Anna May Wong

Acting

Anna May Wong

Born — Died

1905-01-03 — 1961-02-02

Place of birth

Los Angeles, California, USA

Known for

Acting

Credits

71 titles

Wong Liu Tsong (January 3, 1905 – February 3, 1961), known professionally as Anna May Wong, was an American actress whose long career spanned both silent and sound films, television, stage, and radio. Apart from being recognized as the the first Chinese-American movie star, as well as the first Asian-American to become an international star, she was also seen as an acclaimed fashion icon due to her being the one of the early stars to embrace the flapper look. Born near the Chinatown neighborhood of Los Angeles to second-generation Chinese-American parents, Wong became infatuated with the movies at an early age and quit education to focus on beginning an acting career. After landing parts as…

Known for

Climax! poster
3.8

Climax! is an American anthology series that aired on CBS from 1954 to 1958. The series was hosted by William Lundigan and later co-hosted by Mary Costa. It was one of the few CBS programs of that era to be broadcast in color. Many of the episodes were performed and broadcast live.

Climax!

1954

The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp poster
6.8

The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp is a television western series loosely based on the life of frontier marshal Wyatt Earp. The half-hour black-and-white program aired for 229 episodes on ABC from 1955 to 1961 and featured Hugh O'Brian in the title role.

The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp

1955

Danger Man poster
7.3

Danger Man is a British television series which was broadcast between 1960 and 1962, and again between 1964 and 1968. The series featured Patrick McGoohan as secret agent John Drake. Ralph Smart created the programme and wrote many of the scripts. Danger Man was financed by Lew Grade's ITC Entertainment.

Danger Man

1960

Adventures in Paradise poster
6.1

Adventures in Paradise is an American television series created by James Michener which ran on ABC from 1959 until 1962, starring Gardner McKay as Adam Troy, the captain of the schooner Tiki III, which sailed the South Pacific looking for passengers and adventure. USA Network aired reruns of this series between 1984 and 1988. The plots deal with the romantic and detective stories of Korean War veteran Troy. The supporting cast, varying from season to season, features George Tobias, Guy Stockwell, and Linda Lawson.

Adventures in Paradise

1959

The Barbara Stanwyck Show poster
6.4

An American anthology drama television series hosted by Barbara Stanwyck served.

The Barbara Stanwyck Show

1960

No artwork available
6.8

Producers' Showcase is an American anthology television series that was telecast live during the 1950s in compatible color by NBC. With top talent, the 90-minute episodes, covering a wide variety of genres, aired under the title every fourth Monday at 8 p.m. ET for three seasons, beginning October 18, 1954. The final episode, the last of 37, was broadcast May 27, 1957. Showcase Productions, Inc., packaged and produced the series, which received seven Emmy Awards, including the 1956 award for Best Dramatic Series.

Producers' Showcase

1954

Film credits

1940s · 4 titles

Impact poster
6.1

After surviving a murder attempt, an auto magnate goes into hiding so his wife can pay for the crime.

Impact

1949

Ellery Queen's Penthouse Mystery poster
6.5

Ventriloquist and world traveler Gordon Cobb is murdered by a gang of jewel thieves. Baffled by the contradictory clues, Inspector Queen asks his son, Ellery, to help out.

Ellery Queen's Penthouse Mystery

1941

Lady from Chungking poster
6.1

During World War II, Chinese guerrillas fight against the occupying Japanese forces. A young woman is the secret leader of the villagers, who plot to rescue two downed Flying Tigers pilots, who are currently in the custody of the Japanese. The rescue mission takes on even more importance with the arrival of a Japanese general, which signals a major offensive taking place in the area.

Lady from Chungking

1942

Bombs Over Burma poster
5.2

The film tells the story of Chinese guerrillas fighting for the Allied cause in Burma during Early in World War II, Chungking schoolteacher Lin Yang is recruited to help with the dangerous mission of protecting the Allied supply line from Burma into China. In spite of the danger involved, her determination to help is strengthened when one of her young students is killed in a Japanese air raid. Some time later, she is part of a group of Allied representatives departing from Lashio, on a bus traveling the Burma Road back to China. A bridge outage forces them to spend the night in a monastery along the way, and during the night they watch in horror as a supply convoy of trucks is bombed by Japanese planes. The timing and accuracy of the raid brings them to realize that either one of their group, or perhaps the priest in the monastery, is really an enemy agent

Bombs Over Burma

1942

1930s · 19 titles

Shanghai Express poster
7.0

A beautiful temptress re-kindles an old romance while trying to escape her past during a tension-packed train journey.

Shanghai Express

1932

Hollywood on Parade No. A-3 poster
10.0

Eddie Kane wanders round the studio back-lot, opening various doors to see which stars pop out.

Hollywood on Parade No. A-3

1932

When Were You Born poster
5.3

A San Francisco astrologer correctly predicts a ship passenger's death and then helps the police look for the murderer.

When Were You Born

1938

A Study in Scarlet poster
5.5

In London, a secret society led by lawyer Thaddeus Merrydew collects the assets of any of its deceased members and divides them among the remaining members. Society members start dropping like flies. Sherlock Holmes is approached by member James Murphy's widow, who is miffed at being left penniless by her husband. When Captain Pyke is shot, Holmes keys in on his mysterious Chinese widow as well as the shady Merrydew. Other members keep dying: Malcom Dearing first, then Mr. Baker. There is also an attempt on the life of young Eileen Forrester, who became a reluctant society member upon the death of her father. Holmes' uncanny observations and insights are put to the test.

A Study in Scarlet

1933

King of Chinatown poster
5.6

A Chinese-American surgeon faces a moral dilemma after operating on the mob boss in charge of vice and protection rackets in her city's Chinatown.

King of Chinatown

1939

Daughter of the Dragon poster
5.3

At her Chinese father's bidding, a woman goes to murder an enemy and meets a Scotland Yard detective.

Daughter of the Dragon

1931

Hollywood on Parade poster
6.5

A short featuring many stars

Hollywood on Parade

1932

Daughter of Shanghai poster
5.4

A Chinese-American woman tries to expose an illegal alien smuggling ring.

Daughter of Shanghai

1937

Java Head poster
6.8

The port city of Bristol, England, in the 1800s is home to Java Head, a sailing ship line company. The owner has two sons. One, a handsome seafarer, is in love with a local girl, but cannot marry her due to a long-running feud between their fathers. After a lengthy voyage, he returns with a very exotic, noble Chinese wife, which scandalizes the conservative town. His other son, a "landlubber", seeks to convert to steamships, to the disgust of his father. Even worse, he is secretly dealing in contraband.

Java Head

1934

Dangerous to Know poster
6.6

Racketeer Steve Recka, art patron and political power-maker, rules his town and Madame Lan Ying, his beautiful friend and hostess (read:mistress), with an iron hand. He meets Margaret Van Kase, a socialite not impressed by his power nor his wealth, having no money herself, and Steve makes frantic efforts to win her and turns away from the loyal Lin Yang.

Dangerous to Know

1938

Flame of Love poster
10.0

French language version. A Chinese cabaret singer will do whatever it takes to save her brother when he is sentenced to death for trying to save her from a lecherous Duke.

Flame of Love

1930

Hollywood Party poster
6.8

Elissa Landi and Charley Chase host an East Asian themed garden tea party in Hollywood. After introducing a few Hollywood luminaries who are attending the party, they present a number of musical and/or dance performances to entertain the crowd. This set of performances also includes ethnic Chinese actress Anna May Wong modeling some fashions she brought back from her first ever trip to China. Through it all, one of the guests, already inebriated, is having a few problems mixing and serving the cocktails he wants.

Hollywood Party

1937

Island of Lost Men poster
5.6

A Chinese general's daughter tracks her father to a slave-labor tyrant's jungle empire.

Island of Lost Men

1939

Tiger Bay poster
6.6

Michael is a young Englishman abroad who deliberately visits a tough Chinese district of Tiger Bay to test his strength. He falls in love and battles a protection racket.

Tiger Bay

1934

Elstree Calling poster
5.0

A series of 19 musical and comedy "vaudeville" sketches presented in the form of a live television broadcast hosted by Tommy Handley (as himself).

Elstree Calling

1930

The Road to Dishonour poster
8.0

No synopsis available yet.

The Road to Dishonour

1930

The Flame of Love poster
6.0

A Chinese troupe star and the Grand Duke's adjutant fall in love, to tensions from both sides' respective comrades.

The Flame of Love

1930

Chu Chin Chow poster
5.0

Musical retelling of the "Ali Baba and the 40 Thieves" Arabian Nights tale.

Chu Chin Chow

1934

Limehouse Blues poster
4.4

Fresh from Chinatown in New York, Harry Young has taken over the illegal import business in the seamy Limehouse district of London, where he cold-bloodedly disposes of rivals and runs a smoky nightclub. He falls for a low-class, white pickpocket, diminishing his pride in the Chinese half of his heritage and sparking the jealousy of the nightclub's moody star performer.

Limehouse Blues

1934

1920s · 28 titles

The Thief of Bagdad poster
7.3

A recalcitrant thief vies with a duplicitous Mongol ruler for the hand of a beautiful princess.

The Thief of Bagdad

1924

Why Girls Love Sailors poster
5.5

Stan is a sailor whose girl gets kidnapped by a rough sea captain. Stan dresses in drag and seduces the captain but the captain's wife catches him. Stan and his girl beat a hasty retreat as the captain's wife fires off a parting shot.

Why Girls Love Sailors

1927

Drifting poster
7.0

An American girl who helps operate a Shanghai opium ring meets an American agent disguised as a mining engineer. The two fall in love, and she has to determine where her loyalties lie.

Drifting

1923

Peter Pan poster
6.9

Peter Pan enters the nursery of the Darling children and, with the help of fairy dust, leads them off to Never Never Land, where they meet the nefarious Captain Hook.

Peter Pan

1924

Lilies of the Field poster
7.0

A young mother, Mildred, doesn't know that her husband Walter is cheating on her. One night she attends a party with a friend of her husband's, and the man gets drunk and begins groping her when they get home. Her husband sees this and uses it as an excuse to sue his wife for divorce. In the ensuing trial he wins, due to fraudulent evidence, and gets custody of the child. Complications ensue.

Lilies of the Field

1924

Outside the Law poster
6.2

Silent Madden and his daughter Molly have left the criminal underworld of San Francisco thanks to the wise teachings of Chang Low, a Confucian master. But the evil Black Mike Sylva is determined to frame Madden to avenge a mistake from the past…

Outside the Law

1921

Piccadilly poster
6.5

A young Chinese woman, working in the kitchen at a London dance club, is given the chance to become the club's main act.

Piccadilly

1929

Song poster
7.3

After committing a murder for his lover, Gloria, the famous painter Jack is forced to go underground. In the harbor district, he saves the poor Malaysian girl Song in front of two intrusive sailors. She loves him for it, and together Song and Jack appear in the tingle dungeon of the port, he as a knife artist, she as a dancer.

Song

1928

Mr. Wu poster
5.8

When Mandarin Wu's unmarried daughter becomes pregnant by a young Englishman, he seeks vengeance.

Mr. Wu

1927

The Chinese Parrot poster
10.0

The plot is motivated by a pearl necklace, which has caused the death and/or ruination of all its owners. The second screen appearance of detective Charlie Chan.

The Chinese Parrot

1927

Forty Winks poster
8.0

The Butterworth family attorney Gaspar Le Sage, and a suitor for the hand of Eleanor Butterworth, persuades a beautiful adventuress, Annabelle Wu, to help him steal the official plans for the coastal defense of California from Eleanor's brother, Lieutenant Butterworth.

Forty Winks

1925

A Tale of Two Worlds poster
6.3

A white child is adopted and raised by a Chinese citizen and brought to San Francisco, where no one surmises that she is actually not Chinese.

A Tale of Two Worlds

1921

Pavement Butterfly poster
7.0

In this, her second silent film with Eichberg, Wong plays Princess Butterfly, an exotic Parisian fan dancer whose “death leap through a circle of naked swords” act goes tragically wrong. Blamed for the impalement of a fellow performer, she runs away and takes shelter with a handsome but starving painter who she brings luck.

Pavement Butterfly

1929

The Desert's Toll poster
7.0

Frank Darwin needs to convince Muriel he didn't kill her Father, as claimed by Jasper and Oneta.

The Desert's Toll

1926

The Toll of the Sea poster
6.3

A young Chinese woman saves an American man washed up onto the shore and the two fall in love, only for him to have second thoughts.

The Toll of the Sea

1923

The First Born poster
7.0

Loey Tsing, the first love of Chan Wang, is sold into slavery by her father. Although Chan marries another, he still loves Loey; only the birth of a son relieves his unhappiness. He adores little Chan Toy even though he finds nothing to like about his wife.

The First Born

1921

Mary of the Movies poster
8.0

Mary's kid brother needs an operation and, in order to pay for it, Mary goes to a Hollywood studio and applies for a job as an actress. Mary is given a job as a waitress in the commissary, and gets to meet 40 actors, actresses and directors, none of whom tip big enough to enable Mary to earn enough money to pay for an operation. Will Mary become an actress and make some big money?

Mary of the Movies

1923

No artwork available
NR

Loves of a ship's captain on the high seas!

Souvenirs

1928

The Devil Dancer poster
5.7

An English explorer disturbed by the practices of an isolated tribe attempts to rescue a native girl he has become fascinated with. THE DEVIL DANCER was highly praised at time of release for its exquisite cinematography, especially in the use of light and shadow. The film received an Academy Award nomination in this category. Sadly, it is among the lost. No prints or negatives are known to survive.

The Devil Dancer

1927

The Honorable Mr. Buggs poster
7.0

Mr. Buggs is an insect collector. A beautiful and mysterious Asian woman (the lovely Anna May Wong) brings him a rare specimen, but she is actually a wanted thief who has stolen a valuable brooch.

The Honorable Mr. Buggs

1927

Streets of Shanghai poster
9.0

No synopsis available yet.

Streets of Shanghai

1927

A Trip to Chinatown poster
10.0

A young hypochondriac who believes that he has only a week to live. His name, by the way, is Welland Strong. He decides to visit his uncle in the short amount of time he has left in the world. Eventually Strong winds up in Chinatown.

A Trip to Chinatown

1926

The Fortieth Door poster
8.0

Aimee is a young girl betrothed to a rascal, Hamid Bey. An American archeologist, Jack Ryder, arrives to help the girl escape ending up in Bey's harem, but it takes the boy ten episodes to finally succeed.

The Fortieth Door

1924

Across to Singapore poster
7.0

While Joel and his older ship's captain brother Mark are at sea, the latter is abandoned in Singapore by devious ship's mate Finch who, upon their return, convinces the townspeople that Joel abandoned his brother. Joel, determined to not only find Mark but to see justice done, returns the ship to Singapore.

Across to Singapore

1928

Bits of Life poster
10.0

This film combines four short films under the title Bits Of Life. The Bad Samaritan is taken from a story in Popular Magazine in which the son of a Chinese father and a white mother is sold into slavery by his father. The boy becomes a criminal and a cunning but cruel thief. The one time he stops to help a lady in distress he is thrown in jail. Wesley Barry is the young boy and Lon Chaney the grown-up criminal.

Bits of Life

1921

The Alaskan poster
7.0

An Alaskan defies robber barons intent on corrupting the new state.

The Alaskan

1924

Dinty poster
5.5

Dinty is a newsboy whose fight to care for his ailing mother leads him into conflicts with the other boys on the street and then with drug smugglers in Chinatown.

Dinty

1920

Old San Francisco poster
5.8

In San Francisco, a villainous landowner with underworld connections seeks to steal the property of an old Spanish family.

Old San Francisco

1927

Series credits

Climax! poster
3.8

Climax! is an American anthology series that aired on CBS from 1954 to 1958. The series was hosted by William Lundigan and later co-hosted by Mary Costa. It was one of the few CBS programs of that era to be broadcast in color. Many of the episodes were performed and broadcast live.

Climax!

1954

Climax! poster
3.8

Climax! is an American anthology series that aired on CBS from 1954 to 1958. The series was hosted by William Lundigan and later co-hosted by Mary Costa. It was one of the few CBS programs of that era to be broadcast in color. Many of the episodes were performed and broadcast live.

Climax!

1954

The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp poster
6.8

The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp is a television western series loosely based on the life of frontier marshal Wyatt Earp. The half-hour black-and-white program aired for 229 episodes on ABC from 1955 to 1961 and featured Hugh O'Brian in the title role.

The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp

1955

Danger Man poster
7.3

Danger Man is a British television series which was broadcast between 1960 and 1962, and again between 1964 and 1968. The series featured Patrick McGoohan as secret agent John Drake. Ralph Smart created the programme and wrote many of the scripts. Danger Man was financed by Lew Grade's ITC Entertainment.

Danger Man

1960

Adventures in Paradise poster
6.1

Adventures in Paradise is an American television series created by James Michener which ran on ABC from 1959 until 1962, starring Gardner McKay as Adam Troy, the captain of the schooner Tiki III, which sailed the South Pacific looking for passengers and adventure. USA Network aired reruns of this series between 1984 and 1988. The plots deal with the romantic and detective stories of Korean War veteran Troy. The supporting cast, varying from season to season, features George Tobias, Guy Stockwell, and Linda Lawson.

Adventures in Paradise

1959

The Barbara Stanwyck Show poster
6.4

An American anthology drama television series hosted by Barbara Stanwyck served.

The Barbara Stanwyck Show

1960

No artwork available
6.8

Producers' Showcase is an American anthology television series that was telecast live during the 1950s in compatible color by NBC. With top talent, the 90-minute episodes, covering a wide variety of genres, aired under the title every fourth Monday at 8 p.m. ET for three seasons, beginning October 18, 1954. The final episode, the last of 37, was broadcast May 27, 1957. Showcase Productions, Inc., packaged and produced the series, which received seven Emmy Awards, including the 1956 award for Best Dramatic Series.

Producers' Showcase

1954

Asian Americans poster
10.0

This five-part series traces the story of Asian Americans, spanning 150 years of immigration, racial politics, international relations, and cultural innovation. It is a timely, clear-eyed look at the vital role that Asian Americans have played in defining who we are as a nation. Their stories are a celebration of the grit and resilience of a people that reflects the experience of all Americans.

Asian Americans

2020

No artwork available
8.0

The Gallery of Madame Liu-Tsong was an American television series which aired on the now defunct DuMont Television Network. It starred Chinese American silent film and talkie star Anna May Wong, who played a detective in a role written specifically for her. The Gallery of Madame Liu Tsong was the first U.S. television series starring an Asian-American series lead.

The Gallery of Madame Liu-Tsong

1951

Behind the camera

My China Film poster
NR

Anna May Wong created “My China Film” as her response to not being cast in Metro Goldwyn Meyer’s award-winning film about Chinese peasants, The Good Earth (1937). Immediately after that casting rejection, Wong travelled to China for the first and only time in 1936 to see the real China, the “native land” of her parents where she arranged to have her experiences there filmed by Newsreel Wong. In contrast to The Good Earth, “My China Film” is the result of a Hollywood film studio actress seizing the means of production. Her film reveals her craftsmanship as an American actress learning to play a Chinese by equipping herself to perform the role of a transnational Chinese. In addition, rather than being a straightforward documentary travelogue, “My China Film” reflects differing agendas and multiple Chinas.

My China Film

1936

My China Film poster
NR

Anna May Wong created “My China Film” as her response to not being cast in Metro Goldwyn Meyer’s award-winning film about Chinese peasants, The Good Earth (1937). Immediately after that casting rejection, Wong travelled to China for the first and only time in 1936 to see the real China, the “native land” of her parents where she arranged to have her experiences there filmed by Newsreel Wong. In contrast to The Good Earth, “My China Film” is the result of a Hollywood film studio actress seizing the means of production. Her film reveals her craftsmanship as an American actress learning to play a Chinese by equipping herself to perform the role of a transnational Chinese. In addition, rather than being a straightforward documentary travelogue, “My China Film” reflects differing agendas and multiple Chinas.

My China Film

1936