Release CalendarTop 250 MoviesMost Popular MoviesBrowse Movies by GenreTop Box OfficeShowtimes & TicketsMovie NewsIndia Movie Spotlight
    What's on TV & StreamingTop 250 TV ShowsMost Popular TV ShowsBrowse TV Shows by GenreTV NewsIndia TV Spotlight
    What to WatchLatest TrailersIMDb OriginalsIMDb PicksIMDb Podcasts
    OscarsBest Picture WinnersBest Picture WinnersEmmysHispanic & Latino VoicesSTARmeter AwardsSan Diego Comic-ConNew York Comic-ConSundance Film FestivalToronto Int'l Film FestivalAwards CentralFestival CentralAll Events
    Born TodayMost Popular CelebsMost Popular CelebsCelebrity News
    Help CenterContributor ZonePolls
For Industry Professionals
  • All
  • Titles
  • TV Episodes
  • Celebs
  • Companies
  • Keywords
  • Advanced Search
Watchlist
Sign In
  • Fully supported
  • English (United States)
    Partially supported
  • Français (Canada)
  • Français (France)
  • Deutsch (Deutschland)
  • हिंदी (भारत)
  • Italiano (Italia)
  • Português (Brasil)
  • Español (España)
  • Español (México)
  • Cast & crew
  • User reviews
  • Trivia
IMDbPro

Katkenneita kukkasia

Original title: Broken Blossoms or The Yellow Man and the Girl
  • 19191919
  • Not RatedNot Rated
  • 1h 30m
IMDb RATING
7.3/10
10K
YOUR RATING
Katkenneita kukkasia (1919)
DramaRomance
A frail waif, abused by her brutal boxer father in London's seedy Limehouse District, is befriended by a sensitive Chinese immigrant with tragic consequences.A frail waif, abused by her brutal boxer father in London's seedy Limehouse District, is befriended by a sensitive Chinese immigrant with tragic consequences.A frail waif, abused by her brutal boxer father in London's seedy Limehouse District, is befriended by a sensitive Chinese immigrant with tragic consequences.
IMDb RATING
7.3/10
10K
YOUR RATING
  • Director
    • D.W. Griffith(under the personal direction of)
  • Writers
    • Thomas Burke(adapted from 'The Chink and the Child' by)
    • D.W. Griffith
  • Stars
    • Lillian Gish
    • Richard Barthelmess
    • Donald Crisp
  • Director
    • D.W. Griffith(under the personal direction of)
  • Writers
    • Thomas Burke(adapted from 'The Chink and the Child' by)
    • D.W. Griffith
  • Stars
    • Lillian Gish
    • Richard Barthelmess
    • Donald Crisp
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 97User reviews
    • 76Critic reviews
  • See production, box office & company info
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 1 win

    Photos66

    "Broken Blossoms" Lillian Gish, Richard Barthelmess 1919 UA ** I.V.
    "Broken Blossoms" Lillian Gish 1919 UA ** I.V.
    "Broken Blossoms" Lillian Gish 1919 UA ** I.V.
    Lillian Gish and Richard Barthelmess in Katkenneita kukkasia (1919)
    Lillian Gish and Donald Crisp in Katkenneita kukkasia (1919)
    Lillian Gish in Katkenneita kukkasia (1919)
    Lillian Gish in Katkenneita kukkasia (1919)
    Lillian Gish in Katkenneita kukkasia (1919)
    Lillian Gish and Donald Crisp in Katkenneita kukkasia (1919)
    Lillian Gish and Richard Barthelmess in Katkenneita kukkasia (1919)
    Lillian Gish and Donald Crisp in Katkenneita kukkasia (1919)
    Lillian Gish and Donald Crisp in Katkenneita kukkasia (1919)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Lillian Gish
    Lillian Gish
    • Lucy - The Girl
    • (as Miss Lillian Gish)
    Richard Barthelmess
    Richard Barthelmess
    • Cheng Huan - The Yellow Man
    • (as Mr. Richard Barthelmess)
    Donald Crisp
    Donald Crisp
    • Battling Burrows
    Arthur Howard
    • Battling Burrows' Manager
    Edward Peil Sr.
    Edward Peil Sr.
    • Evil Eye
    • (as Edward Peil)
    George Beranger
    George Beranger
    • The Spying One
    Norman Selby
    • A Prizefighter
    Ernest Butterworth
    • Secondary Role
    • (uncredited)
    Fred Hamer
    • Secondary Role
    • (uncredited)
    Wilbur Higby
    • London Policeman
    • (uncredited)
    Man-Ching Kwan
    • Buddhist Monk
    • (uncredited)
    Bobbie Mack
    • Ringside Employee
    • (uncredited)
    Steve Murphy
    • Fight Spectator
    • (uncredited)
    George Nichols
    George Nichols
    • Police Constable
    • (uncredited)
    Karla Schramm
    • Burrows' Girlfriend
    • (uncredited)
    Bessie Wong
    • Girl in China
    • (uncredited)
    • Director
      • D.W. Griffith(under the personal direction of)
    • Writers
      • Thomas Burke(adapted from 'The Chink and the Child' by)
      • D.W. Griffith
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Cheng Huan is so saintly because D.W. Griffith knew there was a lot of Sinophobia in the US, and audiences would have trouble accepting a Chinese hero. In the original short story, Cheng Huan is just a guy who joined the Chinese merchant marines when he got into debt, grew tired of shipboard life and ended up in Limehouse, a multi-cultural port district in the poor section of London. He was never a Buddhist missionary or a pacifist, and fell just short of being a statutory rapist (albeit, he really loved Lucy); another part of rehabilitating his character was to change Lucy's age from 12 to 16. The audience is not supposed to think they had a sexual relationship, but if people played that out in their heads, it wasn't illegal (unless it was under US miscegenation laws, but Griffith kept the London setting). Anyway, it wasn't child-rape. In the original story, the only way in which Cheng Huan is morally superior to anyone else is his ahead-of-its-time compassion for Lucy. Griffith's personal copy of "Limehouse Nights", the book with the short story "The Chink and the Child"--on which this film is based--with all his screen writing marginal notes, still exists, in a rare book collection at the Lilly Library on the campus of Indiana University, along with a manuscript copy of the story by the author, with comments by Griffith and Lillian Gish.
    • Goofs
      The intertitles state, "The Buddha says, 'What thou dost not want others to do thee, do thou not to others.'" It was actually not the Buddha but Confucius' teaching.
    • Quotes

      Lucy Burrows: Don't do it, Daddy! You'll hit me once too often - and then they'll - they'll hang yer!

    • Connections
      Featured in The Philco Television Playhouse: The Birth of the Movies (1951)

    User reviews97

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    10/10
    The Introduction to Silent Movies for those who only know Chaplin
    "In this scarlet house of sin, does he ever hear the temple bells?" Broken Blossoms is the movie I use to introduce people to silent film who only know it from Chaplin shorts or Birth of a Nation. It is one of the most sensitive movies ever made, in my opinion, and is usually overlooked in any top 100 movie listing. I fear the oversight is due to the listers not having actually seen it.

    The version I have--which is now sadly out of print--is the Thames Video version with Lillian Gish's introduction. It is also the one with the original Louis Gotshalk score, pieces of which are sometimes heard on other versions, but the impact of the full orchestral Gotshalk score is overwhelming on an already exquisite film. If you have a chance to see this version, by all means do so.

    In answer to a question in another posting, the movie WAS originally tinted--it was part of the "epic poetry" attempt and was quite common with a lot of Griffith work--even back to "A Corner in Wheat".

    While I am an immense Gish fan, a lot has already been said about Miss Lillian in the other comments, so I will concentrate on Dick Bartlemess as Chen Huan. The quote above accompanied by his sad look as he leans against the wall of his curio shop tell it all: wrecked youthful enthusiasm--his despair only temporarily abated by the "pipe" in the Limehouse opium dens. His dreams of youth, all packed away in his garret, are only brought out when the one thing that gives him hope that is goodness amidst all the squalor stumbles into his shop.

    Only after Lucy arrives can Chen Huan allow himself to dream--to return to golden days of learning, beauty and goodness and ideals. He literally places his dreams of his lost youth on the trembling body of Lucy, but it such a pristine ideal he dare not "defame" it, or it too will disappear like all his other dreams. He must observe it from afar--almost ephemeral. He knows what Hell is like (even before he was shown the booklet by the Christian Brothers). His hell is his lost heart, his lost love. "Bits and pieces of his shattered life." Almost invariably when I find someone to share the movie with me, they are amazed how well it is made and how well it's core story stands up to today. The particulars of Chinese, Cockney and London are not the point; it is a story of hope and despair, of lovers and dreamers. A mature story for a mature audience.

    I often wonder if it could be made today. As open as we think we are, I wonder if the basic story could be told again. No matter--it's been told--excellently
    helpful•37
    7
    • drpax
    • Jul 6, 2005

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • October 28, 1923 (Finland)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Broken Blossoms
    • Filming locations
      • Fine Arts Studios - 4516 Sunset Blvd., Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA
    • Production company
      • D.W. Griffith Productions
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • $88,000 (estimated)
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 30 minutes
    • Sound mix
      • Silent
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.33 : 1

    Related news

    Contribute to this page

    Suggest an edit or add missing content
    Katkenneita kukkasia (1919)
    Top Gap
    By what name was Katkenneita kukkasia (1919) officially released in Canada in English?
    Answer
    • See more gaps
    • Learn more about contributing
    Edit page

    More to explore

    View image
    Photos
    Trending: Stars to Watch
    See the gallery
    View image
    Photos
    Double Duty: Musicians-Turned-Actors
    See the full gallery
    View list
    List
    New & Upcoming Sequels, Prequels, and Spin-Offs
    See the full list

    Recently viewed

    Please enable browser cookies to use this feature. Learn more.
    Get the IMDb App
    Sign in for more access
    Sign in for more access
    • Get the IMDb App
    • Help
    • Site Index
    • IMDbPro
    • Box Office Mojo
    • IMDb Developer
    • Press Room
    • Advertising
    • Jobs
    • Conditions of Use
    • Privacy Policy
    • Interest-Based Ads
    IMDb, an Amazon company

    © 1990-2022 by IMDb.com, Inc.