''Java Head'' is a 1934 British

historical History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...

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 ...

directed by Thorold Dickinson and J. Walter Ruben. It stars

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 interna ...

, Elizabeth Allan and

Ralph Richardson Sir Ralph David Richardson (19 December 1902 – 10 October 1983) was an English actor who, with John Gielgud and Laurence Olivier, was one of the trinity of male actors who dominated the British stage for much of the 20th century. He w ...

Synopsis

The son of a wealthy

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city i ...

shipping magnate marries a Chinese noblewoman, but she soon becomes aware that he is in fact in love with another woman.

Cast

as Princess Taou Yuen * Elizabeth Allan as Nettie Vollar * John Loder as Gerrit Ammidon *

Edmund Gwenn Edmund Gwenn (born Edmund John Kellaway; 26 September 1877 – 6 September 1959) was an English actor. On film, he is best remembered for his role as Kris Kringle in the Christmas film '' Miracle on 34th Street'' (1947), for which he won t ...

as Jeremy Ammidon *

as William Ammidon * Herbert Lomas as Barzil Dunsack * George Curzon as Edward Dunsack * Roy Emerton as Broadrick * John Marriner as John Stone * Grey Blake as Roger Brevard * Amy Brandon Thomas as Rhoda * Frances Carson as Kate

Production

The screenplay was written by Gordon Wellesley and

Carol Reed Sir Carol Reed (30 December 1906 – 25 April 1976) 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 th ...

served as an

assistant director The role of an assistant director on a film includes tracking daily progress against the filming production schedule, arranging logistics, preparing daily call sheets, checking cast and crew, and maintaining order on the set. They also have t ...

. The film is an adaptation of a novel by Joseph Hergesheimer of the same name. Its sets were designed by

Edward Carrick Edward Carrick (born Edward Anthony Craig; 3 January 1905 – 21 January 1998) was an English art designer for film, an author and illustrator. Carrick was born in London. His father was Edward Gordon Craig, the theatre practitioner and stage d ...

. A previous silent version was directed in 1923 by

George Melford George H. Melford (born George Henry Knauff, February 19, 1877 – April 25, 1961) was an American stage and film actor and director. Often taken for granted as a director today, the stalwart Melford's name by the 1920s was, like Cecil B. DeMil ...

for

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldes ...

. It starred Leatrice Joy. The silent version is considered a

lost film A lost film is a feature or short film that no longer exists in any studio archive, private collection, public archive or the U.S. Library of Congress. Conditions During most of the 20th century, U.S. copyright law required at least one copy ...

Reception

The film has received critical acclaim from modern day critics. The review aggregator

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wan ...

reports that 80% of critics gave the film a positive review based on 5 reviews.

References

1934 films 1930s historical drama films British historical drama films 1930s English-language films Seafaring films Films set in England Films set in the 19th century Associated Talking Pictures Films based on romance novels Films based on American novels British remakes of American films Sound film remakes of silent films British black-and-white films 1934 drama films Films directed by Thorold Dickinson 1930s British films {{1930s-UK-film-stub