical provides an entertaining look at San Francisco's Chinatown. Mail-order-bride Mei Li (Miyoshi Umeki) arrives in Chinatown prepared for her arranged marriage to nightclub owner Sammy Fong (Jack Soo). But, Sammy is not interested in the arranged marriage and is in love with Linda Low (Nancy Kwan) who happens to be romantically involved with Wang Ta (James Shigeta). Through comedy and music, lovers are sorted out, and, by story's end, Mei Li and Wang Ta have found romance. Songs include "I Enjoy Being a Girl," "Love Look Away," and "You Are Beautiful."
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The Good Earth 1937  N/R, 130 min.
Genre: Drama
Director: Sidney Franklin
Cast: Paul Muni, Luise Rainer, Walter Connolly, Tilly Losch, Charley Grapewin, Jessie Ralph, Soo Yong, Keye Luke, Harold Huber, Philip Ahn, Roland Lui, Suzanna Kim, Olaf Hytten, Mary Wong, Ching Wah Lee
This is Pearl Buck's prize-winning story brought to the screen. A simple Chinese farmer, Wang Lung (Paul Muni), and his wife, O-Lan (Luise Rainer), are raising three children, but, when faced with a famine, O-Lan must feed the children cooked earth. Through adversity–even Wang Lung's taking a second wife–they learn that courage, not greed, is the path to happiness. Luise Rainer, who won an Oscar for Best Actress the previous year for her role in "The Great Ziegfeld ," won an Oscar for Best Actress for her role in this film. An Oscar was also received for Best Cinematography, and the film was nominated for Best Picture and Director.
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Klondike Annie 1936  N/R, 78 min.
Genre: Comedy
Director: Raoul Walsh
Cast: Mae West, Victor McLaglen, Philip Reed, Helen Jerome Eddy, Harry Beresford, Harold Huber, Lucile Gleason, Conway Tearle, Esther Howard, Soo Yong
Mae West and the censors–the Legion of Decency–were fighting it out in the mid-1930s; the censors won with this one, taming down the final cut of the film. Mae plays "The Frisco Doll," who kills a man in self-defense and then takes off on a ship for Alaska. On the way, after the ship's captain, Bull (Victor McLaglen), finds that she is on the lam, he blackmails her into providing sexual favors. Taking the place of a missionary who died on the trip, Doll becomes a woman of God, who eventually decides to return to San Francisco to clear herself.
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Love Is a Many Splendored Thing 1955  N/R, 102 min.
Genre: Drama
Director: Henry King
Cast: Jennifer Jones, William Holden, Torin Thatcher, Isobel Elsom, Murray Matheson, Richard Loo, Virginia Gregg, Soo Yong, Philip Ahn, Donna Martell
Yes, the story is pure soap, BUT the film is worthwhile. This story of racial bigotry develops when a Eurasian doctor (Jennifer Jones) falls in love with an American journalist (William Holden). Love triumphs, as did the title song, which won an Oscar. The film won two other Oscars and was nominated for an additional five, including Best Picture and Actress.
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Peking Express 1951 N/R, 95 min.
Genre: Drama
Director: William Dieterle
Cast: Joseph Cotten, Corinne Calvet, Edmund Gwenn, Marvin Miller, Benson Fong, Soo Yong, Gregory Gaye, Victor Sen Yung, Peter Chong, Harold Fong
Onboard a train traveling through Red China, Dr. Michael Bachlin (Joseph Cotten) becomes romantically involved with an intriguing, if shady, lady (Corinne Calvet).
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Sayonara 1957 N/R, 147 min.
Genre: Drama / Romance
Director: Joshua Logan
Cast: Marlon Brando, Miiko Taka, Red Buttons, Patricia Owens, Miyoshi Umeki, Ricardo Montalban, James Garner, Kent Smith, Martha Scott, Harlan Warde, Douglass Watson, Reiko Kuba, Soo Yong, Dennis Hopper, James Stacy
During the Korean war, an American soldier, Airman Joe Kelly (Red Buttons), falls in love with a Japanese maiden, Katsumi (Miyoshi Umeki). If he marries her, Joe will face a court-martial because of the Army's opposition to marriages between U.S. soldiers and Japanese women. His friend, Major Lloyd Gruver (Marlon Brando), is prejudiced but reluctantly agrees to be the best man at the wedding. Later, Lloyd falls in love with Japanese entertainer Hana-ogi (Miiko Taka) and overcomes his prejudice, which results in the Army stepping in and sending soldiers who marry Japanese women home without their spouses. In the case of Lloyd and Joe, one of the marriages ends in tragedy, while the other promises hope for the future. Red Buttons and Miyoshi Umeki won Best Supporting Actor and Actress for their roles in this film.
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Soldier of Fortune 1955 N/R, 96 min.
Genre: Adventure / Drama
Director: Edward Dmytryk
Cast: Clark Gable, Susan Hayward, Michael Rennie, Gene Barry, Tom Tully, Anna Sten, Jack Kruschen, Alexander D'Arcy, Leo Gordon, Russell Collins, Richard Loo, Soo Yong, Frank Tang, Mel Welles, James Hong
An American, Jane Hoyt (Susan Hayward), arrives in Hong Kong searching for her photojournalist husband Louis (Gene Barry) and seeks the aid of mercenary, smuggler Hank Lee (Clark Gable). After discovering that Louis is being held captive by Communists in China, Lee travels in his private junk to the mainland in search of Louis. In the meantime, he has fallen in love with Jane but continues in his quest knowing that he could be risking his own life trying to help get Louis out of China.
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| 1. Flower Drum Song (1961)
2. The Good Earth (1937)
3. Klondike Annie (1936)
4. Love Is a Many Splendored Thing (1955)
5. Peking Express (1951)
6. Sayonara (1957)
7. Soldier of Fortune (1955)
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