| The Tong Man | |
| Director: | William Worthington |
| Starring: | Sessue Hayakawa |
| Producer: | George W. Stout |
| Cinematography: | Frank D. Williams |
| Studio: | Haworth Pictures Corporation |
| Distributor: | Robertson-Cole Distributing Corporation |
| Runtime: | 5 reels |
| Country: | United States |
| Language: | Silent (English intertitles) |
The Tong Man is a 1919 American thriller film directed by William Worthington and produced by Haworth Pictures Corporation.[1] [2]
The Tong Man survives and is available on home video.[3] The film has long been preserved by the Library of Congress.[4]
As described in a film magazine,[5] Luk Chen (Hayakawa), whose heart beats for Sen Chee (Eddy) 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 (Roberts), 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 effects 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.
. Daisuke Miyao. Sessue Hayakawa: Silent Cinema and Transnational Stardom. 28 March 2007. Duke University Press. 978-0-8223-3969-4. 183.