''Hai-Tang'', also known as ''Le Chemin du déshonneur'' (''The Road to Dishonour'') is a 1930 British-German

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular ...

directed by

Richard Eichberg Richard Eichberg (27 October 1888 – 8 May 1952) was a German film director and film producer, producer. He directed 87 films between 1915 and 1949. He also produced 77 films between 1915 and 1950. He was born in Berlin, Germany and died i ...

and

Jean Kemm Jean Kemm (15 May 1874–1939) was a French people, French stage and theater actor and film director. Kemm was born Jules Adolphe Félix Bécheret in the 2nd arrondissement of Paris and died in Paris in 1939. Selected filmography

* ''Andr ...

and starring

Anna May Wong Wong Liu Tsong (January 3, 1905 – February 3, 1961), known professionally as Anna May Wong, was an American actress, considered the first Chinese American film star in Hollywood, as well as the first Chinese American actress to gain internat ...

Marcel Vibert Marcel Vibert (2 November 1883 – 11 June 1959) was a French film actor. Vibert worked primarily in the French film industry, but in the late 1920s he also appeared in several British silent films including ''Moulin Rouge (1928 film), Moulin Ro ...

and Robert Ancelin.St. Pierre p.83 It was made at

Elstree Studios Elstree Studios is a generic term which can refer to several current and demolished British film studios and television studios based in or around the town of Borehamwood and village of Elstree in Hertfordshire, England. Production studios ha ...

Multiple-language versions

Like many other films of the early

talkie A sound film is a motion picture with synchronized sound, or sound technologically coupled to image, as opposed to a silent film. The first known public exhibition of projected sound films took place in Paris in 1900, but decades passed befo ...

era before dubbing became more widespread, the film was shot in

multiple-language version A multiple-language version film (often abbreviated to MLV) or foreign language version is a film, especially from the early talkie era, produced in several different languages for international markets. To offset the marketing restrictions of ma ...

s, each with a different cast. Three versions of the film were made so they could be screened throughout Europe and the colonial world, such as in Mozambique, Australia and South Africa. This was Wong's first sound film billed as the star, and in all three versions she appeared as the female lead. An English-language version (''

The Flame of Love ''The Flame of Love'' (US title), also known as ''The Road to Dishonour'' (UK title) and ''Hai-Tang'', is a 1930 British drama film, a love story between an Imperial Russian army officer and a Chinese actress. Directed by Richard Eichberg and ...

/The Road to Dishonour'') and a German-language version ('' Hai-Tang: Der Weg zur Schande'') of the film were made with different casts except for Wong, who spoke her part in three different languages. The French-language version was sometimes referred to as ''L’Amour, maître des choses'' in French film magazines). Confusingly, all three versions are often referred to simply as ''Hai-Tang''.

Synopsis

In the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

, a young officer and a powerful

Grand Duke Grand duke (feminine: grand duchess) is a European hereditary title, used either by certain monarchs or by members of certain monarchs' families. The title is used in some current and former independent monarchies in Europe, particularly: * in ...

both fall in love with a Chinese woman.

Cast

as Hai-Tang *

as Le grand duc * Robert Ancelin as Boris Ivanoff *

Armand Lurville Armand Lurville (March 21, 1875 – September 25, 1955) was a French stage and film actor. Waldman p.57 A character actor, he appeared in a number of films from the silent era to the 1950s. Selected filmography * '' Wedding Night'' (1920) * ''The ...

as Le colonel Mouraview *

Hélène Darly Hélène Darly (born Éliane Émilienne Pauline Pilate; 4 May 1900 – 17 May 1994) was a French film actress whose career was most prominent in the silent film era. Biography Hélène Darly was born Éliane Émilienne Pauline Pilate in the 11t ...

as Yvette * François Viguier as Viguier *

Gaston Dupray Gaston Dupray (8 June 1886 – 12 December 1976) was a Belgian film actor.Gaston Dupray
mabumbe.com Du ...

as Pierre Baron, le chanteur *

Claire Roman Claire Roman (born Claire-Henrietta Emilia Chambaud, 25 March 1906 – 8 August 1941) was a French aviator. In the 1930s she participated in speed races and broke world records for altitude and speed, and completed a long-distance flight to India. ...

Mona Goya Mona Goya (25 November 1909 – 8 October 1961) was a Mexican-born French film actress who rose to fame in the 1930s. Selected filmography * '' Madame Récamier'' (1928) * '' Princess Mandane'' (1928) – Simoun * '' L'Argent'' (1928) * ''Jim ...

Gaston Jacquet Gaston Émile Marius Jacquet (14 August 1883 – 28 January 1970) was a French actor. Jacquet was born in Lanas, Ardèche, France and died in 1970 in Thonex in Switzerland. Selected filmography * ''Les Trois Mousquetaires'' (1921) * '' The ...

Notes

References

Sources

* * * *

External links

* * * 1930 films British drama films 1930 drama films 1930s French-language films Films shot at British International Pictures Studios Films directed by Richard Eichberg Films directed by Jean Kemm French multilingual films Films set in Russia Films set in the 1900s German drama films German black-and-white films British black-and-white films British multilingual films German multilingual films 1930 multilingual films 1930s British films 1930s German films Films scored by Hans May {{1930s-UK-film-stub