Mr. Wu (1927)

When Mandarin Wu's unmarried daughter becomes pregnant by a young Englishman, he seeks vengeance.

Director:

William Nigh

Writers:

Maurice Vernon (from the play by), Harold Owen (from the play by),

Stars:

Lon Chaney, Louise Dresser, Renée Adorée

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Lon Chaney	...	Mr. Wu / Wu's Grandfather
Louise Dresser	...	Mrs. Gregory
Renée Adorée	...	Nang Ping
Holmes Herbert	...	Mr. Gregory
Ralph Forbes	...	Basil Gregory
Gertrude Olmstead	...	Hilda Gregory (as Gertrude Olmsted)
Mrs. Wong Wing	...	Ah Wong
Claude King	...	Mr. Muir
Sonny Loy	...	Little Wu
Anna May Wong	...	Loo Song

Storyline

Raised by his grandfather to adhere to the ancient laws of China, Mandarin Wu is a strict authoritarian. However, he is a doting father to his beautiful daughter Nang Ping. Nang Ping is to be married to a man of her father's choosing, a man she does not even know. But she falls in love with a dashing British visitor to China, Basil Gregory. Basil informs Nang Ping that he must return to Britain with his family, but she surprises him with the revelation that she carries his child. Wu learns of his daughter's dishonor and lets the ancient laws of China lead him relentlessly toward tragedy.

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Plot Keywords:

mandarin | star crossed lovers | local custom | honor killing | stabbed to death | 

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Taglines:

All the glamorous color and mystery of the throbbing East sweeps through this amazing film of passion, intrigue and revenge. (original ad)

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

Passed

Details

Country:

USA

Release Date:

26 March 1927 (USA)

Also Known As:

Mister Wu

Filming Locations:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios - 10202 W. Washington Blvd., Culver City, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$267,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

91 min 90 min 91 min (2000 alternate)

Sound Mix:

Silent

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The original play opened in New York on 14 October 1914.

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Connections

Referenced in Titus Andronicus (1999)

User Reviews

Great Chaney

Mr. Wu (1927)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

Lon Chaney plays a duel role as Mr. Wu and his grandfather. In the film, Mr. Wu (Chaney) believes in an old Chinese custom of marrying his daughter (Renee Adoree) into another Chinese family but the girl has fallen in love with an Englishman (Ralph Forbes). When the Englishman leaves the girl, Wu must seek revenge by killing the man, his family and his own daughter. For the first seventy-minutes this is a love story between the two kids with the vengeance aspect just showing up for the final twenty. Overall I was pretty disappointed with the film, although there's some good stuff in it. I think this is one of the weakest performances from Chaney that I've seen because he seems to forget the performance in exchange for the brilliant make up. Chaney's make up effects as the grandfather are simply marvelous and you can't even tell that it's Chaney under all that make up. Adoree comes off very well bringing an innocence that's easy to connect with. Forbes is also very good in his role and the supporting players are nice as well. I think the film would have benefited with a tighter script that kept the action moving better because the middle of the film is rather dull with not too much going on. Had this middle section been as entertaining as the first and third acts then the movie would be much more memorable. As it is, this movie is mainly watchable due to the great make up work from Chaney.