Son of the Gods
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| Son of the Gods (1930) | |
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| Directed by | Frank Lloyd |
| Produced by | Frank Lloyd |
| Written by | Bradley King based on the novel by Rex Beach |
| Starring | Richard Barthelmess Constance Bennett Frank Albertson |
| Cinematography | Ernest Haller (Technicolor) |
| Distributed by | First National Pictures: A Subsidiary of Warner Bros. |
| Release date(s) | March 9, 1930 |
| Running time | 93 Minutes |
| Country |  United States |
| Language | English |
| IMDb profile | |
Son of the Gods (1930) is an All-Talking musical drama film with Technicolor sequences. It was adapted from the novel (with the same title) by Rex Beach.
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[edit] Synopsis
A Chinese man named Sam (played by Richard Barthelmess) embarks on a world tour to discover himself and ends up as secretary to a British playwright (Claude King). Sam meets a wealthy white woman named Allana Wagner in Monte Carlo, played by Constance Bennett. Allana is attracted to Sam, not realising that he's Chinese. They fall in love. Eventually, though, she learns the truth and becomes upset. In the heat of the moment, she get into an argument with Sam and they stop talking to each other.
Plagued by guilt and love, Alanna goes into a mental spiral and makes a few attempts to contact Barthelmess. Her father, who is a racist, attempts to dissuade her because he doesn't want his daughter to be involved with a Chinese man. In spite of trying to forget him, Allana continus to be desperately in love with Sam. She falls ill and while she's on her sickbed, her father (Anders Randolf) tells Sam that Allana is calling for him in her delirium. Wagner prevails on Sam to visit his daughter. Sam does this, and she recovers, but Wagner shows no gratitude.
After his father dies he takes over the business and dons Chinese garb as a symbol of his hatred of the White race that has spurned him. After a San Francisco detective tells him the truth about his birth, that he is in fact white and was raised by Chinese parents who adopted him when he was an infant. Alanna, deciding that she can no longer live without Sam, ignores her father and goes to Same and declares her love for him before he tells her of his recent discovery...
Frank Albertson has a small role as Barthelmess' improvident buddy. Serene E. Alyn Warren and blustery Anders Randolf play the leading stars' very different fathers, while Claude King distinguishes his brief appearance as the English author who befriends Barthelmess.
[edit] Trivia
- This film reflect the liberal social attitudes of the late 1920's and early 1930's. As a result of the Great Depression, the United States became more conservative and religious. Tolerance for other races, miscegenation and homosexuality quickly ended in this atmosphere. This film became illegal to view or exhibit in 1935 due to its Pre-Code content and its favorable portrayal of a loving relationship between a white woman and a Chinese man.
- One of the elaborate sets used in this film was reused from Sally (1929), a recently completed First National film.
[edit] Songs
- "Pretty Little You"
- "Le Salon Musical (Fascination)"
- "The Wedding of the Painted Doll"
[edit] Preservation
The film only survives in black and white. One reel (which portrayed Chinatown in San Francisco) was originally in Technicolor but no color prints seem to have survived.
