Nancy Kwan...and eBay

This post is not really about Nancy Kwan but rather about certain eBay dealers. And it is not just Nancy Kwan, but many of the other photos I look at.

I need photos for a few reasons, one of which is that my book and magazine needs photos. I try to select photos that visually appeal to me, and that others would like to see. Having looked at many, I sometimes wonder at the prices a dealer sets. For many of these photos, the interest is passing, if that. Yet occasionally the dealer sets a price that is way too high. Of course, the photos do not sell, and just "sit there."

I understand the value of certain things, and I understand that a dealer can set any price that he or she wants. But...just to have a photo sit there with no movement from bidders? Again and again and again...

This leads me to a photo on eBay I received yesterday. It was reasonably priced, and even had Ms. Kwan's autograph on it. Apparently she is or was doing shows on the West Coast, and signed this and other photos. I bid on the photo because 1) I've never seen it, and 2) I thought it was an exceptional shot of Ms. Kwan. (And, yes, she does have freckles.)

Nancy Kwan is important for various reasons, one of which is that in certain photos she represents the post-Anna May Wong actress for an Asian (actually, she is half-Asian)....

The photo:

Definitions

Initially I was going to do a reference volume on Asian Actresses in America, but such actresses kept popping up all the time and I've changed my focus, though I still want to do the book I was mentioning. My new project will focus on topics, so that, hopefully, the book will be more engaging, reading-wise, than just an A to Z guide.

I also should mention that my focus is what we in America think of as Asian, though technically that is not correct. An actress from India is Asian, and so are many parts of what we consider as the Near East. Iraq, for instance, is part of Asia. If I was completely accurate, I would say "Far East Asian," as that is what I am thinking of and researching.

Of course, my objective, even with that definition, is wide and not just limited to Chinese American actresses. The Philippines, Japan, Java, etc., are lands that are in the Far East, and that is what I am researching.

Lisa Lu

She has appeared in an amazing amount of films and television shows. Born in Shanghai in 1927, Lisa Lu (Yen Chun Lu) is still working in film, CRAZY RICH ASIANS for one. Her film career began in 1958 with a slew of American TV shows, and then continued on, with some of her early cinema films being THE MOUNTAIN ROAD (with James Stewart), WOMANHUNT and RIDER ON A DEAD HORSE. She continued working on television, and even did films for Hong Kong cinema, THE 14 AMAZONS being one of the most notable. Through the 80s and beyond, she continued to appear in Chinese films and American television shows and films. She must hold some kind of record.

 

Laura Gemser

She's not thought of as an "Asian actress," but Laura Gemser (Laurette Marcia Gemser) is indeed one, though as far as I known none of her interviews or articles make a political point about her coming from the Far East (Indonesia). Everything that I read about her seems that she is apolitical and, embarrassing to some, that she frequently starred in exploitation films and was very open about doing modeling shoots that showed nudity. She is one of the actresses who passes "under the radar" for those who wish to make a political point about Asian actresses. Yet she is well known to a certain group who appreciate the films she made and the photos she shot.

This February, a few of her films were even shown at New York's Quad Cinema, primarily to showcase the Emmanuelle series with Sylvia Kristel, with a nod to the "Black Emanuelle" films of Laura Gemser, one "m" for the Gemser series. Living close by, I had to see these Gemser films, though two were from prints whose color had turned.

I will have more to write about Gemser. In the meantime, here are some more photos, without nudity:

Judy Dan

After a few months departure from the blog, it is back with a lovely shot of Judy Dan, an actress who was born in Shanghai, China in 1930. She played in several films here, and was seen a lot on television. The photo is a promo shot for THE SPIRAL ROAD, a 1962 film with Rock Hudson and Burl Ives.

Anna May Wong - Mystery Queen

Not many people are aware that the legendary Anna May Wong appeared in various mysteries whose source were books or characters that have an international reputation as popular art: Earl Derr Biggers (THE CHINESE PARROT), Edgar Wallace (ON THE SPOT play and then DANGEROUS TO KNOW), Sax Rohmer (DAUGHTER OF THE DRAGON), Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (A STUDY IN SCARLET), Ellery Queen (ELLERY QUEEN'S PENTHOUSE MYSTERY) and, on television, Mickey Spillane (MICKEY SPILLANE'S MIKE HAMMER). This accomplishment, which even Wong did not place as important, should have an appreciative statement about some of what she accomplished in her screen career. These films and books are not significant as great art, but they can be more transfixing and, oddly, more important than their artistic brethren. Many people were entertained by them and the atmosphere they provided.

The Desire for Suzie Wong

The desire for Suzie Wong. No, it is not an actual desire for a person or a dream (though much can be written about that), but an actress' desire to get a coveted role that was wanted by many an Asian-American actress in the late 1950s. First there was the Broadway play, and the part of Suzie Wong went to France Nuyen, a young Eurasian actress who had been in the film, SOUTH PACIFIC, based on her screen tests and looks. (She was stunning and still has kept her appearance.) So when the Broadway play opened in New York, it starred France Nuyen as the title character, and she was ready to take the role to the silver screen, which seemed inevitable for both the reality of a film and for France Nuyen.

The filming of THE WORLD OF SUZIE WONG began with exterior shots in Hong Kong with William Holden, who took the male role from the play's actor, William Shatner, at the time still struggling and a number of years from his television role as Captain Kirk in STAR TREK. Holden was a very well-known and top tier actor, and had a fascination for the East, even owning a radio station in Hong Kong. He was older than Shatner, changing the dynamic of the story from a love affair between young people to a love affair between an older man in his forties and the young Asian woman, more than 20 years his junior. Though Holden and producer Ray Stark preferred another actress, the one they liked had almost no experience and did not test well. France Nuyen, however, had more experience. And she certainly had the publicity from SOUTH PACIFIC and the Suzie Wong play.

France Nuyen shot her scenes in Hong Kong with Holden and director Jean Negulesco. The film moved to Pinewood Studios in England to continue shooting. Then something happened.

The story has different takes, but from my evaluation and what the some of the principals said, this is what happened:

France Nuyen, already an actress with, shall we say, a strong head, had fallen in love with Marlon Brando (a name that will crop up again and again in my book). Brando and France Nuyen had a love affair of a couple of years, some of it highly and intrusively publicized by the gossip columns of the time. The affair seemed to be in trouble when Nuyen got to England, but Nuyen did not have the recuperative powers of Brando. From reports, she became more temperamental and started to gain weight, which on the silver screen is very telling. The prospect of her completing the film and getting necessary insurance, which had to be renewed, seemed more and more unlikely to those in charge.

I would say that a film would not just stop because of the wishes of a producer, which is an occasional charge labeled at Stark. Something had to happen to cause such a money and time loss. That something was the real possibility to Paramount and producer Stark that the film with France Nuyen was in serious jeopardy. Paramount and Ray Stark decided to cut their loses. Another actress would take the part.

The original director, Jean Negulesco, had had enough. He did not want France Nuyen to be fired, but had no choice in the matter.

Two actress were considered: Jeri Miyazaki, who had taken Nuyen's part when Nuyen left for filming,  and Nancy Kwan, who had understudied the role and, currently had more experience and training than before. After viewing the screen tests, it became obvious almost immediately to Ray Stark. He would go with his original choice.

After shooing scenes in England, the team headed back to Hong Kong with a new director: Richard Quine, and a new star: Nancy Kwan.

For Nancy Kwan it was more than just a pivotal role. It was her entry to the "big time." Soon thereafter, she would cement her newly-found stardom with FLOWER DRUM SONG.

Having seen the Suzie Wong film, I can say that Nancy Kwan was perfect in the role. Would France Nuyen have been as good? It is impossible to know at this point, but with the play and the film the world got two actresses, where one would have been enough had not France Nuyen been dismissed from the film. France Nuyen survived, of course. She made another film, but next one was with...William Holden.

Above: France Nuyen.

 

A scene from the Suzie Wong film. The shot is worth a thousand words and maybe more.