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.
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.
Alien Souls is a lost 1916 silent film feature directed by Frank Reicher and starring Sessue Hayakawa, his real-life wife Tsuru Aoki and Earle Foxe.
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.
The Typhoon is a 1914 American drama film directed by Reginald Barker, written by Melchior Lengyel, and starring Sessue Hayakawa, Gladys Brockwell, Frank Borzage, Henry Kotani and Leona Hutton. It was released on October 10, 1914, by Paramount Pictures.
The Honorable Friend is a 1916 American drama silent film directed by Edward LeSaint and written by Elizabeth McGaffey and Eve Unsell. The film stars Sessue Hayakawa, Tsuru Aoki, Raymond Hatton, Goro Kino, M. Matsumato and William Elmer. The film was released on August 27, 1916, by Paramount Pictures.
Each to His Kind is a lost 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.
Hashimura Togo is a 1917 American silent comedy film directed by William C. deMille and written by Marion Fairfax and Wallace Irwin. The film stars Sessue Hayakawa, Florence Vidor, Mabel Van Buren, Walter Long, Tom Forman, and Raymond Hatton. The film was released on August 19, 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. It is not known whether the film currently survives, which suggests that it is a lost film.
O Mimi San is a 1914 American short silent drama film directed by Charles Miller, featuring Tsuru Aoki in the title role and Sessue Hayakawa, Kisaburo Kurihara, Chick Morrison and George Osborne in pivotal roles. It was preserved in 1995.
The Courageous Coward is a 1919 American silent drama film directed by William Worthington and featuring Sessue Hayakawa and Tsuru Aoki in lead roles. It is presumed to be a lost film, with only reel 5 preserved at the EYE Film Institute Netherlands film archive.
The Honor of His House is a 1918 American silent drama film directed by William C. deMille and written by Marion Fairfax. The film stars Sessue Hayakawa, Florence Vidor, Jack Holt, Mayme Kelso, Kisaburo Kurihara, and Forrest Seabury. The film was released on 1 April 1918, by Paramount Pictures.
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 Curse of Caste is a 1914 short drama film directed by Reginald Barker and featuring Sessue Hayakawa, Tsuru Aoki and Thomas Kurihara in important roles.
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.
A Heart in Pawn is a 1919 American silent drama film directed by William Worthington. Sessue Hayakawa's Haworth Pictures Corporation produced the film and Worthington played the lead role along with Vola Vale and his 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.
