Java Head | |
---|---|
Directed by | J. Walter Ruben Thorold Dickinson (uncredited) Carol Reed (assistant director) |
Written by | Gordon Wellesley Martin Brown |
Based on | Java Head by Joseph Hergesheimer |
Produced by | Basil Dean |
Starring | Anna May Wong Elizabeth Allan Ralph Richardson John Loder |
Cinematography | Robert Martin |
Edited by | Thorold Dickinson David Lean (uncredited) |
Music by | Ernest Irving |
Production company | |
Distributed by | ABFD |
Release date |
|
Running time | 85 minutes |
Country | United Kingdom |
Language | English |
Java Head is a 1934 British historical drama film directed by J. Walter Ruben and an uncredited Thorold Dickinson. It stars Anna May Wong, Elizabeth Allan and Ralph Richardson. [1]
The film is set mostly in the seaport of Bristol, England, in the years 1848-50. Captain Jeremy Ammidon is the founder of the shipping line Ammidon & Sons, and lives with his family in his house "Java Head", named after the promontory in Java, Indonesia. [Note 1] His elder, land-based son William runs the company day-to-day, and wants to upgrade the fleet from slow sailing ships to fast clippers and steamships, and to carry contraband, all against his father’s wishes. Captain Ammidon’s younger, seafaring, son Gerrit is friends with Nettie Vollar. Nettie secretly loves Gerrit but her strict and religious grandfather, who has had a 20-year quarrel with his old shipmate Captain Ammidon, disapproves of any deeper friendship between Nettie and Gerrit.
Gerrit leaves on a commercial voyage and spends a year sailing round the world, taking weeks longer than other ships. He returns with a new bride, the beautiful Taou Yuen, who is the daughter of a Manchu prince. [Note 2] The Ammidon family are shocked and the conservative local townspeople are scandalised, exchanging gossip about Gerrit returning with “a heathen Chinese! From China!” Churchgoers look on aghast when she attends Sunday service in traditional Chinese dress, although the vicar is more welcoming and explains he has studied the teachings of Confucius. Although the Ammidons are initially as hostile as their friends and neighbours, the women in the family warm to Taou Yuen’s grace and nobility. Taou Yuen fears she is pursued by an evil spirit. She also tells Gerrit that “Unless I make you happy, I have no right to live.”
Time passes, and Gerrit wants to return to sea. He shows signs of dissatisfaction with his marriage to his exotic wife, and is concerned about leaving her alone while he is away. He starts to pay attention to Nettie, feeling sorry for her and her family’s deteriorating business position.
Without consulting Captain Ammidon or Gerrit, William orders four clipper ships and two steam packets. Captain Ammidon is initially interested in the details, but he then discovers that William has also been using the family’s ships to transport opium. Captain Ammidon is appalled and dies from shock. Gerrit decides he no longer wants to be part of the firm but to sell up and take one ship to start a new business in the Far East. He is also annoyed by Taou Yuen’s mourning ceremonies and her attitude towards death, which he does not understand.
Gerrit and Nettie declare their love for each other, but Gerrit says he must leave her as he already has a wife. Taou Yuen realises that her husband loves another woman, and that there cannot be two loves in his life. She visits Nettie and, as she is about to garrotte her to death, she is interrupted. Taou Yuen poisons herself with opium and dies.
Gerrit sails away with Nettie to their new life together.
The film is riddled with mixed messages. Most of the film seems to be a revisionist historical drama attacking bourgeois and religious hypocrisy and, especially, racism. The story also shows the clash between traditional values (Jeremy) and modern greed (William).
However, the behaviour of Nettie’s uncle Edward (who lusts after Taou Yuen) implies that Chinese culture is a kind of drug, similar to opium, which inflames the senses and stirs unnatural desires. The film, far from encouraging better understanding between East and West, seems to believe some things should stay separate.
The film’s greatest failing is that after sympathising with Taou Yuen’s position and emphasising her compassion, nobility and spirit, she inexplicably changes to become a caricatured Dragon Lady when she tries to murder Nettie. The closing scenes end things on a sour note that undoes almost all the positive aspects that came before. [2]
The screenplay was written by Gordon Wellesley and Carol Reed served as an assistant director. [3] The film is an adaptation of a novel by Joseph Hergesheimer of the same name. Its sets were designed by Edward Carrick. Thorold Dickinson gained his first directorial experience when he took over after J. Walter Ruben became ill and was unable to continue. [4]
A previous silent version was directed in 1923 by George Melford for Paramount Pictures. It starred Leatrice Joy. The silent version is considered a lost film.
The review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reports that 80% of critics gave the film a positive review based on 5 reviews. [5]
Dr. Fu Manchu is a supervillain who was introduced in a series of novels by the English author Sax Rohmer beginning shortly before World War I and continuing for another forty years. The character featured in cinema, television, radio, comic strips and comic books for over 100 years, and he has also become an archetype of the evil criminal genius and mad scientist, while lending his name to the Fu Manchu moustache.
The First Opium War, also known as the Anglo-Chinese War, was a series of military engagements fought between the British Empire and the Qing dynasty of China between 1839 and 1842. The immediate issue was the Chinese enforcement of their ban on the opium trade by seizing private opium stocks from merchants at Guangzhou and threatening to impose the death penalty for future offenders. Despite the opium ban, the British government supported the merchants' demand for compensation for seized goods, and insisted on the principles of free trade and equal diplomatic recognition with China. Opium was Britain's single most profitable commodity trade of the 19th century. After months of tensions between the two states, the Royal Navy launched an expedition in June 1840, which ultimately defeated the Chinese using technologically superior ships and weapons by August 1842. The British then imposed the Treaty of Nanking, which forced China to increase foreign trade, give compensation, and cede Hong Kong Island to the British. Consequently, the opium trade continued in China. Twentieth-century nationalists considered 1839 the start of a century of humiliation, and many historians consider it the beginning of modern Chinese history.
Sir Carol Reed was an English film director and producer, best known for Odd Man Out (1947), The Fallen Idol (1948), The Third Man (1949), and Oliver! (1968), for which he was awarded the Academy Award for Best Director.
Tai-Pan is a 1966 novel written by James Clavell about European and American traders who move into Hong Kong in 1842 following the end of the First Opium War. It is the second book in Clavell's Asian Saga, and the first to feature the fictional Struan family.
Chinese Box is a 1997 movie directed by Wayne Wang and starring Jeremy Irons, Gong Li, Maggie Cheung and Michael Hui.
Robert Bennet Forbes, was an American sea captain, China merchant and ship owner. He was active in ship construction, maritime safety, the opium trade, and charitable activities, including food aid to Ireland, which became known as America's first major disaster relief effort.
Rouge is a 1988 Hong Kong supernatural romantic-drama film, directed by Stanley Kwan and starring Anita Mui and Leslie Cheung. The film is the adaptation of a novel with the same title by Lilian Lee.
Karl Friedrich August Gützlaff, anglicised as Charles Gutzlaff, was a German Lutheran missionary to the Far East, notable as one of the first Protestant missionaries in Bangkok, Thailand (1828) and in Korea (1832). He was also the first Lutheran missionary to China. He was a magistrate in Ningbo and Zhoushan and the second Chinese Secretary of the British administration in Hong Kong.
The Accidental Spy is a 2001 Hong Kong martial arts action film starring Jackie Chan, produced by Chan and Raymond Chow, and directed by Teddy Chan. Filming took place in Seoul, Hong Kong, Istanbul and Cappadocia, Turkey.
HMS Tamar was the name for the British Royal Navy's base in Hong Kong from 1897 to 1997. It took its name from HMS Tamar, a ship that was used as the base until replaced by buildings ashore.
Kung Fu: The Movie is a 1986 made-for-television film and the first in a series of sequels which continued the story of the Shaolin monk, Kwai Chang Caine, first introduced in the 1972–1975 television series Kung Fu. David Carradine reprises the role of Caine. The role of his son, Chung Wang, is portrayed by Brandon Lee in his acting debut. The film aired on Brandon's 21st birthday on February 1, 1986. The role of Master Po is also reprised by Keye Luke and The Manchu is portrayed by Mako. In the film, the show's hero, Kwai Chang Caine (Carradine), is forced to fight his hitherto unknown son, Chung Wang (Lee).
Once Upon a Time in China is a 1991 Hong Kong martial arts film written and directed by Tsui Hark, starring Jet Li as Chinese martial arts master and folk hero of Cantonese ethnicity, Wong Fei-hung. It is the first installment in the Once Upon a Time in China film series. It is a staple in the Wuxia genre.
The Queen of Spades is a 1949 British fantasy-horror film directed by Thorold Dickinson and starring Anton Walbrook, Edith Evans and Yvonne Mitchell. It is based on the 1834 short story of the same name by Alexander Pushkin.
Thorold Barron Dickinson was a British film director, screenwriter, film editor, film producer, and Britain's first university professor of film. Dickinson's work received much praise, with fellow director Martin Scorsese describing him as "a uniquely intelligent, passionate artist... They're not in endless supply."
Fair Wind to Java is a 1953 American adventure film in Trucolor from Republic Pictures, produced and directed by Joseph Kane, that stars Fred MacMurray and Vera Ralston. With special effects by the Lydecker brothers, the film was based on the 1948 novel of the same name by Garland Roark.
Java Head is a 1923 American silent romantic drama film directed by George Melford and starring Leatrice Joy, Jacqueline Logan, Frederick Strong, Alan Roscoe, and Betty Bronson in a bit part. It is based on a popular novel of the same name by Joseph Hergesheimer, which in turn is named after the geographical feature.
South Solitary is a 2010 Australian romance film set on South Solitary Island and directed by Shirley Barrett.
Nonsuch was launched at Calcutta in 1781 as the first large vessel built there. She was designed to serve as either a merchantman or a man-of-war. She spent the first 12 years of her career as a merchant vessel, carrying opium to China amongst other cargoes. After the outbreak of the French Revolutionary Wars in 1793 her owner frequently hired her out as an armed ship to the British East India Company (EIC). She participated in an engagement with a French naval squadron and recaptured an East Indiaman. She also made two voyages for the EIC. After the Peace of Amiens in 1802 the EIC paid her off; as she was being hauled into a dockyard for repairs she was damaged and the decision was taken to break her up.
Love, Weddings & Other Disasters is a 2020 American romantic comedy film written and directed by Dennis Dugan, from a story by Dugan, Eileen Conn and Larry Miller. It stars Diane Keaton, Jeremy Irons, Maggie Grace, Diego Boneta and Andrew Bachelor.
Kick Boxer, also known in the West as Once Upon a Chinese Hero and Once Upon a Time in China 6: Kickboxer, is a 1993 Hong Kong martial arts film directed by Wu Ma, who also appears in a supporting role, and produced by and starring Yuen Biao, who also serves as the film's action director, in the title role.