Lotus Blossom (film)

Lotus Blossom (aka Lian hua xin chu xi and Daughter of Heaven) is a 1921 film written and directed by Shanghai-born actor James B. Leong.

Lotus Blossom
Directed byJames B. Leong
Francis J. Grandon
Screenplay byJames B. Leong
Charles Furthman
George Yohalem
StarringLady Tsen Mei
Tully Marshall
Noah Beery
Yutaka Abe
CinematographyRoss Fisher
Production
company
Wah Ming Motion Picture Company
Distributed byNational Exchanges
Release date
December 1, 1921 (USA)
Running time
70 minutes
Budget$100,000

Plot

The inventor of the first clock — which would eliminate the use of a Chinese village's sacred bell — is sentenced to life imprisonment by the emperor, but he escapes his fate by hiding with a father and his daughter. The story was reportedly based on an ancient Chinese legend.[1]

Cast

Background

Leong — who later became a prolific character actor in Hollywood — created the Wah Ming Motion Picture Company in 1919 aiming to craft films that would combat Hollywood's stereotypical portrayals of Chinese people as assassins and villains.[2] (Leong had been born in Shanghai but educated in Indiana, and he had been enlisted by a number of Hollywood directors to work as a translator and technical director on film sets in the late 1910s.)

Production

The film was produced in Los Angeles and was financially backed by the support of Chinese merchants.[3] The cast was largely Chinese, but Leong and co-director Francis J. Grandon did cast two white actors — Tully Marshall and Noah Beery — to play Chinese roles, as was common at that time. The film took around six months to make, and it had a budget of around $100,000.[4] Leong cast Lady Tsen Mei, a Chinese opera singer, in the lead role.

Release

When the film opened in Los Angeles in 1921, actresses Anna May Wong and Bessie Wong were on hand to greet customers at the door.[5] A Chinese symphony orchestra provided the film's score.[1]

Home media

In 2004, the film was released on DVD by Facets Multimedia Distribution and Image Entertainment.

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References
  1. "Chinese Cast Feature of 'Lotus Blossom'". The Los Angeles Times. 27 Nov 1921. Retrieved 2019-11-09.
  2. "News Notes from Movieland". The Ada Evening News. 7 Apr 1921. Retrieved 2019-11-09.
  3. "The Oriental Drama". The Kenosha News. 8 Apr 1921. Retrieved 2019-11-09.
  4. "Young Chinese, Former Student Here, in City to Exhibit His Film Play". The Muncie Evening Press. 22 Aug 1921. Retrieved 2019-11-09.
  5. "26 Nov 1921, Page 3 - The Los Angeles Times at Newspapers.com". Newspapers.com. Retrieved 2019-11-09.
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