tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18439960.post619216806586674103..comments2024-03-23T21:46:50.843-04:00Comments on the passionate moviegoer: the tale of two suzie wongsjoe baltakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11467420961490314339noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18439960.post-64807048746605304022019-12-30T13:11:27.851-05:002019-12-30T13:11:27.851-05:00Vanessa - no love lost between those two. Research...Vanessa - no love lost between those two. Research Ray Stark and you may see some similarities with Weinstein...<br /><br />maybe a biopic movie on France Nuyen (now 80) would be even more interesting: she has had a volatile upbringing, learnt a new language (also speaks Spanish) lives in an exquisite house in Beverly Hills and has sooo many amazing stories.<br />She knows the real background on Bill Cosby, was best friends with Sammy Davis Junior and as we all know, was in that relationship with Marlon - but stayed a lifelong friend with him.<br />The challenge is perhaps tracking her down and getting time with her - but would offer an amazing book / biography and even movie is awaiting someone! <br />Gavinnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18439960.post-86954587251611156662018-04-29T16:20:33.826-04:002018-04-29T16:20:33.826-04:00I don't know if France and Nancy ever felt tha...I don't know if France and Nancy ever felt that they were pitted against one another by a powerful man, but there's no doubt that Hollywood in particularly was sorely in need of the #metoo movement.Vanessanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18439960.post-71427405060927383622018-04-28T21:16:52.225-04:002018-04-28T21:16:52.225-04:00Sounds to me like Stark offered the role to Nancy ...Sounds to me like Stark offered the role to Nancy Kwan even after the studio had signed France Nuyen. There was no way that this was going to end without drama.Sheilanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18439960.post-16896695711988972922018-04-28T20:44:56.764-04:002018-04-28T20:44:56.764-04:00Brian- Glad you brought up "A Girl Named Tomi...Brian- Glad you brought up "A Girl Named Tomiko," which leads to other "connections." Nuyen's co-stars in the film were Michael Wilding, with whom she appeared briefly in the "Suzie Wong" movie" and Miyoshi Umeki, who of course appeared with Nancy Kwan in "Flower Drum Song."joe baltakehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11467420961490314339noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18439960.post-78790259443457195822018-04-28T20:22:15.204-04:002018-04-28T20:22:15.204-04:00What really impresses me is that, despite the horr...What really impresses me is that, despite the horrible situation, it did not stymie France Nuyen's movie career. As Daryl points out, she made "In Love and War" right before "Suzy Wong," and when she lost the film role, she immediately segued into "The Last Time I Saw Archie," "Diamond Head," "A Girl Named Tomiko," "Man in the Middle" and, as you say, "Satan Never Sleeps." I can think of other careers that ended when a role was lost in such a public way.Brian Lucasnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18439960.post-63772305166286173922018-04-27T14:16:34.466-04:002018-04-27T14:16:34.466-04:00Ray Stark was a real piece of work but I assume he...Ray Stark was a real piece of work but I assume he was not unlike most movie producers. Still, given that this was his first movie, I am also surprised that a Paramount executive didn't step in to protect Nuyen since the studio saw her as inseparable from the material. Charlottenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18439960.post-7718678578049414522018-04-27T13:08:54.630-04:002018-04-27T13:08:54.630-04:00Daryl! Thanks for the terrific post - quite inform...Daryl! Thanks for the terrific post - quite informative, as always. Thought you (and others) might find this tidbit from Nancy Kwan's Wikipedia page interesting: <br /><br /><i>French actress France Nuyen played the stage version of the role and had been called a "businessman's delight" by a number of reviewers. Stark disliked this characterization, as well as "happy harlot" characters such as Melina Mercouri in Never on Sunday. Stark wanted an Asian actress because slanting the eyes of a white actress would merely look artificial. He also praised Kwan's features: an "acceptable face" and "being alluringly leggy [and] perfectly formed."</i><br /><br />-Jjoe baltakehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11467420961490314339noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18439960.post-18852872411953562582018-04-27T01:57:47.568-04:002018-04-27T01:57:47.568-04:00This was quite a fascinating post: i had no idea t...This was quite a fascinating post: i had no idea that the film THE WORLD OF SUZIE WONG had been started by France Nuyen (who had already been in SOUTH PACIFIC and IN LOVE AND WAR). One thing that i'll mention is that i remember when THE WORLD OF SUZIE WONG and FLOWER DRUM SONG were on Broadway; often, after the shows, the casts of both productions would come down to Chinatown to eat, there were specific restaurants they would frequent (don't remember the names, but they're long gone). And a lot of the people in small, supporting roles were from Chinatown, so a lot of people from Chinatown went to see those shows. (There's a story about Los Angeles' Chinatown in 1936: because of several spectaculars being filmed by MGM, Paramount, 20th Century Fox, Warner Brothers - THE GOOD EARTH, THE GENERAL DIED AT DAWN, STOWAWAY, OIL FOR THE LAMPS OF CHINA - the entire population of Chinatown wound up as extras for the big crowd scenes, and the place was totally deserted for a day.) Unfortunately, both France Nuyen and Nancy Kwan wound up with relatively short careers, which seems to have been a problem with the studio system in its last days: there just were few parts for Asian women. (I should also note that another unfortunate thing has been the spectre of "political correctness": one of the slogans for Asian-American activists was "No more Suzie Wongs!" i.e. no more roles for Asian women as prostitutes. And that taint has been with THE WORLD OF SUZIE WONG for at least three decades now.)Daryl Chinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13371258313590183345noreply@blogger.com