The Tong Man
About The Tong Man
Luk Chen (Sessue Hayakawa), a hatchet man for a San Francisco tong, is ordered to kill Louie Toy (Toyo Fujita) because Toy will not hand over his daughter Sen Chee (Helen Jerome Eddy) to Ming Tai (Marc Roberts). Luk loves Sen Chee and does not strike. Ming Tai kills the father himself and kidnaps her. Luk gets her away, and they hide in a room that belongs to Ming Tai. He finds them. They are rescued and leave by boat for China.
Cast & crew
More about The Tong Man
William Worthington directed. Richard Schayer wrote the scenario from Clyde Westover's story The Dragon's Daughter. George W. Stout produced. Frank D. Williams photographed it. Haworth released it through Robertson-Cole on 14 December 1919. Trade papers list five reels. A surviving copy runs about 47 minutes. Yutaka Abe is also in the cast. The story is set in San Francisco's Chinatown. Hayakawa's own company, Haworth, made it.
Themes
Making
Worthington staged the tong order, the kidnapping, and the boat for China on studio sets rather than in Chinatown.
Look
Frank D. Williams photographed the Chinatown sets and the boat departure.
Preservation
The Library of Congress holds a print. A circulating copy runs about 47 minutes, shorter than the five reels advertised in 1919. It is on the Internet Archive.
Notes
- A 1919 magazine synopsis calls the hiding place a dungeon under Ming Tai's control.
- The Library of Congress has long held a print.
- The Internet Archive identifier is silent-the-tong-man.
- A print survives and has been issued on home video. The label is not named in the sources used here.
- Marc Roberts is also billed Marc Robbins on some reviews.
Scenes
- The tong orders Luk to kill Sen Chee's father. He refuses.
- Ming Tai kills Louie Toy and carries Sen Chee off.
- Luk and Sen Chee are found in Ming Tai's hiding place, then put on a boat for China.
Influenced by
- The Dragon's Daughter by Clyde Westover
Also available
- Internet Archive (silent-the-tong-man)
