Firstly, that is not Luise Rainer's website, it is my website and I have done extensive research into her films and career. Most of the information is taken from contemporary sources and interviews. For a more detailed discussion of the background and filming of The Good Earth I'd suggest that you read the information available at tcm.com which goes into much more detail. I'd also recommend Arthur Dong's excellent documentary Hollywood Chinese in which Luise (and many other Caucasian and Chinese actors) are interviewed about their roles and the challenges of ethnicity on film.
There isn't any creative paraphrasing. MGM were filming in China when the Chinese government refused permission as they thought that the film was 'prejudicial to the dignity of the Chinese race' - this assertion was based on some sections of the original novel which the Chinese government thought showed the Chinese in a less than flattering light. The ban was rescinded when an agreement was made to excise these scenes from the film and the Chinese government appointed General Ting-Hsiu Tu to oversee the production. News of this ban appeared in the press as early as 1934 and were not connected in any way to casting - no casting had even begun as early as this.
The project then stayed in pre-production for nearly two years. The original director George Hill committed suicide and there were numerous rewrites. In MGM's own files there are numerous notes regarding the studio's concern that some aspects of the novel might have a negative effect on China and the Chinese. A memo dated August 26, 1936, delineates changes "made from the original in order to make the picture a completely sympathetic portrait of China." These rewrites and changes include making 'Lotus' a singer, not a prostitute, removing certain terms such as 'red beards', deleting sexual scenes and creating a family unit with 'love and respect for loved ones'. These were changes made by MGM from the original novel. In all, 9 writers worked on a script which MGM felt was respectful.
As well as General Tu, two other advisors were hired by the studio: James Min Lee, a Chinese scholar at USC and Dr Y. S. Tsao. MGM were certainly very concerned that the film should be 'right' in all aspects. When it came to casting, screen tests were made as early as 1933 in China and in America, with many Chinese-American actors tested. In November 1935, however, a memo from Thalberg (who had originally wanted to cast all roles with Chinese actors) stated that the idea had been given up as 'there were not enough suitable Chinese actors'. All through the casting process both Caucasian and Chinese actors were tested simultaneously. Anna May Wong, Lotus Lui, Sidney Fox, Barbara Stanwyck and Mamo Clark were all seriously considered. A Daily Variety news item in December 1935 indicated that "various censorship angles" were causing problems if "anything approaching miscegenation" occurred in the casting, meaning that if an Asian actress was cast then an Asian actor must also be cast as her husband / lover. This was a stipulation of the Hays Code which the studio could not ignore.
In another article in Daily Variety in July 1936 there appears the first mention of the Chinese government threatening to veto the production of the film becasue of issues with the casting - this threat had nothing to do with Caucasian actors but instead was related to Japanese actors. The Chinese government refused to allow ANY Japanese actors in the film whatsoever due to the ongoing Sino-Japanese war. Several Japanese actresses who tested for the film were automatically removed from contention at the behest of the Chinese government. There is no suggestion, at any time, that the Chinese government, who were watching the production closely for almost four years, expressed any concern over the casting of Caucasian actors.
Luise has stated in many interviews that she wanted to play the role 'from the inside out' and refused most of the make-up that they wanted her to wear. Both her and Muni were initially reticent to accept the roles as they felt they couldn't do justice to the characters. In the end they both looked past the colour of the skin and they treated their characters with the respect they deserved and played them as honestly and truthfully as they could. I'd recommend seeing Katharine Hepburn and Walter Huston in the unofficial 'sequel' Dragon Seed http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0036777/ as an example of how it can be done badly.
As a final bit of trivia, Madame Chiang Kei-Shek and Luise became friends and Madame sent her a Christmas card every year until her death in 2003; not the action of someone who thinks she was a racist I expect.
http://www.luiserainer.net
reply
share