Piccadilly: A Review (Review #1974)

PICCADILLY

A blending of East and West is found in Piccadilly, where Anna May Wong showcases her unique, extraordinary charm and talent. 

The dance duo of Jim (Cyrill Ritchards) and Mabel (Gilda Gray) are the king and queen of the Piccadilly entertainment district and its namesake club. However, Piccadilly Circus impresario Valentine Wilcot (Jameson Thomas) receives loud complaints about being served his meal in a dirty dish from a portly customer (Charles Laughton in an early role). To Valentine's horror, he discovers that the kitchen staff is being distracted by hoochie dancer Shosho (Anna May Wong). She struts her stuff joyfully, but an enraged Valentine fires her.

Valentine, who is also Mabel's lover, pushes Jim out of the show to showcase his star attraction. That suits Jim fine, as he wants to try his luck in America and has been rebuffed by Mabel. Unfortunately, Mabel has also been rebuffed by the audience, who want the duo and are not big on Mabel. In desperation, Valentine tracks down Shosho to the Limehouse district. He hopes that a Chinese-centered act will draw in audiences. Shosho agrees on condition that her boyfriend Jim (Kim Ho Chang) be her accompanist.

Shosho's dance is a hit, so much so that she essentially replaces Mabel as the Piccadilly Circus Club star attraction. Shosho also replaces Mabel in Valentine's affections, but how much so Mabel does not know. Things come to a head when Mabel spies Valentine going to Shosho's flat for a visit. There is a confrontation between Mabel and Shosho. During it, Mabel faints and Shosho is found murdered.

Whodunit? Was it Mabel? Maybe Valentine? Can Jim be behind Shosho's killing? The trial reveals its secrets, until we learn that Life Goes On.

Piccadilly is an inventive film visually, which we see right at the opening. The opening credits appear via the scenery, with the title appearing as a sign on a double-decker bus. Mabel and Victor's dance routine has strong camera work, being very free flowing. Other scenes, such as a woman spying inside a bar with various ethnicities mixing and the actual killing, are equally dramatic in terms of their visual style. This is a very beautiful looking film, with sequences that look quite impressive.

Director Ewald Andre Dupont should get praise for making Piccadilly visually attractive. He also should be given some credit in how he directed the performers. Anna May Wong showed herself a very charismatic and natural actress in the film. Her first scene where we see her joyfully dancing reveals Shosho to be free and easy, delighting in life.

As Piccadilly goes on, we see Wong's magnetic personality come through. She can be playful and vampish. She can also be moving and heartbreaking. The defiance she presents when confronting Mabel reveals a strong, independent woman. We also see that horror and terror as she realizes that she is going to be murdered. Unlike many actresses from the silent era, Wong was not given to exaggerated facial mannerisms. Instead, she is luminous and intriguing as Shosho, this woman who loved the dance but danced too close to the fire.

As stated, Dupont deserves some credit in how he directed his actors. I mentioned how Wong stayed away from grand, theatrical gestures. Granted, her final scene where she is killed may now look a bit overdone. However, as her character is being murdered, you can forgive some great dramatic manner. That exaggerated silent film acting style goes to Gilda Gray. There is a scene where Gray's Mabel is laughing, if memory serves right, when Mabel is dumped by Valentine both professionally and personally. The scene made Mabel's hysterical laughing exactly that in every way possible. Gray seemed exaggerated even for the stereotype of silent film acting. The other actors ranged between Wong's naturalism and Gray's exaggeration.

One issue that I had was with what is meant as a twist in the murder case. I never accepted it as plausible. That knocked Piccadilly down a bit for me. I also was a bit puzzled on the manner of Shosho's death. If memory serves right, it looks as if she was shot at on two separate occasions versus merely murdered. That might be due more to the editing than the film itself.

These, on the whole, while making it fall a bit do not take away from how strong Piccadilly is. Anna May Wong proves herself a strong and charismatic actress in Piccadilly. She and the film should be better known and remembered.  

DECISION: B+