Lovesusti The Worst Film Ever

Gutsycurene Fanciful, disturbing, and wildly original, it announces the arrival of a fresh, bold voice in American cinema.

Micah Lloyd Excellent characters with emotional depth. My wife, daughter and granddaughter all enjoyed it...and me, too! Very good movie! You won't be disappointed.

Sienna-Rose Mclaughlin The movie really just wants to entertain people.

secondtake The Hatchet Man (1932)So burdened with ethnic slandering—most of it "unintentional" at least—this movie is almost impossible to watch fairly. The basic story of inter-clan fighting and murder in the Chinese community (in San Francisco) is meant no doubt to have echoes in Italian mobster killings, and therefore have a wider appeal. But when the main characters are played by very non-Chinese talents (a product of the prejudice in Hollywood at the time), there is a constant woe and disbelief on many levels.Of course, these problems are exactly why a "student' of early Hollywood should watch this. This is a way to get some sense of the problem these movies present. And there are additional reasons to see this—mainly the two really famous actors of the period doing their best to be Chinese. Edward G. Robinson is of course one of the greats of the era, an odd but searingly talented actor, and he plays well the head of one of the Chinese clans (or tongs). His wife has a smaller role but important —and so Loretta Young, a rising, fresh star, does what she can.Nothing can redeem all this. The title refers to the violence of the subculture, where the solution for dishonor is death (by hatchet, literally). There is the simplest of attempts to show how the Chinese were assimilating at the time. In a way the movie shows some shred of real life for the Chinatowns of America. The secondary theme here is love, and a kind of arranged marriage. This conflicts in different ways and Robinson, playing a Westernized immigrant, faces one aspect of this New World he can't quite understand. There are a couple of turns of plot to keep you alert, and a crazy ending worth seeing. It's great to see Warner Archive put this out there in a clean copy, ready for all our various social biases. Maybe that's why it's worth it on some level. Never mind that it is often stiff and slow. Judge it as you can.

st-shot It's Occidentals playing Orientals in this dare I say choppy tale of a Tong hit-man that employs hatchets to perform his tasks. Edward G Robinson makes for an odd looking Asian Eastwood but he still manages to give a powerfully emotional performance while Loretta Young as his wife has never looked more exotically alluring.Robinson as Wong Low Get is dispatched to kill his best friend to settle a Chinatown dispute and stave off a war between rival factions. He hesitates at first but it becomes a matter of honor and duty. Ironically the victim wills all he has including his daughter to Wong Low with the intent of having him marry her when she is of age. She consents to marriage but soon becomes involved with an old beau and runs off with him in turn ruining the now respectable business owner Wong. Taking up the hatchet he sets out for China to get her back.Hatchet Man's episodic structure moves at a lightning pace allowing little time for smooth continuity and character development. While some of the characters have a stereotypical Fu Manchu demeanor Wellman shows respect for the culture and tradition by juxtaposing it against the crass western (gangsterism) ways being embraced by a new disrespectful generation of Chinese. Conversley he points out unrealistic archaic attitudes that are out of touch in the twentieth century which contribute to Wong's dilemma as he attempts to change with the times but maintain a balance of the honorable tradition as well. It is this tradition that brings him back to China to attempt to rescue Sun Toy in a grisly climax that's the equal of Wellman's earlier Public Enemy.

zoundz I Saw This Movie Many Many Years ago,And I Still Remember Whar A Great Movie It Was. The Hatchet Man Has Without A Doubt, The greatest Ending of Any Movie That I Have Ever Seen, And I've Seen A Few In My Day,Being 80 Years Young///It's Hard For Me To Believe That The Hatchet Man Has Never Been On TAPE OR DVD////I Will Order It The Minute That It Is On DVD///Why Edward G Robinson Was Never Nominated Or Won An Academy Award Is Beyond Reason//Hollywood Must Have Been Blind And Deaf,For Edward G.Robinson Was Truly A Great Natural Actor//I'm Even Amazed That Hollywood Has Not Tried To Remake This Movie,And As I Have Said Before/ This Movie Has The Greatest Ending Of All////So Please You People Out There Who Make These DVDS//Please Please Put The Hatchet Man Out On DVD Thanking You In AdvanceStanley Cooper / Jupiter Florida

whpratt1 It is very surprising to see great actors like Edward G. Robinson, Loretta Young and J. Carroll Naish performing as Chinese. However, in the 1930's, actors had no choice to refuse the casting director's wishes. Most of these actors were under contact to act and portray characters of different races other than themselves which is not practiced in this century in Hollywood. Edward G. Robinson (Wong Low Get), "The Red House" '47, was a sort of hit man for the Chinese community of San Francisco. Loretta Young (Sun Toya San)," The Stranger",'46, played a very outstanding role, who charmed Wong Low Get. It was also surprising to see J. Carroll Naish,(Sun Yat Ming), "The Beast with Five Fingers"'46, who often played roles of Italian subjects in most of his films. I am grateful for all these great actors who acted as Chinese citizens and made it possible for us to view this great film TODAY ! William Wellman, director of this film also created "Public Enemy" '31 with Jimmy Cagney.