Tad Pole . . . was born in some far-off foreign land such as Hungary, Australia, Romania, or Canadia. THE HATCHET MAN reveals that the LITTLE GIANT's native shore actually was some place in China. Several times during this documentary from the early 1930s Robinson (nee Wong Low Get) spews forth a string of Asiatic Lingo that would do President Xi proud. Many have said that Robinson always looks uncomfortable in the various double-breasted Western Gangster suits in which many of his movie roles doll him up. The explanation for this ill-ease becomes apparent during the opening scenes of THE HATCHET MAN. "Eddie" has never looked more at home than in his Native Tong garb. As he shares with us the ins and outs of a Chinese Sharia Law Variant, Americans can pick up on the many nuances that separate Our way of thinking from the Oriental Mind. Eddie's a hitman who never has to wonder if he's brought enough bullets before the battle begins, or if he's washed off all the GSR when the war has waned. After all, who would bring a gun to a hatchet fight?

mark.waltz Hideously silly dialog just makes the Caucasian actors in Chinese get-up in this thriller about Tong wars in San Francisco look all the more ridiculous, starting with the execution of a traitor by the titled "hatchet man" (Edward G. Robinson, no less!) and his promise to the friend he's been ordered to kill that he'll look over his daughter and marry her when she is of age. None other than Loretta Young is the grown-up daughter, with Robinson now a respectable businessman and the Tong pretty much gone, even though the head man (Dudley Digges in a ridiculous role) is still roaming around in his Fu Manchu get up like nothing has changed. When local rackets demand protection money from the Chinatown businesses (this is "Little Caeser"/"Public Enemy" era still), King Tong demands revenge and Robinson must pull his hatchet out of storage. Wife Loretta falls in love with the bodyguard Robinson has hired to protect her and when they are discovered, Robinson's reaction causes him to be drummed out of the Tong forever.Played oh, so seriously, this leads to even more melodramatics when Robinson discovers that his cheating wife has been turned into a prostitute in China and heads there to rescue her. This leads to a confrontation with a Madame Gin Sling like character and a horrifying plot twist involving Robinson's hatchet. The melodrama of this pre-code drama is like something out of a cheaply made serial and all the talent in it seems wasted because of the ridiculous words coming out of their mouths. Even if you can get past the evil stereotypes and the fact that Robinson doesn't even come close to looking Asian let alone sound Asian and that even with over-the-top eye make-up Young too is obviously an all-American girl, this movie truly takes bad taste to a new level. At least with Myrna Loy in "The Mask of Fu Manchu", you knew she was going for camp even though it was obvious she hated the part.Visually, this movie is gorgeous to look at, but it lacks the subtlety of Von Sternberg's "Shanghai Express" and Capra's "The Bitter Tea of General Yen", even with the great William Wellman directing. Of course, Willie Fung is present for a bit part (as he was in most of the movies which featured the dark side of the Asian culture) and Blanche Frederici, the plump character actress who often wore men's clothing to portray stereotypical butch women, makes the most of her small part as Young's companion. Watch at your own risk, and keep your eyeballs in front. You may end up seeing out of the back of your head from rolling them too much.

kapelusznik18 ***SPOILERS*** Hard to take movie about a Chinese hit man Wong Low "Get it" Get played by Romanian/Jewish American actor Edward G. Robinson heading an all non Asian cast. It's Wong who has to prove his worth to his Chinese Tong higher ups by following orders in icing, with a hatchet, anyone they feel is a threat to their power in the San Francisco Chinese/American community. That has Wong dispatch by hatchet his best friend who sailed together with him as a boy to America, from Shanghai, on the same boat Sun "Not" Yet Ming played by Irish/American actor J. Carroll Nash.Sun knowing that his best friend Wong is to do him in leaves all his earthly possessions including his six year old daughter Toya, Played by Luxenbourgian/American actress Loretta Young, to Wong as a gift to their life long friendship before Wong, off camera, hatchet-ed him to death. Now 15 years later Wong had become Americanized as well as a successful businessman in the export/import business and is ready to take the grown up and beautiful Toya as his lawfully wedded wife. But things start to heat up with a number of Chinese mobsters from New York's Chinatown together with local Irish mob boss J.C Malone, Ralph Ince, planing to muscle in on the local Tongs', in San Francisco, turf that touches off a full scale Chinese Tong war.***SPOILERS*** It's the Chinese bodyguard Harry En Hai,played Englishman Leslie Fenton, who's assigned to look after Toya who gets under Wong's skin by secretly romancing her causing him to lose face among his fellow Chinese gangsters. After a period of deep soul searching and facing disgrace, as well as bankruptcy, Wong gets back to his role as a Chinese hit or hatchet-man to even up the score with the back-stabbing bodyguard. Not willing to do Harry En Hai in after promising his estrange and cheating wife Toya he'll spare his life Wong almost by accident,in trying to porously miss him with his flying hatchet, hits his target from behind. Thus putting Harry away, with a hatchet in the back, for good while he was busy getting himself high in Mme.Si-Si's, Blanche Frederici, Chinatown opium den. P.S Despite his great success a few years earlier as an American gangster in "Little Caesar" Edward G. Robinson couldn't duplicate that role playing a Chinese one. In fact Robinson was far more convincing plying an American businessman then a Chinese hit or hatchet-man in the film. Which was a lot more then can be said about the cast of non-Chinese or Oriental actors and actresses who were stuck playing Chinese characters in the movie.

Michael_Elliott Hatchet Man, The (1932) *** (out of 4) Entertaining crime picture has Edward G. Robinson playing the title character, a hit man for a tong gang in Chinatown who must murder his best friend. Before the murder the man gives his daughter to Robinson so that he can marry her when she gets older. Years pass and Robinson and the girl (Loretta Young) are about to be married when another tong war breaks out. Director Wellman knows how to handle this material and does so very well and the film moves very fast and is over before you can blink. The fact that whites are playing all the Asian roles might bother some but nothing ever gets too offensive. Robinson gives a very good, quiet performance even though he's never believable as an Asian. He speaks with his normal voice so there's really never an attempt to come off Asian. Young is also very good in her role, although she isn't given a whole lot to do. I'm not sure if this is wrong or not but in her Asian make up she comes off as one of the most attractive Asian women I've seen. The supporting cast are all fine in their roles with J. Carrol Naish having a bit part. The story is pretty light weight but it remains entertaining through its 74-minutes.