Episode 305: DAUGHTER OF SHANGHAI (1937)

Trylove

After her father is killed for refusing to be extorted by the leaders of a human trafficking operation, Yan Ling (Anna May Wong) and Kim Lee (Phillip Ahn) jet across the islands of Puerto Rico on their way to the ringleader.

When Anna May Wong starred in Robert Florey’s DAUGHTER OF SHANGHAI, it was hailed as a milestone in Hollywood’s progress toward a more inclusive, diverse industry: An Asian-American actress commanded the screen in an exciting, globe-hopping adventure without being relegated to outright stereotype.

The same year, German actress Luise Rainer won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her portrayal of a Chinese slave in a film adaptation of “The Good Earth” — a role Wong herself was denied.

Such is the cognitive game you’ve got to play when considering a work like DAUGHTER OF SHANGHAI. Its lens is pointed at an acute angle at two similar subjects: First, at the machinations of Hollywood that kept minority stars at the sidelines for decades; and second, at the intersection of that machine and American imperial power, forever prioritizing the hegemony first codified by the white slave-owning class at the nation’s founding.

References:

• Give to the Trylon’s Film Forever Fund so they never have to increase ticket prices!
• Watch DAUGHTER OF SHANGHAI on the Internet Archive
• “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

Follow us on Twitter at @trylovepodcast, Bluesky at @trylovepodcast.bsky.social, and email us at [e-mail] to get in touch!

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

Timestamps

0:00 - Episode 305: DAUGHTER OF SHANGHAI (1937)

2:19 - The Patented Aaron Grossman Summary

4:32 - How Anna May Wong’s star power and activism led to DAUGHTER OF SHANGHAI

15:47 - How DAUGHTER OF SHANGHAI digs deeper on Asian immigrant narratives

26:31 - The plot contrivances it does and doesn’t indulge in

41:36 - Does the frenzied pacing help or hurt DAUGHTER OF SHANGHAI?

56:17 - To All the Loves We’ve Tried Before: 1937

56:34 - Cody’s Noteys: Cody’s Floateys (flotation device trivia)