Son of the Gods (1930)

Slow pace in the most part of the movie.

Save your money for something good and enjoyable

Absolutely Brilliant!

It's entirely possible that sending the audience out feeling lousy was intentional

In 1930 this film must have been daring subject matter. Barthelmess, a top box office star, and Bennett, almost at the top, were the bait to lure in the audience. But the plot is hard to swallow. Barthelmess as the super nice Sam is Chinese but doesn't look it and he speaks English like a native American. Why would the other characters in the film believe he was Chinese? The ending, when we learn he's not Chinese, makes perfect sense. But this also ruins the whole moral point about racial prejudice.Bennett plays Allana, a girl in love with love. As an actress she is not yet skilled enough to make her sometimes stilted lines believable and her acting occasionally produces guffaws, such as when she proclaims to Sam, "I love you, I love you ..." and waves her arms about for emphasis. In reviewing this film, Variety wrote that Bennett, "offers a performance of exceptional excellence ... authenticity of her acting" and more words of high praise. Seeing this film in 2015, I fail to see what Variety saw in 1930.The scenes in the south of France, which looks like Catalina Island west of L.A., were idyllic. Sam was happy working for Bathurst, happy spending his days writing on the terrace and his nights at the casino. Whether Sam and Allana find happiness after the fadeout (doubtful), he/they should set up housekeeping/business here, where Sam can be who he is - a rich American who was adopted by a rich Chinese couple, and who, after some necessary mental readjustment and serious study of Confucius, will recognize and accept his good fortune of being the beneficiary of both cultures.

"He's an educated Chinaman" someone tells Constance Bennett who has come to apologize for racial slurs against Richard Barthelmess brought up to think he's Chinese even though he looks totally Caucasian. The statement meant to defend Barthelmess is actually a slur against the typical looking Chinese that Bennett claims she knew living in California, what this man, tearing Bennett down, is saying is that a Chiese man is OK as long as he's educated, hangs out with Caucasians and looks Caucasian.There's a ton of anti-Asian racial slurs used violently throughout the film, and audiences in 2013 might not understand the mindset of a 1930 audience. Even if the film blatantly used racism without its so-called defense, it wouldn't be as offensive as this. As a film, it is entirely too long, and the twist at the end will probably make you wince. This is a sad example of one type of pre-code celluloid that went too far and like the logo of the 1932 "Scarface" truly is the "shame of a nation" that does nobody any good. By the time the two-strip color flashback final occurs, you'll have given up.

When talkies came along Richard Barthelmess, who had been a top star from the early 1920s, proved to be one of the very few silent stars whose career, at least initially, went from strength to strength. Not only was he placed 6th in a box office popularity poll in 1931, his salary (in 1933) was one of the highest, being around $8,500 a week, which made it quite easy for Warners to drop him when his contract came up for renewal and his star began to fall. But before then he showed a lot of versatility by tackling roles such as a crusading news reporter ("The Finger Points"), an ex-flyer ("The Last Flight"), a disillusioned war veteran ("Heroes For Sale") and even a share cropper ("The Cabin in the Cotton").Unfortunately it would take all his skill and the allure of his leading lady to get people into the cinema for "Son of the Gods" - a drama about the romance between a sophisticated girl and a wealthy college boy who neglects to tell her of his Oriental parentage. Constance Bennett kept gossip magazines working overtime as she spouted her opinions about marriage, wealth and life in general, so people hurried to the cinema to see the outspoken actress they thought they knew.When Sam Lee (Barthelmess), a wealthy but shy college student invites his "friends" out to an exclusive night club, "The Bird Cage", the evening turns sour when one of the girls finds out that he is - shock!! horror!! - Chinese!! This is the last straw for Sam who realises the only friends he has are those that envy him his wealth. He feels he lacks the humility his father expects of him and decides to sail to Europe, working his way as he goes. He finds employment with Mr. Bathurst, a British writer who uses Sam as a researcher for the Chinese section of the play he is writing. Bathurst knows Sam's history and, unlike the Americans, respects his honor and integrity.Sam meets beautiful Allana Waggner (Bennett) who gives him to understand that if a man has her love it doesn't matter who or what his parentage, she will give her all. Which makes the story very cringe worthy in that when she finds out he is nothing more than a "common Chinaman" she goes off her rocker and attacks him in the cafe with a riding crop!!! This movie doesn't have anything in common with "Broken Blossoms", except to point out that little had changed in the meantime and that in 1930 being Chinese carried the same stigma as being a leper, in white man's eyes. I have seen Constance Bennett in a few films and I was surprised by her amateurish acting at the start - she did improve as the film progressed and was quite good in the scenes where she had to suffer. Apparently "The New York Times" was unimpressed with her histrionics and deliberately referred to her as Constance Talmadge throughout the review.Of course the one person who does treat him as an equal is Eileen (Mildred Van Dorn) a sweet Irish girl who would make him a perfect wife and whose uncle holds the key to Sam's mysterious past but love is blind and Allana's treatment brings him back to America a changed man. He finds his father dead and, fed up with the contempt and treachery of the white race, decides to live as a Chinese man - which includes frequenting Oriental dives!!! He takes over his father's business and his tough and ruthless methods tear down all the good will his father had built up. I suppose to appease the public, the twist at the end, that he was not Chinese but really a foundling (played by the always cute Dickie Moore) taken in by the Lees, didn't mean much as Allana didn't want to know anything about his past but wanted to love him unconditionally.re the Technicolor sequence. I think it was the scene which took place in the back of the car Sam was driving. Suddenly his friends launch into a song "Pretty Little You" (which I can remember from "Sally"), their lips turn dark and their cheeks become "rosy" - all signs that color was used.

Wealthy Caucasian-looking Chinese student Richard Barthelmess (as Sam Lee) is accepted by some of his school chums, but many girls shun him when they find out he's really a "Chinaman". Not knowing where he fits in, Mr. Barthelmess drops out of college and sails for Europe. Barthelmess settles in the south of France, assisting English author Claude King (as Mr. Bathurst) with a play he is writing about Chinese culture. Barthelmess is "popular with the ladies," and catches the eye of beautiful blonde Constance Bennett (as Allana Wagner). Perhaps recalling his earlier rejections, Barthelmess does not reveal his Chinese ancestry to Ms. Bennett...Her father Anders Randolf (as Mr. Wagner) wonders about Barthelmess' background but Bennett doesn't care, or does she...Bennett's reaction to the news should not to be missed. You should note that the very next scene begins her turnaround, and that she has transferred feelings to her victim. This trading off of prejudice is artful and interesting; and, for the time, this film takes a positive stand regarding miscegenation. That doesn't make it convincing, however. Barthelmess was a top actor, and placed #8 in "Quigley Publications" 1930 annual money-makers list. He has some good scenes, and the production values are high, but his characterization is askew. Barthelmess was getting too old for the college boy roles. And Bennett is saddled with a difficult to redeem scene.***** Son of the Gods (3/9/30) Frank Lloyd ~ Richard Barthelmess, Constance Bennett, Anders Randolf, E. Alyn Warren