'Eurasian?'
Why did they call Mrs. Hammond "Eurasian?" They said she only spoke Malay and Chinese.
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MovieChat Forums > The Letter (1940) Discussion > 'Eurasian?'
The Motion Picture Production Code (film censorship: 1930-67) specified that 'the sanctity of the institution of marriage and the home shall be upheld'. Therefore, unlike the Chinese mistress from the original play and 1929 film, this film had to have this character be a wife of Mr Hammond, as they were not allowed to portray her as a mistress. Perhaps, in changing this character to a 'Eurasian' wife, they caused plot issues over which languages she could speak, so ended up just keeping them as Malay and Chinese?
shareGod, the production code was stupid.
shareWorse than stupid. Ridiculous, asinine, and it took forever to get rid of it.
The Wire...the best series in the history of television
Worse than stupid. Ridiculous, asinine, and it took forever to get rid of it.
No argument there. But directors were rather clever working around it. In fact, I'd be hard-pressed to name a movie that would have been better without the code.
"The Sniper" is an excellent example of this. You could not show blood or bullet-holes in people, but the director, Edward Dmytryk, managed to convey brutal killings of women without so much as a single drop of blood.
Watta ya lookn here for? share
And some of H'woods best films came out of that era.
shareGod, the production code was stupid.
It certainly was.
This was an intruiging film, a powerful 'morality play', which had the potential of being really great if only accurate and authentic casting could've been allowed. While I watched, I kept thinking what the actress Anna May Wong would've done with the part of 'Mrs. Hammond'. Wong was a talented performer of Chinese-American descent who never got the roles she should've.
Anna May Wong never scandalized Hollywood with her string of fiancés, like Clara Bow, or an outré sex philosophy, like Mae West. Ultimately, the scandal of her career had little to do with her, or her actions — it’s the way that Hollywood, and the audience that powered it, remained so hideously stubborn about the roles a woman like her could play, both on and off the screen. Wong was a silent-film demi-star, a European phenomenon, a cultural ambassador, and a curiosity, the de facto embodiment of China, Asia, and the “Orient” at large for millions. She didn’t choose that role, but it became hers, and she labored, subtly, cleverly, persistently, to challenge what Americans thought an Asian or Asian-American should or could be — a challenge that persists today.
http://www.buzzfeed.com/annehelenpetersen/anna-may-wong-your-new-favor ite-star#.oiD63ZLeq
I'm betting she would've instantly elevated the role, lending some real depth to it.
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But wait, wasn't Leslie Mr. Hammond's mistress as well? so, what would be the point?
Swing away, Merrill....Merrill, swing away...share
The fact that she's Eurasian only indicates her ancestry, not her education or upbringing. She might have been born to the Asian mistress of a European colonial as must have been common in those days. Remember that Mrs. Hammond's character, as originally written, was Hammond's Chinese mistress.
Never wrestle with a pig. You'll just get dirty, and the pig enjoys it.
I think the film makers called her Eurasian because Gale Sondergaard was clearly not Asian and it seemed more plausible that she wouldn't have Asian features if she had only partly Asian ancestry.
Gale Sondergaard is pretty good at playing the hate-filled widow. I do wonder what a difference it would have made if an Asian woman had played the role. I think it is too bad that in Hollywood of that era no Asian actress could be cast instead.
I think it is too bad that in Hollywood of that era no Asian actress could be cast instead.How about Anna May Wong? I think she would have been wonderful in this movie. share
By the same token, why not make "Viva Zapata" with Brando, make all cast with Mexicans and etc and etc. Its a movie for god's sake...well known actors are suppose to or try to look like the characters they are portraying. Anthony Quinn, an irish mexican was at least close enough...At that time there were no well known Chinese actors or Mexican actors so they have to use their property actors, whom were getting paid even if they did not work on a particular film. Maybe Anna May Wong was not interested in playing that role or was not available?
shareI imagine that the racial prejudices of the time played a part in this. Perhaps the studio would not permit the depiction of a marriage where a white man was married to an Asian woman. So, they changed the woman to be of mixed ethnicity--- at least partly white.
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