Java Head

1443. JAVA HEAD (1934-ENGIAND). WITH anna may wong, elizabeth alian, edmltnd gwenn, john LODER, RALPH RICHARDSON. An absorbing, well-performed drama Of true love tainted: a biting expose Of religious, racial and moral hypocrisy with a most effective contrast Of clashing East-West cultures. The place and time are the port city Of Bristol, England, in the early years Of the 19th Century. Edmund Gwenn is cast as Jeremy Ammidon, a fair-minded, high-principled seafaring man who has built for himself a prosperous shipping business. His son, Gerrit (John Loder), is driven from the community by the stern, rigid family Of a pretty and gentle girl (Elizabeth Allan), whom he would obviously eventually wed. He sets Off on a long sea voyage and returns with Taou Yuen (Anna May Wong), an exotic Manchu princess whom he has taken for a wife. Gerrit attempts to introduce her into the society Of his native town, with intensely dramatic results. While all the actors are in top form, the great characÂter performer Ralph Richardson, in one Of his first film roles, steals the proceedings as Gerrit’s snippy, greedy, land lubber brother William, who adds new dimensions to the concept Of sibling rivalry, Java Head is adapted from the best-selling novel (which, by the way, was set in Massachusetts, rather then England). 82 minutes. Drama