China Slaver

{{short description|1929 film}} {{Use mdy dates|date=October 2020}} {{Infobox film | name = China Slaver | image = | caption = | director = Frank Mattison | producer = | screenplay = Cecil Hill L. V. Jefferson | story = Calvin Holivey Rupert Hughes | starring = Sôjin Kamiyama Albert Valentino Iris Yamaoka Ben Wilson Jimmy Aubrey James Leong | music = | cinematography = Jules Cronjager | editing = Minnie Steppler | distributor = Trinity Pictures | released = {{Film date|1929|01|25}} | runtime = | country = United States | language = English | budget = | gross = }}

'''''China Slaver''''' is a 1929 American pre-Code action film produced by Trinity Pictures. Directed by Frank Mattison and written by Cecil Hill and L. V. Jefferson based on a story by Calvin Holivey and Rupert Hughes, the film features a cast that includes Sôjin Kamiyama, Albert Valentino, Iris Yamaoka, Ben Wilson, Jimmy Aubrey, and James Leong. The storyline involves a Chinese spy who is sent to infiltrate a remote island that is suspected to have become a hotbed of narcotics and white slavery under the rule of a tyrannical Chinese criminal. The film received generally lukewarm reviews from critics, although Sojin's performance in particular was praised.

==Cast== * Sôjin Kamiyama as Ming Foy/Wing Foy/The Cobra * Albert Valentino as Mark Conover * Iris Yamaoka (or Iris Shan)<ref>{{cite book|title=The American Film Institute Catalog of Motion Pictures Produced in the United States, Part 1|page=125|isbn=9780520209695|editor=Kenneth Munden|publisher=University of California Press|year=1997}}</ref> as Foo * Ben Wilson as Sam Warren * Jimmy Aubrey as Willie Kegg * James Leong as Lee Mandarin

==Production== The project was first announced in December 1928, after Albert Valentino announced his participation in the film alongside Sojin; Trinity Pictures acquired distribution rights, with the film's release date set at January 25, 1929.<ref>{{cite news|newspaper=Democrat and Chronicle|page=57|date=December 2, 1928|title=(Untitled)}}</ref> Touting its noteworthy cast, the film was marketed as "the year's most exciting melodrama".<ref>{{cite news|newspaper=Reading Times|page=9|date=April 29, 1929|title=The China Slaver}}</ref>

==Reception== A reviewer for ''Photoplay'' described ''China Slaver'' as a "rather ragged production attempting epical heights", but "handicapped by an overly-fantastic story and amateur direction." However, he also lauded Sojin for his "excellent" and "inscrutable" performance.<ref>{{cite news|newspaper=Photoplay|date=April 1929|page=114|url=https://archive.org/stream/photoplay3536movi#page/n537/mode/1up|title=The China Slavers}}</ref>

==References== {{Reflist}}

==External links== * {{IMDb title|0019764|China Slaver}} * {{tcmdb title|493659|China Slaver}}

Category:1929 films Category:American action films Category:1929 action films Category:American black-and-white films Category:Films directed by Frank S. Mattison Category:1929 American films Category:1929 English-language films Category:English-language action films