This was the last of Anna May Wong's movies with Lon Chaney and the first where she was finally an established Hollywood presence although still being somewhat often low billed. In full disclosure, this was the movie that actually put me in the Anna May Wong orbit. As a pre-teen child and horror movie fan I had already been a huge Lon Chaney enthusiast when I first watched this film and wondered why they had a Caucasian playing the female lead in yellow face when there was a perfectly acceptable "authentic" and attractive young Chinese lady also in the cast (a situation that would haunt Ms. Wong for a lot of her career peaking, of course, with "The Good Earth"). Chaney and Wong's first film together was "Outside the Law" in 1920 directed by Tod Browning. A man we can discuss at another time concerning the young Ms. Wong. Her second film with Chaney was "Bits of Life" in 1921. According to what I have read in separate biographies of both actors, Lon Chaney was something of a supporting influence to Ms. Wong though not what you could honestly describe as a "mentor". But he took her under his wing while they worked together and was patient and instructive on the machinations of silent film acting, sort of a borderline method of mime that interestingly Anna May Wong never entirely disregarded. She was more subtle as she transitioned well to sound films but it was still there. More of an aura than a nuts-and-bolts display.
A fascinating film, with Chaney giving a brilliant dual performance. It would have been even better if Anna May Wong had played the daughter. Several plot elements seen here became staples in the "Yellow Peril" films that were popular in the early 1930s.
MR. WU was one of the first films to use interracial love as a plot element, pre-dating Capra's THE BITTER TEA OF GENERAL YEN by about six years. Of course, both films used white actors for the romantic couple, but the theme itself was considered problematic for films of the era. Wong would return to the same theme in the British film PICADILLY (1929), in which she stars. Aside from the acting, the set design is excellent, and some of the shots very well done.
This is another sad example of degrading films in which Anna had to be cast not having opportunities for good roles beyond the 1920s yellow-face-ridden stereotypes.
That was quite a drama. Lon Chaney was quite good though I think the story had a few weak spots. This film reflects a lot of Irving Thalberg's production values in quality of sets, lighting and camera work. Yellowface had to be used because at the time the movie companies had to deal with miscegenation laws. Film did not enjoy the same freedom newspapers enjoyed as they were not seen as the press and therefore subject to censoring. In the United States each state had standards for film content and a company like MGM had to thread their films around a thicket of no-no's. Since many American films were exhibited around the world, the film companies then had to thread their movies through a thicket of censorship standards peculiar to each country. And some did seem quite peculiar.
Although certainly racially inappropriate and politically incorrect by today's standards, it cannot be denied that Lon Chaney's genius with makeup was such that he looked genuinely Chinese as Mandarin Wu and Grandfather Wu.
Lon Chaney takes the acting honours but the depiction of Asian people in this film, will not be permitted or tolerated. I can certainly appreciate why.
