Irene Tsu Wants You to Come to Chevron Island

 

 

 

 

To find out more, much more, read Irene Tsu's just published autobiography:

 

A WATER COLOR DREAM 

 

Mystery Photo

Answer: As far as I know, this is Lillie Mui, a young actress who just appeared in two films: TOO HOT TO HANDLE (1938) and BARRICADE (1939). This shot is taken from TOO HOT TO HANDLE, with Clark Gable as a newsreel reporter. Talk about "fake news" with some of this reporting! (Using a contemporary term for those times.) Everything is done for the newsreels, including setting up fictitious scenes. Nowadays newsreels are a thing of the past and unseen for decades at the local movie theater, but they were big back then.

I wasn't able to find anything about Mui, aside from a IMDB listing and a couple of cast mentions in newspaper archives. Her bit in the Gable film is most amusing.

Lucky Grandma - A Review

They used to say, and perhaps still do, a "tour de force." The term comes instantly to mind as one is watching LUCKY GRANDMA and the performance of actress Tsai Chin, who plays the title role. I've been aware of Tsai Chin since the sixties when I first saw her in THE FACE OF FU MANCHU. At that time, she was playing as Fu's daughter, named in the series as Lin Tang. She was in five of these films, of which I only saw the first two in a theater. The third, THE VENGEANCE OF FU MANCHU, I must have seen on television later, as I had not seen it when it was shown, without promotion, on the bottom half of a double bill. The last Fu Manchu films were directed by Jess Franco and are some of his worst films, though watchable when Lee or Chin are on screen. I saw Chin in the Bond film YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE, but didn't pick up on her and the Fu Manchu connection. She was around later, but did not have any continual presence in American theaters or television shows. But things began to pick up. She published an autobiography in 1988, DAUGHTER OF SHANGHAI, and was the ensemble cast of THE JOY LUCK CLUB in 1993. She was also appeared in Daniel Craig's first Bond film, CASINO ROYALE (2006), becoming one of the rare, non-regular actresses to appear twice in a Bond film, and the only one whose appearance was spread out in many years and for different Bond actors. One almost anticipated that her character in this film, "Madame Wu," would have more of a part, either later on in the film or in the series. Shades of Lin Tang. But that was not to be.

Nowadays, I know much more about her. Researching for my book on Asian actress in America, I am probably one of the few non-Asians who know her history. I have a DVD of THE VIRGIN SOLDERS, and am very much aware of MEMOIRS OF A GEISHA, which makes a fib of the promotion of CRAZY RICH ASIANS unless the Japanese are not considered Asian. And I have on pre-order the Blu-Ray release of INVASION, a 1965 British sci-fi film she appeared in, along with another Asian actress, Yoko Tani. I will not sing the "Ding-Dong" song, however, and even Chin is probably tired of that one, having popularized it internationally decades ago.

But these days, the talk is of LUCKY GRANDMA. I had to order the Blu-Ray, but I was willing to be somewhat disappointed, having had an experience of seeing some independent, low-budget film. But my disappointment was not there once I started watching the film. Though it is labelled a "black comedy"or a "dark comedy," I would not hover around that term. The film becomes more and more serious, leading up to a climax that, for Chin, is the best thing acting-wise she had done.

Evey frame speaks of talent and care, in front of the screen and in back. The acting includes not only Chin, but the other Asian actors and actresses. (For this film there is no Occidental presence aside from an "Atlantic City" casino sequence, and, therefore, the possibility for an ethnic statement is not there.) Not only is the film one of the few independent Asian films in the States, but it also focuses completely on seniorhood that is not financially popular. While I don't know an Asian grandma like Lucky Grandma, nor would I, the character seems very real--to a point. I suspect that parts of Lucky Grandma's expression are quite normal for Tsai Chin. When she smiles (rarely in this film), I saw the same smile in photos and clips decades old. Few will be transported back to a young Tsai Chin, but I was in these instances.

I don't know if this film is eligible for an Oscar. Though it has a copyright date of 2019, the film was streamed this year because of the Covid pandemic. What I do know is that, if the film is eligible, I would not be at all surprised if there was an Oscar nomination for Tsai Chin. 

 

 

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Good Deed Entertainment Website for LUCKY GRANDMA

Back in Chinatown

Once a week, I would head to Chinatown in Manhattan. Would. Then the Covid virus locked things down. Across the world, it seemed. No more going to Chinatown. Then this week, I decided to finally take a trip again.

Lucky Grandma

From Kino Lorber on DVD and Blu-Ray, August 11th: LUCKY GRANDMA, starring Tsai Chin. Filmed in Chinatown, NYC, but due to Covid, released first in streaming with payment. Now you can own the film on DVD or Blu-Ray. Of course, buying this film is a no-brainer. First of all, you must always respect your elders (and support them), but, secondly, you must obey!

Irene Tsu

I can think of only two other Asian actresses that released an autobiography published in America. One was Shirley Yamaguchi (FRAGRANT ORCHID), who stopped her story in mid-stream before her arrival in this country, and the other was Tsai Chin. The Chin book, DAUGHTER OF SHANGHAI (1988), was an overview of her life up till then and was very honest about the heavy dramas in her life, including the Cultural Revolution that affected her parents back in China and her attempt at a suicide. Now comes A WATER COLOR DREAM: THE MANY LIVES OF IRENE TSU.

During her very young years, Irene Tsu studied ballet and toured with the traveling company of THE WORLD OF SUZIE WONG. Not too much later was a trip to Hollywood for the filming of FLOWER DRUM SONG. Tsu's companion, both in the WONG tour initially and the filming of FLOWER DRUM SONG, was Nancy Kwan, who made a leaping advance with a one-two punch of the WONG and SONG films. Tsu, however, was a "working actress," which meant taking many roles on films and television and advertising for companies like Chevron.

Some actors and actresses minimize their acting and directing compatriots, if they mention them at all. Not Tsu. She also seems to be impressed like a regular person by well-known actors and actresses who were already big before her cinema career. Reading her book, I was constantly coming across a name that I knew. I had to smile several times at the mention of Pat Suzuki, who probably was the first "Asian" I had heard about when I was very young. My parents regularly played a RCA compilation album of various artists and one of the songs was Suzuki singing, "My Heart Belongs to Daddy." Decades later when I was doing messenger work for CBS, I met Suzuki at her Manhattan apartment and was impressed  by her, and she seemed impressed that I knew of her! Tsu's book, therefore, brought many smiles to my face because she wrote of people and incidents that I was familiar with in my research. Even Lisa Lu was mentioned! Aside from the cast and crew, I am probably the only one who knows about THE YIN AND YANG OF MR. GO, another film Tsu has memories of--and photos.

Of course, prominent in her autobiography were people like Elvis and her two-year romance with Frank Sinatra. I have to say that Sinatra's world is "not my scene." I come from a different generation. (As does Tsu.) Expressions  like "broads" are not part of my vocabulary, and the Sinatra world of boozing and babes does nothing for me but just zeroes in on how different I am and the times are. Even Tsu, not that much older than I, inhabits a world that is somewhat foreign to me, though more accessible. I am not a follower of fashion, while Tsu became a successful dress designer for a while, nor do I go to yoga classes and teach Bikram Yoga. (I did yoga religiously, but in front of a TV set while paying attention to Richard Hittleman's YOGA FOR HEALTH.) And for many years now she is doing realtor work in the Beverly Hills area. So I am a poor boy from the other side of the town. But I am thankful for Tsu's memories. They are clear to read and don't deviate to unnecessary, long tangents. The entirety ends with her greatest challenge: motherhood. She adopted a Chinese girl, named now Yasmine. That, and the her parents coming over to help with the child rearing and her emotional connection at that time with her father, are a warm finish to a book that is much welcome.

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Irene Tsu's book, which includes a very full photo section, can be ordered from several places including Amazon, Bear Manor Media, and her own website, IreneTsu-Entertainment.com