Limehouse Blues (film)
| Limehouse Blues | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Alexander Hall |
| Produced by | Arthur Hornblow Jr. |
| Written by |
Cyril Hume Grover Jones Arthur Phillips |
| Starring |
George Raft Jean Parker Anna May Wong Kent Taylor |
| Music by |
Sam Coslow John Leipold |
| Cinematography | Harry Fischbeck |
| Edited by | William Shea |
| Distributed by | Paramount Pictures |
|
Release date
|
December 11, 1934 |
|
Running time
|
63 mins |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Limehouse Blues (also known as East End Chant) is a 1934 American crime film, directed by Alexander Hall. The film is set in the Limehouse district in the East End of London and its Chinatown. Among the stars of the film were George Raft and Anna May Wong. The film is named after the song "Limehouse Blues".
The film was not a commercial success when first released.
The film starts in a riverfront slum in Limehouse. The Lily Gardens, a local club, is owned by Chinese-American immigrant Harry Young. Young uses the club as a center of operations for his lucrative smuggling operation. Young is a recent arrival in London, but he has managed to take over crime operations in his area. Rival criminal Pug Talbot is increasingly driven out of business. Talbot is wrathful due to the situation, and his anger causes him to abuse his own daughter, Toni. The girl has been raised to be a pickpocket and is under her father's control.
At one point, Toni is about to be arrested, and Young helps her out. She is grateful for his help and grows very fond of him. Talbot alerts the police about one of Young's operations, in hopes of hurting his rival's business. Toni overhears the plan and warns Young in time. Young manages to evade the police. Talbot is furious at his treacherous daughter and beats her up. Young finds out about the abuse and vows revenge against Talbot.
Young pretends that he wants to negotiate with Talbot, and invites him for a meeting at his apartment. Talbot accepts the offer, unaware that it is a trap. When Talbot arrives from the meeting, Young has him stabbed to death. The corpse is abandoned in the street. Young offers Toni a job at his organization as a "watchdog", in exchange for room and board. Toni takes the offer and gets hired.
Young has a Chinese lover, Tu Tuan, that is suspicious over his relationship with Toni. She believes that her lover has fallen in love with the "white girl" and warns him against fruitlessly pursuing her. Worried that a jealous Tu Tuan might hurt Toni, Young removes the pickpocket from his operations. He gives Toni an allowance for her living expenses, which she sees as charity.
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