Frustrated by the typecasting she faced in Hollywood, pioneering Chinese American actress Anna May Wong found true stardom and creative freedom in Europe, where she made several of her finest pictures, from E. A. Dupont’s Piccadilly (1929) to this little-seen rediscovered gem based on Karl Vollmöller’s Dirty Money.
Her first European production, also the first of three films with German director Richard Eichberg, Schmutziges Geld (Song) tells the story of Song (Anna May Wong), “one of Fate’s castaways,” who is attacked on a beach in Istanbul and is rescued by John Houben (Heinrich George) a music-hall knife-thrower. John soon takes Song under his wing and recruits her as the human target in his knife-throwing act. Everything goes to plan, until John’s old flame (Mary Kid) comes to town and puts a question mark on Song’s position.
What starts out as a simple melodrama turns into a film full of twists and turns with some beautifully shot dance sequences.
A 4K digital restoration by DFF – Deutsches Filminstitut & Filmmuseum; courtesy Beta Film.
Presented by South West Silents.
With an introduction by film writer and historian Pamela Hutchinson and live music accompaniment by Stephen Horne.
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