by Screenmancer Staff
Actress Nancy Kwan from classics as the 1961 film FLOWER DRUM SONG will team up with TCM Host Dave Karger to look at the range of Asian actors who have found a home in Hollywood movies. The Spotlight series will include a pan-Asian selection from DAUGHTER OF SHANGHAI (1937) to JOY LUCK CLUB (1993) to SAYONARA (1957) with Audrey Hepburn.
If you look back at performances such as Mickey Rooney aping a Japanese photographer in BREAKFAST AT TIFFANY’S, it becomes clear who should be playing these Asian roles. Yet even Lon Chaney, Katharine Hepburn, Boris Karloff, Myrna Loy, Marlon Brando, Loretta Young, and John Wayne have had their turn portraying the “Orient” roles. Luckily, John M. Chu’s CRAZY RICH ASIANS from 2018 blew the stereotype that you need an Occident to make the far East pictures.
In addition to the TCM slate for May, FAREWELL MY CONCUBINE and nearly all the works of great director Chen Kaige, also anything from Akira Kurosawa, will add to the exquisite worlds opened by authentic Asian players on screen.
TCM In Solidarity
This month’s Spotlight looks at the representation of Asian-American characters through the lens of Hollywood. TCM Host Dave Karger is joined by actress Nancy Kwan to introduce films starring Asian-American actors each week, which includes her film Flower Drum Song (1961).
Find out more about Nancy Kwan, and more from TCM here.
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