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Confessions of an Opium Eater
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Wikipedia article
'Confessions of an Opium Eater' also known as 'Souls for Sale' and 'Evils of Chinatown' is a 1962 American crime film produced and directed by Albert Zugsmith. It is loosely based on the 1822 autobiographical novel 'Confessions of an English Opium-Eater', written by Thomas De Quincey. After circulating for years as a bootleg, it was released on DVD as part of the Warner Archive Collection in 2012.
This film stars Vincent Price as Gilbert de Quincey, a nineteenth-century adventurer who becomes involved in a tong war in San Francisco. Price also narrated the film, whose evocative cinematography resembles a nightmare. The film was something of a departure for Price; the prolific actor never performed another role that involved so much physical action.
Plot
In 1902, adventurer Gilbert De Quincey, a descendant of Thomas De Quincey. is hired by the editor of a Chinese newspaper to stop auctions of trafficked Chinese women to be the brides of Chinese men resident in the United States. The community is split down the middle with those feeling the traditional practice is the only way for overseas Chinese to obtain brides, and those who regard the practise as indecent.
Cast
* Vincent Price as Gilbert De Quincey
* Linda Ho as Ruby Low
* Richard Loo as George Wah
* June Kyoto Lu as Lotus (as June Kim)
* Philip Ahn as Ching Foon
* Yvonne Moray as the midget girl with sing-sing voice
* Caroline Kido as Lo Tsen
* Terence De Marney as Englishman in opium den
Reception
In 1998, Jonathan Rosenbaum of the 'Chicago Reader' included the film in his unranked list of the best American films not included on the AFI Top 100.
Quotes
'I am De Quincey. I dream, and I create dreams out of the opium pipe. I see sailing into our vision a junk. Its cargo: women. Women bought or stolen from all over the mysterious Orient. Their destination, and mine: the human auctions in Chinatown.'
Trivia
James Hong was given a script in 1962. He thought it was terrible "all the roles were the opium dope people and the prostitutes and so forth." He and approached Albert Zugsmith to make a case for a rewrite.
See also
*List of American films of 1962
*'Confessions of an English Opium-Eater'
*Opium
*Thomas De Quincey
References
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