''The Vermilion Pencil'' is a 1922 American silent

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

directed by

Norman Dawn Norman O. Dawn (25 May 1884 – 2 February 1975) was an early American film director. He made several improvements on the Matte (filmmaking), matte shot to apply it to motion picture, and was the first director to use rear projection in film pro ...

, and produced and distributed by Robertson–Cole. It is based on the eponymous 1908 novel by

Homer Lea Homer Lea (November 17, 1876 – November 1, 1912) was an American adventurer, author and geopolitical strategist. He is today best known for his involvement with Chinese reform and revolutionary movements in the early twentieth century and as ...

. The film stars Japanese actor

Sessue Hayakawa , known professionally as , 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 i ...

in multiple roles, and white actors

Ann May Ann Beatrice Sullivan (born Anna Beatrice Max; November 25, 1898https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/7602/images/4117736_00342?usePUB=true&usePUBJs=true&pId=40249610 – July 26, 1985), known professionally as Ann May, was a silent f ...

Bessie Love Bessie Love (born Juanita Horton; September 10, 1898April 26, 1986) was an American-British actress who achieved prominence playing innocent, young girls and wholesome leading ladies in silent and early sound films. Her acting career spanned ei ...

, and Sidney Franklin, all in Asian roles. It is now a

lost Lost may refer to getting lost, or to: Geography *Lost, Aberdeenshire, a hamlet in Scotland * Lake Okeechobee Scenic Trail, or LOST, a hiking and cycling trail in Florida, US History *Abbreviation of lost work, any work which is known to have bee ...

film. After completing this film, Hayakawa learned that members of the studio who made the film were active in the anti-Japanese movement, and he left Hollywood for over a decade.

Production

Extras were cast from

Chinatown, Los Angeles Chinatown is a neighborhood in Downtown Los Angeles, California, that became a commercial center for Chinese and other Asian businesses in Central Los Angeles in 1938. The area includes restaurants, shops, and art galleries, but also has a resident ...

, and the value of the costumes worn by the principals cost $20,000 (). To darken her hair for the film, Bessie Love used mascara. Despite this, Love called the film "thoughtfully produced". Exteriors were filmed in the

Sierra Nevada The Sierra Nevada () is a mountain range in the Western United States, between the Central Valley of California and the Great Basin. The vast majority of the range lies in the state of California, although the Carson Range spur lies primarily ...

mountains. Some scenes were filmed at the Hollywood home of Adolph and Eugene Bernheimer, now the Japanese restaurant Yamashiro.

Plot

In China, Tse Chan (Hayakawa) flees to the mountains after his wife (May) is executed under the command of the unscrupulous Ling Chee. His son Li Chan (also Hayakawa), who has grown up in America, returns to China many years later as a successful civil engineer. Li falls in love with the beautiful Hyacinth (Love), who is betrothed to the viceroy Fu Wong (Franklin). Li takes a position as Hyacinth's private tutor, and the pair escape to the mountains. They hide in the crater of a volcano and are captured when they nearly suffocate from the fumes. The viceroy is about to have them executed when The Unknown (also Hayakawa) helps them escape by sacrificing himself in the volcano, causing it to erupt.

Cast

as Tse Chan / Li Chan / The Unknown *

as Tse Chan's wife *

Misao Seki Misao Seki was a film actor and comedian who worked in Japan and Hollywood from the 1910s through the 1940s. He appeared in more than 100 films over the course of his career. Biography Seki was reportedly born in Yokohama, Japan, into a well- ...

as Pai Wang *

as Hyacinth * Sidney Franklin as Fu Wong *

Thomas Jefferson Thomas Jefferson (April 13, 1743 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, diplomat, lawyer, architect, philosopher, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the third president of the United States from 18 ...

as Ho Ling *

Tote Du Crow Tote Du Crow (also known as George Skyrock or Shyroch) was a film actor and circus performer who acted in many silent films during the early days of Hollywood. Biography Tote was born in Watsonville, California, to parents of Castilian and Fren ...

as The Jackal *

Omar Whitehead ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb ( ar, عمر بن الخطاب, also spelled Omar, ) was the second Rashidun caliph, ruling from August 634 until his assassination in 644. He succeeded Abu Bakr () as the second caliph of the Rashidun Caliphate o ...

as Ma Shue *

Lock Chy Lock(s) may refer to: Common meanings *Lock and key, a mechanical device used to secure items of importance *Lock (water navigation), a device for boats to transit between different levels of water, as in a canal Arts and entertainment * ''Lock ...

as Extra (uncredited)

Reception

The film received generally positive reviews, and was commercially successful. The visuals were consistently acclaimed. Hayakawa's performance received positive reviews. Bessie Love's performance and star power were noted as a box office draw.

References

External links