''Chu-Chin-Chow'' is a 1923 British-German silent

adventure film An adventure film is a form of adventure fiction, and is a genre of film. Subgenres of adventure films include swashbuckler films, pirate films, and survival films. Adventure films may also be combined with other film genres such as action, an ...

directed by

Herbert Wilcox Herbert Sydney Wilcox Order of the British Empire, CBE (19 April 1890 – 15 May 1977) was a British film producer and film director, director. He was one of the most successful British filmmakers from the 1920s to the 1950s. He is best know ...

and starring

Betty Blythe Betty Blythe (born Elizabeth Blythe Slaughter; September 1, 1893 – April 7, 1972) was an American actress best known for her dramatic roles in exotic silent films such as ''The Queen of Sheba'' (1921). She appeared in 63 silent films and 56 t ...

Herbert Langley Herbert Langley (1888–1967) was a well-known early twentieth-century English opera singer (baritone) who later also played leading acting roles in a number of British silent films; and then smaller roles with the arrival of sound. He was the fat ...

, and

Randle Ayrton Frederick Randle Ayrton (9 August 1869 – 28 May 1940) was a British actor of stage and screen, and was also a producer and director. Early life Ayrton was born in Chester to William Frances Ayrton, a wealthy wine-merchant who was a p ...

.Progressive Silent Film List: ''Chu Chin Chow''
at silentera.com

Plot

As described in a review in a film magazine, Abou Hassan (Langley) and his forty thieves descend on a small Arabian town on the wedding day of Omar (Thomas) and the beautiful Zharat (Blythe) and kidnap them. Abou sells Zahrat to Kasim Baba (Ayrton), the miser and money lender of Bagdad, while posing as Prince Constantine. Later, Abou poses as the wealthy Chinese prince Chu-Chin-Chow, and bids on Zahrat when she is placed at auction. She pierces his disguise and exposes him. He robs the other bidders of their wealth and escapes with Zahrat. Promising that she will live among untold wealth, he sets her free. After she finds Omar, Abou takes them to his treasure cave, making good on his promise. Ali Baba (Green), brother of Kasim, accidentally discovers the cave and helps himself to the treasure. He then goes for aid to free Zahrat. Kasim, led by his greed, also comes to the cave but is captured and killed by Abou. Zahrat, now free, returns to Bagdad. Ali Baba gives a great feast. Abou appears as a merchant with forty jugs of oil, in which are hidden his forty thieves. Zahrat discovers the deception and, assisted by a powerful slave, they get rid of the hidden thieves. Left alone, Abou is denounced and the multitude turn on him. Cornered, he is stabbed by Zahrat who then returns to her village and finds happiness with Omar.

Cast

Production

The film is based on the extraordinarily successful

stage musical Musical theatre is a form of theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, movement ...

Chu Chin Chow ''Chu Chin Chow'' is a musical comedy written, produced and directed by Oscar Asche, with music by Frederic Norton, based (with minor embellishments) on the story of ''Ali Baba and the 40 Thieves''. Gänzl, Kurt"''Chu Chin Chow'' Musical Tale of ...

'' by

Oscar Asche John Stange(r) Heiss Oscar Asche (24 January 1871 – 23 March 1936), better known as Oscar Asche, was an Australian actor, director, and writer, best known for having written, directed, and acted in the record-breaking musical ''Chu Chin C ...

, with music by

Frederic Norton George Frederic Norton (11 October 186915 December 1946) was a British composer, most associated with the record breaking ''Chu Chin Chow'', which opened in 1916. Biography Norton was born in Broughton, Salford, England. He studied with Sir P ...

, that ran in London from 1916 to 1921. Wilcox had a box office success with ''

Flames of Passion ''Flames of Passion'' (1922) was a British silent film drama directed by Graham Cutts, starred Mae Marsh and C. Aubrey Smith. The film was made by the newly formed Graham-Wilcox Productions company, a joint venture between Cutts and producer H ...

'' (1922) starring imported Hollywood actor

Mae Marsh Mae Marsh (born Mary Wayne Marsh; November 9, 1894U.S. Census records for 1900, El Paso, Texas, Sheet No. 6 – February 13, 1968) was an American film actress with a career spanning over 50 years. Early life Mae Marsh was born Mary Wayne M ...

. This enabled him to raise the £20,000 to buy the film rights of the play, a record amount at the time. The cost of making the film was another £20,000. To save money, Wilcox decided to make the film in Germany. In exchange, Wilcox agreed to distribute ''

Die Nibelungen ''Die Nibelungen'' ("The Nibelungs") is a two-part series of silent fantasy films created by Austrian director Fritz Lang in 1924, consisting of ''Die Nibelungen: Siegfried'' and ''Die Nibelungen: Kriemhild's Revenge''. The scenarios for bot ...

'' (1924) in Britain. The film starred American actress

fresh from her scantily clad triumph in 1921's ''

The Queen of Sheba The Queen of Sheba ( he, מַלְכַּת שְׁבָא‎, Malkaṯ Šəḇāʾ; ar, ملكة سبأ, Malikat Sabaʾ; gez, ንግሥተ ሳባ, Nəgśətä Saba) is a figure first mentioned in the Hebrew Bible. In the original story, she bring ...

'' at

Fox Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelve sp ...

. The film was shot in Berlin on the studio lot at Steglitz. Sources state this film had early experimental synchronised sound, but this process could only be viewed at the special theaters outfitted for the sound equipment. ''Chu Chin Chow'' was released in the United States by

MGM Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded on April 17, 1924 a ...

two years after its production with a drastically reduced footage, cut by almost half. This version had noticeable jumps that ruined the continuity of the story.

Reception

Wilcox later said the film "was only a moderate success". A sound film ''

'', with the score intact, was made by the Gainsborough Studios in 1934, with

George Robey Sir George Edward Wade, Commander of the Order of the British Empire, CBE (20 September 1869 – 29 November 1954),James Harding (music writer), Harding, James"Robey, George" ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University P ...

playing the part of

Ali Baba "Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves" ( ar, علي بابا والأربعون لصا) is a folk tale from the '' One Thousand and One Nights''. It was added to the collection in the 18th century by its French translator Antoine Galland, who hear ...

Fritz Kortner Fritz Kortner (born Fritz Nathan Kohn; 12 May 1892 – 22 July 1970) was an Austrian stage and film actor and theatre director. Life and career Kortner was born in Vienna as Fritz Nathan Kohn into a Jewish family. He studied at the Vienna A ...

as Abu Hassan,

Anna May Wong Wong Liu Tsong (January 3, 1905 – February 3, 1961), known professionally as Anna May Wong, was an American actress, considered the first Chinese-American movie star in Hollywood, as well as the first Chinese-American actress to gain intern ...

as Zahrat Al-Kulub and

Laurence Hanray Laurence Hanray ( Lawrence Henry Jacobs; 16 May 1874 – 28 November 1947), sometimes credited as Lawrence Hanray, was a British film and theatre actor born in London, England. He is also credited as the author of several plays and music hall s ...

as Kasim."Chu Chin Chow (1934): A Robust Operetta"
''The New York Times'', 22 September 1934, accessed 2 August 2010

References

Sources

*Wilcox, Herbert Sydney. ''Twenty-five Thousand Sunsets: The Autobiography of Herbert Wilcox'', The Bodley Head: London (1967)

External links

* *

at silentfilmstillarchive.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Chu-Chin-Chow 1925 films 1920s adventure films British adventure films Films of the Weimar Republic British silent feature films German silent feature films British films based on plays Films directed by Herbert Wilcox Films produced by Erich Pommer British black-and-white films German black-and-white films Films based on musicals Films based on Ali Baba Silent adventure films 1920s British films