La dama di Chungking

Anna May Wong's regal beauty and charisma stands out like a diamond in a in a sea of rhinestones in Lady From Chungking, one of two wartime propaganda film she did for PRC Pictures. The film looks like it was shot on a western film location and has some western like aspects.

Anna's a patrician lady here who is doing a little espionage work for the Chinese Resistance. Once exposed to her charms Japanese general Harold Huber shows absolutely no resistance. Mata Hari had nothing on Anna May Wong.

This film's location is some backwater part of western China. Until Chiang Kai-Shek chose it as his capital in exile Chungking itself was as backwater a town as you could find. Huber's presence means that a Japanese army can't be far behind and Anna's mission is to find out what Huber is up to.

in the backwater is also Ludwig Donath as a German café owner with Mae Clarke who plays a singer in his dive. Clarke is an anachronism here. Her character is supposed to the daughter of a Russian father and an American mother and Clarke's never seen the USA. She may never have seen it, but she sure sounds it. She must have listened to a lot of radio broadcasts and seen a lot of movies, especially Joan Blondell movies.

Add a couple of downed Flying Tigers, Rick Vallin and Paul Bryar who is from, where else, Brooklyn and you have all the ingredients.

Anna May Wong gives this film an extra couple of notches, but it's still a Poverty Row PRC film and that's never a good sign.