The Hatchet Man (1932)

Set in San Francisco's Chinatown, a hatchet man (Edward G. Robinson) who is an assassin for the Tongs must kill his best friend (J. Carrol Naish) for transgressing Tong laws. Before he dies, the friend asks the hatchet man to take care of his little girl (who grows up into Loretta Young) and marry her when she becomes of age. Based on the play THE HONORABLE MR. WONG by David Belasco and Achmed Abdullah and directed by William A. Wellman (THE HIGH AND THE MIGHTY). This pre code melodrama has adultery, drugs (opium) and violence in the forefront which wouldn't have been allowed once the code came into existence. Not to mention that the assassin gets the girl and lives happily ever after! Once again, all the major Asian roles are played by Caucasians while genuine Asians are relegated to bit parts and background atmosphere. While none of the major roles are remotely convincing as Chinese, some are downright ghastly. Notably J. Carrol Naish with his phony sing song accent and Leslie Fenton as a "hip" Tong thug. Most unusual is that the most sympathetic character is Robinson's assassin. One can't drum up much interest in the other characters. If you can get past the difficulty of Caucasians as Asians, it's a pretty good drama with solid direction from Wellman. With Dudley Digges and Tully Marshall.