Yen Sin, a humble Chinese, is washed ashore after a storm and finds himself an outsider in the deeply Christian fishing community of Urkey. Yen Sin elects to stay, despite his status as a despised 'heathen', only to reveal hypocrisy amid the self-righteous township.
Acting
Chaney's physicality transcends the unfortunate makeup.
Direction
Forman lets hypocrisy marinate in stark seaside compositions.
Director
Tom Forman
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Part of Hollywood's 1920s 'yellow peril' cycle, yet unusually makes its Asian protagonist the moral center.
Chaney spent hours daily applying his makeup, then insisted on washing it off publicly to remind crew he wasn't the character—method before method acting existed.
US
