Sessue Hayakawa Articles

Alec Guinness, Sessue Hayakawa in David Lean's The Bridge on the River Kwai David Lean's 1957 blockbuster and multiple Oscar winner The Bridge on the River Kwai will be presented tonight at 5 p.m. PT on Turner Classic Movies. Many consider The Bridge on the River Kwai one of the greatest war movies ever made. Whether or not you agree with that assessment, Lean's war [...]

Ethnicity in Film: Luise Rainer, Nancy Kwan The issue of ethnicity and movie roles came up to me a few years ago, while I was working on a biography of Mexican-born actor Ramon Novarro (above), Beyond Paradise. I'd read much about white performers playing non-white roles, but basically nothing about non-white actors playing white roles. Yet, back in those days it wasn't that uncommon. Although [...]

O Mimi San (1914) Direction: Charles Miller Screenplay: Thomas H. Ince (unconfirmed) Cast: Sessue Hayakawa, Mildred Harris, Tsuru Aoki   O Mimi San is historically important as Japanese actor Sessue Hayakawa's first film. In it, Hayakawa plays a prince who goes to a retreat after an attempt on his life is made; once there he falls in love with a young woman (Mildred Harris, future [...]

The Devil's Claim (1920) Direction: Charles Swickard Screenplay: J. Grubb Alexander Cast: Sessue Hayakawa, Rhea Mitchell, Colleen Moore, William Buckley   In The Devil's Claim, Sessue Hayakawa plays an Indian (!) novelist who uses his experiences with women as inspiration for his novels. Next, he encounters a young American woman (Rhea Mitchell) who tells him a story about Satan-worshipping societies and evil talismans. Her real [...]