Portraying such a different world to what we know makes this a little difficult to relate to but the use of familiar actors helps. This feels a little restrained and sedate for William Wellman film but nevertheless it squeezes a lot in, keeps your interest and is a certainly unusual.
Edward G (G for greatly overrated) Robinson actually gives a particularly decent performance in this. Although obviously not Chinese he gives the part a surprisingly rich amount of authenticity. He plays his character very sympathetically, respectful to the Chinatown community - albeit a community he feels increasingly isolated from, so I don't see any issues with this at all.
The set designers and makeup department did wonders with this, you really feel like you're in old San Francisco's Chinatown. Whereas EGR does look pretty Chinese, Loretta Young just looks pretty. Her makeup does make her look quite weird but it would be impossible for her not to look absolutely stunning. This performance however is not one of her best. She was an outstanding actress but is wasted in this - she doesn't have much to do other than to look pretty.
But the question is: what does she see in Leslie Fenton? He looks like the most evil man in the world. That sinister smile of his has the glint of the brass plate of a coffin. So what does she see in him? That's one of the problems with this film - we're not told. One minute she's saying hello, the next minute she's having an affair with him. Important parts of the story are just ignored - it could have done with another half an hour.
Director William Wellman used Fenton to similar effect in THE PUBLIC ENEMY the year before but in that we knew who he was. Considering the opulence of the sets, it feels like all the money was spent there and nobody bothered to pay the scriptwriters. Fenton's character feels unfinished. Like Loretta Young's character, you don't really get to know him properly. Besides EGR's Mr Wong which is beautifully crafted with inner conflict with contradictions you can see fighting each other inside his head, some of the supporting actors' characters feel like caricatures.
Despite the film's premise, essentially about an assassin and despite it being made by William Well-action-man, it's surprisingly tame and not very meaty. Don't expect proto-Tarantino but do expect sensitivity and a genuine attempt to tell a story of a modern man who feels trapped in a culture he no longer belongs to.
