The Tong Man

The Tong Man
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Directed byWilliam Worthington
Written byRichard Schayer (scenario)
Based on
The Dragon’s Daughter
by Clyde Westover
Produced byGeorge W. Stout
StarringSessue Hayakawa
CinematographyFrank D. Williams
Production
company
Distributed byRobertson-Cole Distributing Corporation
Release date
  • December 14, 1919 (1919-12-14)
Running time
5 reels
CountryUnited States
LanguageSilent (English intertitles)
The Tong Man

The Tong Man is a 1919 American silent crime thriller film directed by William Worthington and produced by Haworth Pictures Corporation.

The Tong Man survives and is available on home video. The film has long been preserved by the Library of Congress.

Plot

As described in a film magazine, Luk Chen, whose heart beats for Sen Chee and for her alone, is commissioned by the tong of which he is a member to murder her father for failure to deliver her to Ming Tai, a power in San Francisco's Chinatown. His love proves stronger than his sense of duty and he fails to execute the command, so Ming Tai performs the duty in his stead. Ming Tai then abducts Sen Chee. Luk Chen affects a rescue and they conceal themselves in a dungeon belonging to Ming Tai. Their enemy discovers them and for a time it seems their end is only seconds away. They are then rescued and make their way by boat to China.

Cast

Censorship

The Tong Man was booked at the Victoria Theatre in Rochester, New York, but was unable to be exhibited due to an appeal by the Chinese Consul-General with the support of Chinese residents.

Before The Tong Man could be exhibited in Kansas, the Kansas Board of Review required the elimination of the scene where Ming embraces Sen Chee and the scene where a man is hit in the face with a hatchet.

References

  1. ↑ Miyao, Daisuke (March 28, 2007). Sessue Hayakawa: Silent Cinema and Transnational Stardom. Duke University Press. p. 183. ISBN 978-0-8223-3969-4.
  2. ↑ Haenni, Sabine (2008). The Immigrant Scene: Ethnic Amusements in New York, 1880-1920. University of Minnesota Press. p. 292. ISBN 978-0-8166-4981-5.
  3. ↑ "The Library of Congress American Silent Feature Film Catalog: The Tong Man". memory.loc.gov. Archived from the original on May 16, 2023. Retrieved April 24, 2026.
  4. ↑ Catalog of Holdings The American Film Institute Collection and The United Artists Collection at The Library of Congress, (<-book title) p.186 c.1978 by The American Film Institute
  5. ↑ "Reviews: The Tong Man". Exhibitors Herald. 10 (2). New York City: Exhibitors Herald Company: 62. January 10, 1920.
  6. ↑ "SUPPRESS CHINESE PICTURE". Variety. 58 (5): 58. March 26, 1920 – via Internet Archive.
  7. ↑ "Kansas Board of Review Movie Index - The Tong Man". Kansas Historical Society. Retrieved September 12, 2026.