A hatchet man is ordered to kill his close friend for the sake of Tong.A hatchet man is ordered to kill his close friend for the sake of Tong.A hatchet man is ordered to kill his close friend for the sake of Tong.
J. Carrol Naish
- Sun Yat Ming
- (as J. Carroll Naish)
Edward Peil Sr.
- Bing Foo
- (as Eddie Piel)
Anna Chang
- Sing Girl
- (uncredited)
Blanche Friderici
- Madame Si-Si
- (uncredited)
Willie Fung
- Notary Fung Loo
- (uncredited)
- …
Anne Howard
- Young Girl
- (uncredited)
Ralph Ince
- 'Big Jim' Malone
- (uncredited)
Otto Lederer
- Pawnbroker
- (uncredited)
James B. Leong
- Tong Member
- (uncredited)
Gladys Lloyd
- Fan Yi
- (uncredited)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaEdward G. Robinson's wife at the time, Gladys Lloyd, appears uncredited as "Fan Yi". They were married from 1927 to 1956 and she would appear in five films with him from 1931-32.
- GoofsWhen Wong Low Get displays the scar on his left arm to the Tong; he places his right arm palm down over his left and pulls back the sleeve. But on the next immediate cut which is a close-up of the arm; he now has his right arm palm up under the left arm.
- Quotes
Wong Low Get: Sometimes it is better that the eye should not see what the hand is doing.
- ConnectionsEdited into Torchy Blane in Chinatown (1939)
Featured review
A Fascinating Tale Of Tradition And Honor
I'm sure everyone has to mention the most obvious thing about this movie, that nearly all the characters are Chinese played by non-chinese actors. But this is no Charlie Chan with silly accents. None of the actors engage in cheap stereotypes. There's nothing here that's anywhere near as embarrassing as Mickey Rooney's Mr. Yunioshi in Breakfast at Tiffany's... or, much more recently, Johnny Depp's version of Tonto in The Lone Ranger.
The story itself depicts the Chinese American community in a generally favorable light... despite its focus being on the Tongs of San Francisco's Chinatown.
Robinson's Tong assassin is an honorable and admirable man, despite his profession.
So with that out of the way, this was a pretty great story and Robinson's character is complex. He wants to be free of his violent past as an assassin for the Tong, he wants to acclimate to life in the U.S. and be a good citizen... but he's also tied to tradition and sworn oaths. It's was less formulaic than I'd expect, I wasn't quite sure where it was leading till I was 3/4 through it. Seeing as it's pre-code it's not as overtly moralistic as later films. It looks great too. There are some nice sets and costumes and Ms. Young was particularly elegant. It's not a happy story, but it's entertaining and unusual. I'm kind of surprised someone hasn't remade it, with a less controversial cast.
So with that out of the way, this was a pretty great story and Robinson's character is complex. He wants to be free of his violent past as an assassin for the Tong, he wants to acclimate to life in the U.S. and be a good citizen... but he's also tied to tradition and sworn oaths. It's was less formulaic than I'd expect, I wasn't quite sure where it was leading till I was 3/4 through it. Seeing as it's pre-code it's not as overtly moralistic as later films. It looks great too. There are some nice sets and costumes and Ms. Young was particularly elegant. It's not a happy story, but it's entertaining and unusual. I'm kind of surprised someone hasn't remade it, with a less controversial cast.
helpful•31
- venusboys3
- Dec 13, 2017
- How long is The Hatchet Man?Powered by Alexa
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Languages
- Also known as
- The Honorable Mr. Wong
- Filming locations
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
- Runtime1 hour 14 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.37 : 1
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