By candykool1951 (68.73.193.160) on Monday, March 08, 2004 - 09:31 pm:

I know Hollywood has a wierd way of portraying races,especially in the 40's,50,s&60,s. I cav recall Natalie Wood portraying a half black,half french woman in All The Kings Men with Frank Sinatra and as a Hispanic girl in Westside Story and her nationality is Russian.John Wayne as Genghish Khan...Give me a break. Almost every Indian part was played by a paleface in make-up...exp...Sal Mineo,Italian as Tonka.Jeff Chandler,Jewish,as Chochise and Chuck Conner the Rifleman Played an Indian. Susan Kohner as Sara Jane in Imatation of Life. Susan Kohner is Hungarian and Mexican. She married a Jewish man and her sons either wrote or produced American Pie and About A Boy. What is your take on this form of imitation and what are some good or bad that stands out in your mind?

By Frankie B. (65.35.203.15) on Monday, March 08, 2004 - 11:49 pm:

How about Chico Marx and his "dumb Italian" bit??? Really pisses me off. I know now why many Black Americans want Walt Disney's "song of the south" gone forever.

By R&B (138.238.41.118) on Tuesday, March 09, 2004 - 03:49 pm:

IN THOSE YEARS[PEOPLE OF COLOR]WERE ALMOST ALWAYS PORTRAYED BY WHITES,TWO REASONS..THERE WERE NOT ALOT OF MINORITY ACTORS IN THOSE DAYS AND THE MOVIE MONGULS DIDN'T REALLY CARE ONE WAY OR THE OTHER,THEY JUST WANTED TO TELL A STORY,WAS IT RACIST[OF COURSE]BUT THOSE WERE THE TIMES WE LIVED IN AND REMEMBER THAT IN THE 50'S AND 60'S THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT WAS IN IT'S INFANCY AND OUR VOICE WAS NOT AS POWERFUL IN GETTING CERTAIN THINGS CHANGED,OH BY THE WAY SOMETIMES THEY GOT IT RIGHT[SAL MINEO]WAS PART NATIVE AMERICAN AS I RECALL.

By Robb_K (66.81.197.145) on Tuesday, March 09, 2004 - 04:20 pm:

Warner Oland was a Swede, playing Charley Chan. The next one, Sidney Toler, was also a Caucasian of Central uropean extraction.
Yul Brynner was of Russian extraction, and played Native Americans, Mongols, Siamese, and various other "races".

The Marx brothers were Jews from Alsace (A German part of northeastern France). Chico was supposed to be Italian and Harpo was supposed to be from "outer space".

Sometimes US World War II films had Chinese playing Japanese and vice versa, or one of those nationalities playing whichever "Oriental" race they needed.

The list of Caucasians playing lead and heavy parts for "Native Americans' is endless. The reason was NOT because there were no Native American actors. Part of it was racism, and another factor was that the portrayal of the history was so one-sided and untrue that Native Americans were either unwilling to participate in such "nastiness", OR the producers guessed they might have a lot of complaints and arguments from Native Americans over those issues, that it wasn't worth taking a chance. They assumed "the public won't notice, or care about the difference".

By Tony Russi (208.61.160.184) on Tuesday, March 09, 2004 - 05:35 pm:

Most of the "Indians" in Tonka(a Disney movie) were Puerto Rican...the jobs went to the Union members.

By paulie3$hoes (68.236.53.71) on Tuesday, March 09, 2004 - 06:17 pm:

not for nuttin but da mineo kid youse look at him one way an he looks eyetalyun an den youse look at him anudder way an he looks like a paisan, capice???#$%^&
so's i'm bettin needer one cuz he's gotta be a goomba cuz if he wuz an injun fela den he wud be a seminola, catch my drift???@#$%&

By DyvaNaye (209.212.74.198) on Tuesday, March 09, 2004 - 06:34 pm:

I remember when my brothers and I used to be hooked on the 'KUNG FU' flicks, my brother used to say 'those are not all chinese people sis, some are mexicans'...We used to laugh at that until I payed attention to the credits one day and it said something like:

Xing Tse - Pedro Gonzalez

I thought, damn! He was right.

Speaking of which; what was up with David Carridine playing Xi Chang Caine (or what ever it was) on Kung Fu? I remember thinking back then: ' they can put 'Hop-Sing' on Gunsmoke screaming 'Mista Car-white! Mista Cart-white!' every five minutes a real chinese man but not on Kung FU?' He had this make-up on to squeeze his eyes...how provocative...

By DyvaNaye (209.212.74.198) on Tuesday, March 09, 2004 - 06:36 pm:

..and Im coming backatcha on the African Americans...I may say something that may start a little controversy...

DyvaNaye

By W. Hung (68.236.53.71) on Tuesday, March 09, 2004 - 06:52 pm:

Half Chinese and half American White would be Yang Tze Doodle!!

By W. Hung (68.236.53.71) on Tuesday, March 09, 2004 - 06:53 pm:

Half Chinese and half American White would be called Yang Tze Doodle!!

By ~medusa~ (68.79.99.176) on Friday, March 12, 2004 - 04:53 pm:

I would agree that imitation is a giant form of flattery...anytime someone is imitating another person, they are trying to be that person, and yes the original person should be flattered that someone else would rather be "them" instead of themselves... WOW...

By Helene (217.32.166.37) on Sunday, March 14, 2004 - 12:19 pm:

Thank you, DyvaNaye and W.Hung, for making me chuckle.

By msteffich (24.85.149.216) on Friday, March 19, 2004 - 04:43 am:

Gwyneth Paltrow as a Brit? Jude Law a southerner? Shakespearean men as women? Ignorant times existed.

I got lost when one voice:

a) slagged David Carradine as Kane. Beyond race he played a wonderful character whose insight fed my teenage mind.

b) slagged Chico Marx whose Italian schtick originally may have appealed to a steretype by his contemporaries but took on the cartoonish characterizations that appealled to me by the time I discovered them in my youth.


no racism but why not great acting


Mike

By Sudi Kamau (66.117.198.35) on Friday, March 19, 2004 - 11:13 am:

There's a difference between imitation and mockery.

By drstrangefunk (68.101.3.224) on Tuesday, March 23, 2004 - 07:50 pm:

according to a Bruce Lee biopic that i saw, Kung Fu was concieved of and developed by Bruce and a partner as a stepping stone from the momentum built up by Lee's role as Kato on The Green Hornet. the studio and/or television company okey-doke'd him.

according to the flick.