Episode 306: KING OF CHINATOWN (1939)

Trylove

Shortly after announcing a sweeping shakedown, Chinatown gangster Frank Baturin (Akim Tamiroff) is targeted by his right-hand man in a vicious power play. When the hit fails, Baturin’s life is left in the hands of Mary (Anna May Wong), a one-in-a-million surgeon — and daughter of a Chinatown medicine shop owner — who nurses Baturin back to health. While her friendship with the King deepens, Mary’s altruist streak calls her back to China, putting her in a bind as Baturin’s capos crack down on Chinatown harder than even Baturin.

KING OF CHINATOWN gives Anna May Wong less to do than in DAUGHTER OF SHANGHAI (1937), and less time to do it in. In this episode, we talk about her endlessly captivating screen presence, the 57-minute rush to tell a story that could’ve easily been 90 minutes, and the “All-American”-izing even progressive movies used to do with their minority leads.

Also, we recorded this in person at Harry’s apartment, so it sounds a bit different. Also, Jason had hiccups for a lot of it, so we have some fun with that, too.

References:

• Give to the Trylon’s Film Forever Fund so they never have to increase ticket prices!
• Watch KING OF CHINATOWN on the Internet Archive
• The KING OF CHINATOWN Letterboxd review Harry mentions
• “I Don’t Belong to You: Autobiography in Anna May Wong’s Pavement Butterfly” by Ben Jarman for Perisphere, the Trylon blog
• “Burned—Anna May Wong and Shanghai Express” by Matthew Christensen for Perisphere, the Trylon blog
• Check the calendar, preview upcoming series, and buy tickets at https://www.trylon.org/
• Contribute to Perisphere, the Trylon blog: https://www.perisphere.org/perisphere-blog-post-guidelines/

TheDefiantRolesofAnnaMayWong #35mm

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Show art by Emily Csuy. Theme: "Raindrops" by Huma-Huma/"No Smoking" PSA by John Waters. Outro music from the KING OF CHINATOWN soundtrack.

Timestamps

0:00 - Episode 306: KING OF CHINATOWN (1939)

3:57 - The Patented Aaron Grossman Summary

5:26 - Seeing KING OF CHINATOWN on 35mm at the Trylon

9:32 - Frank Baturin as “an Agatha Christie character”

13:35 - What Baturin is after

19:38 - Mike and the Professor

28:14 - What this movie maybe could’ve been with more time

32:46 - Anna May Wong in this movie

42:43 - It’s kind of a lot of different movies

55:56 - The Junk Drawer

1:00:55 - To All the Loves We’ve Tried Before: 1939

1:03:15 - Cody’s Noteys: Panorama May Wong (Anna May Wong trivia)