Tracing the Origins of Chinese American Cinema
In recognition of Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, we delve into the historical journey that led to the foundation of one of the earliest Chinese American film studios, a significant response to the misrepresentation experienced in early Hollywood.
Confronting Stereotypes in Early Film
Sandy Lee’s family history in America dates back to the late 1860s. By the 1880s, they relocated from San Francisco to New York City’s Chinatown, establishing a business at 31 Pell Street, which remains in the family as an insurance company today.
Harold Lee, Sandy’s grandfather, thrived as a businessman around the turn of the 20th century, running ventures that included a grocery store and a money exchange service.
During the 1920s, Chinese American leaders expressed their discontent with the stereotypical portrayals of their community in films. Herb Tam, Director of Exhibitions at the Museum of Chinese in America, noted, “The representations of Chinese and Asians in early Hollywood were really kind of one-dimensional and really demeaning.” In response to their grievances, the National Board of Review of Motion Pictures suggested that they create their own films if they sought to alter these harmful narratives.
The Founding of the Great Wall Film Company
This advice led Harold Lee and his uncle, Lee Kee Do, to establish the Great Wall Film Company in 1921. Sandy remarked, “In the 1920s, they had a small population here, but they still had the yearning for culture and film and art.”
Over a century later, the area where the studio once thrived is now home to I.S. 281 Joseph B. Cavallaro, located on the former site of this groundbreaking enterprise. Early films produced by the Great Wall Film Company were distributed both in the United States and in China, marking a significant cultural contribution.
A Legacy of Entrepreneurial Spirit
According to Tam, the film studio epitomized a “do-it-yourself” ethos prevalent among Chinese American communities. Although the studio later relocated to Shanghai and produced around two dozen films within a decade, many of these works have unfortunately been lost over time. The company ultimately ceased operations during the Great Depression, yet the Lee family’s influence on cinema persisted through their establishment of the New York Chinese Film Exchange.
“My grandfather also bought a theater right on Park Row… and he renamed it the Silver Star,” Sandy explained. “It was a really big deal. On the weekends, you would go to see the Chinese movies.” Movies have continued to be a family affair, with Sandy’s uncle Henry Lee photographed in the 1940s operating a camera truck. Today, the family legacy lives on, as descendants work in various roles within the media industry, including film production design and television management.
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