Silents Talk: Anna May Wong

I love Anna May Wong. And I must confess until this post I had never heard her voice...and it was quite shocking!

Everything seemed to be against Anna, damn yellowface practices and what not. A woman wildly ahead of her time she would never get the stardom she so sorely deserved, though she had quite a long and well known career.

Stunningly gorgeous she had an acting style that at first reminds me of Mary Pickford, but evolved into something similar to a sexy Gloria Swanson. A third generation Chinese American, Anna was always torn between two worlds...and indeed her voice was one such battle.

Anna grew up speaking like a California girl, so much so even Chinese speakers told her she had too much of an accent. Tired of discrimination in the US she left for Europe in 1928. In Germany she made 2 talkies (I believe in both English and German, sadly neither appear to be on DVD) "Schmutziges Geld (aka Song or Show Life)" and "Großstadtschmetterling (aka City Butterfly)". These would be the only recordings of her natural untrained voice. While in Germany she also performed in an operetta, with the Germans praising her handling of their odd language (I say that lovingly as someone who has known many Germans).

Anna then left for England where she did one last silent "Piccadilly". While in England she performed in a play "A Circle of Chalk" to much fanfare and acclaim. However opening critics were not kind, dubbing her voice a 'yankee squeak'. Whether they were annoyed with the American accent or the fact a very Asian looking girl sounded like a flapper well...one can only guess. But Anna took it to heart and began intensive vocal lessons to give her a more 'refined' voice. This is the voice she made most of her talkies with.

In what can only be dubbed an odd situation, Paramount lured her back to Hollywood in 1930 with promises of overdue stardom. She made several important films during this time including "Shanghai Express" and "A Study and Scarlet". Below is a clip of the latter:



Here's another odd one (around the 8 minute mark) of Anna in technicolor showing off her fashions:



After losing the role of O Lan in The Good Earth to a whitey, Anna made a trip to China before trying Hollywood one last time. She made a few more talkies, all varying in quality and reception. In 1951 she became the first Asian American to have her own TV show "The Gallery of Madame Liu-Tsong" which is sadly lost (damn you Dumont!) Much like Gloria Swanson she went on to have quite a long career with its highs and lows. Apparently Americans didn't mind her voice however it came out.

Anna's Talkie Career

*Show Life (aka Song) (German) (1928)

*City Butterfly (German) (1928)

*The Flame of Love (3 versions: English, French, and German) (1930)

*Daughter of the Dragon (1931)

*Shanghai Express (1932)

*A Study in Scarlet (1933)

*Chu Chin Chow (1934)

*Java Head (1934)

*Tiger Bay (1934)

*Limehouse Blues (1934)

*Daughter of Shanghai (1937)

*Dangerous to Know (1938)

*When Were You Born (1938)

*King of Chinatown (1939)

*Island of Lost Men (1939)

*Lady from ChungKing (1942)

*Bombs Over Burma (1943)

*Impact (1949)

Many of these have been released on DVD or bootleg. Click titles to purchase.

Television Work

*The Gallery of Madame Liu-Tsong (1951-1951)

In addition Anna appeared on a handful of television shows between 1951 and 1961. Click here for a complete list.

Verdict: Silent or Talkies?

Isn't Anna fabulous in everything she did? Her voice did shock me a bit, being deeper and throatier (and extremely well enunciated) than I assumed it would. It's actually quite sexy, very Garbo. And in doing so it matches the image she had very well. I think it goes without saying she was quite successful in talkies. More than anything I think her acting peaked with the arrival of talkies, at least leading one to assume she was better in talkies than silents.

I actually have enjoyed her silents quite a bit. But in this case I'm gonna say Anna was a better talkie star.