Keye Luke (film)

Keye Luke
Directed by	Timothy Tau
Produced by	Timothy Tau
Written by	Timothy Tau Ed Moy
Starring	Feodor Chin Kelvin Han Yee Archie Kao David Huynh Mei Melancon Jessika Van Elaine Kao Ina-Alice Kopp Becky Wu Cynthia San Luis James Huang
Music by	George Shaw (Best Original Score, Asians on Film Festival)
Production company	Firebrand Hand Creative
Running time	12 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English

Keye Luke is a 2012 American short film directed by Timothy Tau, written by Timothy Tau, Ed Moy and Feodor Chin, and produced by Timothy Tau.

The short film is a documentary and narrative hybrid bio-pic focusing on the earlier life and work of Keye Luke during the 1920s-1940s, a pioneering Asian American actor and painter most known for his roles as the Number One Son, Lee Chan, in the popular Charlie Chan films of the 1930s, and as the very first Kato in the 1940s Green Hornet, decades before Bruce Lee. It is to be noted that Luke shares a hometown with Lee (Seattle, Washington) and has several other similarities with Lee as well. Luke also played Detective James Lee Wong in the Phantom of Chinatown (1940), taking over the role of "Mr. Wong" (played by Boris Karloff) and becoming the first leading Asian American detective character in U.S. cinematic history. This role is covered in the film, as well as Luke's work in films such as Secret Agent X-9. Feodor Chin plays Keye Luke, Archie Kao plays Edwin Luke, the brother of Keye Luke, and Kelvin Han Yee plays Lee Luke, Keye Luke's father. Other actors play various real-life historical figures that were Luke's colleagues or family members, such as Elizabeth Sandy playing Luke's wife, Ethel Davis Luke.

The film was initially made under a Visual Communications "Armed With A Camera" Fellowship for Emerging Media Artists, and a five-minute abbreviated version premiered at the 2012 Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival. Many questions about the film's production are also answered in an extensive and in-depth Q&A done by the film's co-writer Ed Moy with director Timothy Tau.