***SPOILERS*** Hard to take movie about a Chinese hit man Wong Low "Get it" Get played by Romanian/Jewish American actor Edward G. Robinson heading an all non Asian cast. It's Wong who has to prove his worth to his Chinese Tong higher ups by following orders in icing, with a hatchet, anyone they feel is a threat to their power in the San Francisco Chinese/American community. That has Wong dispatch by hatchet his best friend who sailed together with him as a boy to America, from Shanghai, on the same boat Sun "Not" Yet Ming played by Irish/American actor J. Carroll Nash.
Sun knowing that his best friend Wong is to do him in leaves all his earthly possessions including his six year old daughter Toya, Played by Luxenbourgian/American actress Loretta Young, to Wong as a gift to their life long friendship before Wong, off camera, hatchet-ed him to death. Now 15 years later Wong had become Americanized as well as a successful businessman in the export/import business and is ready to take the grown up and beautiful Toya as his lawfully wedded wife. But things start to heat up with a number of Chinese mobsters from New York's Chinatown together with local Irish mob boss J.C Malone, Ralph Ince, planing to muscle in on the local Tongs', in San Francisco, turf that touches off a full scale Chinese Tong war.
***SPOILERS*** It's the Chinese bodyguard Harry En Hai,played Englishman Leslie Fenton, who's assigned to look after Toya who gets under Wong's skin by secretly romancing her causing him to lose face among his fellow Chinese gangsters. After a period of deep soul searching and facing disgrace, as well as bankruptcy, Wong gets back to his role as a Chinese hit or hatchet-man to even up the score with the back-stabbing bodyguard. Not willing to do Harry En Hai in after promising his estrange and cheating wife Toya he'll spare his life Wong almost by accident,in trying to porously miss him with his flying hatchet, hits his target from behind. Thus putting Harry away, with a hatchet in the back, for good while he was busy getting himself high in Mme.Si-Si's, Blanche Frederici, Chinatown opium den.
P.S Despite his great success a few years earlier as an American gangster in "Little Caesar" Edward G. Robinson couldn't duplicate that role playing a Chinese one. In fact Robinson was far more convincing plying an American businessman then a Chinese hit or hatchet-man in the film. Which was a lot more then can be said about the cast of non-Chinese or Oriental actors and actresses who were stuck playing Chinese characters in the movie.
Sun knowing that his best friend Wong is to do him in leaves all his earthly possessions including his six year old daughter Toya, Played by Luxenbourgian/American actress Loretta Young, to Wong as a gift to their life long friendship before Wong, off camera, hatchet-ed him to death. Now 15 years later Wong had become Americanized as well as a successful businessman in the export/import business and is ready to take the grown up and beautiful Toya as his lawfully wedded wife. But things start to heat up with a number of Chinese mobsters from New York's Chinatown together with local Irish mob boss J.C Malone, Ralph Ince, planing to muscle in on the local Tongs', in San Francisco, turf that touches off a full scale Chinese Tong war.
***SPOILERS*** It's the Chinese bodyguard Harry En Hai,played Englishman Leslie Fenton, who's assigned to look after Toya who gets under Wong's skin by secretly romancing her causing him to lose face among his fellow Chinese gangsters. After a period of deep soul searching and facing disgrace, as well as bankruptcy, Wong gets back to his role as a Chinese hit or hatchet-man to even up the score with the back-stabbing bodyguard. Not willing to do Harry En Hai in after promising his estrange and cheating wife Toya he'll spare his life Wong almost by accident,in trying to porously miss him with his flying hatchet, hits his target from behind. Thus putting Harry away, with a hatchet in the back, for good while he was busy getting himself high in Mme.Si-Si's, Blanche Frederici, Chinatown opium den.
P.S Despite his great success a few years earlier as an American gangster in "Little Caesar" Edward G. Robinson couldn't duplicate that role playing a Chinese one. In fact Robinson was far more convincing plying an American businessman then a Chinese hit or hatchet-man in the film. Which was a lot more then can be said about the cast of non-Chinese or Oriental actors and actresses who were stuck playing Chinese characters in the movie.