I again watched MR. WU (1927) and WHERE EAST IS EAST (1929) last night, expecting to find them creaky and, well, of little interest outside of Chaney's presence. I was pleasantly surprised because both films had a lot going for them (incidentally, they are both set in the Orient), though their approach to the narrative was far from subtle.
Chaney has a dual role in MR. WU - as a dying old Mandarin, and his grandson (who grows up schooled in the ways of the West, while learning never to forget the laws of his land) - and he is completely convincing as always. His daughter, curiously, is played by the French Renee' Adoree' (from THE BLACK BIRD) and, unfortunately, her attempts to essay the typical Oriental mannerisms appear somewhat overdone when seen today. Ralph Forbes is the visiting young English diplomat who apparently defiles the innocent girl, forcing Chaney to summarily execute his daughter and extract a terrible revenge on him and his entire family.
The sets and costumes are lavish and beautiful to behold, but Chaney commands attention throughout. While outwardly benign and condescending to the invading Western community, he harbors the utmost contempt for them and this comes to the fore during the film's climax. Director William Nigh (who later directed several programmers starring both Bela Lugosi and Boris Karloff), unfortunately, has a tendency shared with Tod Browning to cut away at key moments, so that both Adoree's death and Chaney's fatal stabbing (by Forbes's brave mother, Louise Dresser) occur off-screen! The film's pace is fairly slow but picks up during the melodramatic third act, which plays out almost like a Fu Manchu caper in which part Chaney would have been terrific!
Chaney has a dual role in MR. WU - as a dying old Mandarin, and his grandson (who grows up schooled in the ways of the West, while learning never to forget the laws of his land) - and he is completely convincing as always. His daughter, curiously, is played by the French Renee' Adoree' (from THE BLACK BIRD) and, unfortunately, her attempts to essay the typical Oriental mannerisms appear somewhat overdone when seen today. Ralph Forbes is the visiting young English diplomat who apparently defiles the innocent girl, forcing Chaney to summarily execute his daughter and extract a terrible revenge on him and his entire family.
The sets and costumes are lavish and beautiful to behold, but Chaney commands attention throughout. While outwardly benign and condescending to the invading Western community, he harbors the utmost contempt for them and this comes to the fore during the film's climax. Director William Nigh (who later directed several programmers starring both Bela Lugosi and Boris Karloff), unfortunately, has a tendency shared with Tod Browning to cut away at key moments, so that both Adoree's death and Chaney's fatal stabbing (by Forbes's brave mother, Louise Dresser) occur off-screen! The film's pace is fairly slow but picks up during the melodramatic third act, which plays out almost like a Fu Manchu caper in which part Chaney would have been terrific!