I am a firm believer in respecting the culture of other lands. Here you see how important is the communal bath in Japanese households. Men and women together. (Though this picture is just of women, as you can tell!) I don't know if this tradition is just as valuable as it once was, but it is important and should be honored.
The photo is from CRY FOR HAPPY, a 1961 film with, for the male roles, Glenn Ford, Donald O'Connor, and James Shigeta. Taking a bath and honoring tradition are, pictured from left to right, are Miyoshi Umeki, Michi Kobi, Tsuruko Kobayashi, and Miiko Taka. Miyoshi is so far the only Asian actress to win an Oscar. She received it for SAYONARA, which also starred Miiko Taka.
Anna May Wong in the "dragon" dress used for LIMEHOUSE BLUES, the 1934 film with George Raft. In the film, Wong and Raft had a dance sequence that is quite memorable. Also quite memorable was this dress, which designed by Travis Blanton and still shows up in museums and special events.
Very quickly, I learned not to take current pronouncements as gospel-truth. There were times when being an Asian actress in Hollywood was a "big thing." More and more, roles for Asian actresses in America were sought for major roles, unlike in earlier times when a white actress could play the part of an Asian. This change started in the 1950s. One of the important changes was TEAHOUSE OF THE AUGUST MOON. First the novel, then the play, and finally the movie with Marlon Brando (yes, playing an Asian), Glenn Ford, and...actress Machiko Kyo, playing the important part of Lotus Blossom.
Very soon, Brando was playing another role, this time without Asian makeup. His female partner was another Asian actress, her first film role--Miiko Taka. The film: SAYONARA.
Who is Maylia? Well, she was heralded as the new Anna May Wong and appeared in a few films like SINGAPORE and TO THE ENDS OF THE EARTH. Truth is, no one could match Anna May Wong's popularity at the time, even though there were Asian actresses who made the attempt or their publicists did. Maylia (birth name: Gloria Suie Chin) was actually a Detroit girl who eventually married actor Benson Fong in 1947. Both set up the chain restaurants, AH FONG, in the Los Angeles area, which were very popular. The Fongs also had five children, so just running restaurants, or appearing in films, was not all they are noted for. The Fongs had a large family which must be larger by now!
One of my biggest sorrows is learning that a person I am researching has died fairly recently, sometimes very close to where I currently live. I picture in my mind that the person thinks she is forgotten by all. Maylia had a big enough family to disprove that and, besides, lived on the West Coast, but I would still like to talk to her and find out more about her career. Not to be, but...
I had the opportunity to get an autograph by Maylia. And then a large photo, publicizing her in one of her films. I am not an autograph hunter, but the price was very low on eBay, and I jumped at the chance. And then there is a thought that bought a smile to my face. What if the "Best Wishes" was directed to my project and coming from a contented beyond?
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.
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.
