Kintarō Hayakawa, known professionally as Sessue Hayakawa, was a Japanese actor and a matinée idol. He was a popular star in Hollywood during the silent film era of the 1910s and early 1920s. Hayakawa was the first actor of Asian descent to achieve stardom as a leading man in the United States and Europe. His "broodingly handsome" good looks and typecasting as a sexually dominant villain made him a heartthrob among American women during a time of racial discrimination, and he became one of the first male sex symbols of Hollywood.
Tsuru Aoki was a Japanese stage and screen actress whose career was most prolific in the United States during the silent film era of the 1910s through the 1920s. Aoki may have been the first Asian actress to garner top billing in American motion pictures.
Bertram Grassby was an English actor. He appeared in more than 90 silent era films between 1914 and 1927. Grassby was married to American actress Gerard Alexander. He was born in Lincolnshire, England and died in Scottsdale, Arizona.
The Dragon Painter is a 1919 English language silent romance drama film. It is based on the novel of the same name, written by Mary McNeil Fenollosa. It stars Sessue Hayakawa as a young painter who believes that his fiancée, is a princess who has been captured and turned into a dragon. It was directed by William Worthington and filmed in Yosemite Valley, Yosemite National Park, and in the Japanese Tea Garden in Coronado, California.
The Swamp is a 1921 American silent drama film released by the Robertson-Cole Pictures Corporation and directed by Colin Campbell. The film was written and produced by Sessue Hayakawa, who also co-stars with Bessie Love. A print of this film is preserved at the Gosfilmofond archive in Moscow.
The Wrath of the Gods is a 1914 American silent drama film directed by Reginald Barker and starring Sessue Hayakawa, Tsuru Aoki, Frank Borzage, Thomas Kurihara and Henry Kotani. This was the first feature film appearance of Hayakawa and the directorial debut of Barker.
Each to His Kind is a 1917 American drama silent film directed by Edward LeSaint and written by George DuBois Proctor and Paul West. The film stars Sessue Hayakawa, Tsuru Aoki, Vola Vale, Ernest Joy, Eugene Pallette and Guy Oliver. The film was released on February 5, 1917, by Paramount Pictures.
The Call of the East is a 1917 American silent drama film directed by George Melford and written by Beulah Marie Dix. The film stars Sessue Hayakawa, Tsuru Aoki, Jack Holt, Margaret Loomis, James Cruze, and Ernest Joy. The film was released on October 15, 1917, by Paramount Pictures.
The Geisha is a 1914 American short silent film, directed by Raymond West and using music by Sidney Jones from the stage musical The Geisha. The film features Sessue Hayakawa, Tsuru Aoki, Frank Borzage, Ramona Radcliffe and Henry Kotani in important roles.
The Courageous Coward is a 1919 American silent drama film directed by William Worthington and featuring Sessue Hayakawa and Tsuru Aoki in lead roles.
The Bravest Way is a 1918 American silent drama film directed by George Melford and written by Edith M. Kennedy. The film stars Sessue Hayakawa, Florence Vidor, Tsuru Aoki, Yukio Aoyama, Jane Wolfe, and Winter Hall. The film was released on June 16, 1918, by Paramount Pictures.
The Sleepwalker is a lost 1922 American drama silent film directed by Edward LeSaint and written by Wells Hastings and Aubrey Stauffer. Starring Constance Binney, Jack Mulhall, Edythe Chapman, Florence Roberts, Bertram Grassby, Cleo Ridgely and Winifred Edwards, it was released on April 9, 1922, by Paramount Pictures.
The Vigil is a 1914 American short silent drama film directed by George Osborne and featuring Tsuru Aoki, Sessue Hayakawa, Thomas Kurihara and Mr. Yamato in prominent roles.
The Last of the Line is a 1914 American short silent Western film directed by Jay Hunt and featuring Joe Goodboy, Sessue Hayakawa, Tsuru Aoki, Stanley Bigham and Gladys Brockwell in pivotal roles.
His Birthright is a 1918 American drama film directed by William Worthington for Haworth Pictures Corporation. Sessue Hayakawa produced the film and played the lead role. The rest of the cast includes Marin Sais, Howard Davies, Mary Anderson, and Hayakawa's wife Tsuru Aoki.
Bonds of Honor is a 1919 American silent film directed by William Worthington. Sessue Hayakawa's Haworth Pictures Corporation produced the film and he himself played the leading roles along with his wife Tsuru Aoki. Marin Sais, Dagmar Godowsky, Herschel Mayall, Toyo Fujita and M. Foshida also appeared in the film.
Black Roses is a 1921 American crime drama film directed by Colin Campbell. Sessue Hayakawa, Myrtle Stedman, Tsuru Aoki, Andrew Robson, and Toyo Fujita appeared in the film.
Five Days to Live is a 1922 American silent drama film directed by Norman Dawn and featuring Sessue Hayakawa, Tsuru Aoki, Goro Kino, Misao Seki, Toyo Fujita, and George Kuwa.
The Temple of Dusk is a lost 1918 American silent drama film directed by James Young. It was produced by Sessue Hayakawa's Haworth Pictures Corporation.
His Debt is a 1919 American silent drama film directed by William Worthington and produced by Haworth Pictures Corporation.
