Daughter of the Dragon

Lloyd Corrigan, Paramount, 1931, from Sax Rohmer. Anna May Wong is Princess Ling Moy, a nightclub performer who learns she is Fu Manchu’s daughter and is pointed at Scotland Yard. Sessue Hayakawa is Ah Kee, the detective; Warner Oland, again in yellowface, is Fu in his last turn in the part. Wong and Hayakawa, two stars the studios would not let play ordinary leads, share a thriller that still needs a white couple in the background. Seventy minutes, early sound. Wong’s voice is low and exact. The dragon is Rohmer’s.