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Toshia Mori

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Toshia Mori
トシア・モリ
Born
Toshiye Ichioka

(1912-01-01)January 1, 1912[citation needed]
Kyoto, Empire of Japan
DiedNovember 26, 1995(1995-11-26) (aged 83)
New York City, U.S.
Other namesToshia Ichioka, Toshi Ichioka, Toshi Mori, Tashia Mori, Shia Jung
OccupationActress
Years active1927–1937
SpouseAllen Jung (m. 1934)

Toshia Mori (トシア・モリ) (January 1, 1912–November 26, 1995) was a Japanese-born American actress who had a brief Hollywood film career during the late 1920s and 1930s. Born as Toshiye Ichioka (市岡俊恵)[1] in Kyoto, Mori moved to the United States when she was 10.

Early life and career

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Mori in The Bitter Tea of General Yen (1933).

Mori began her film career in silent films in the late 1920s. In Mr. Wu (1927) she was credited as Toshia Ichioka. In Streets of Shanghai (1927), she was credited as Toshiye Ichioka. In The Man Without a Face, she was also credited as Toshiye Ichioka, her birth name. (The film is presumed lost.)[2] Finally, she entered the sound era as Toshia Mori.

Mori played Miss Ling in The Hatchet Man (1932).[3] In the same year, she played another Chinese character, "Butterfly", in Roar of the Dragon, an action-melodrama produced by David O. Selznick. The storyline consisted of a group of Occidentals turning to an alcoholic riverboat captain Chauncey Carson (Richard Dix) for help when they are trapped at a hotel in a Mandarin town under siege.[4]

In 1932, Toshia became the only actress of Asian descent and person of color to be selected as a WAMPAS Baby Star, an annual list of young and promising film actresses.[5] WAMPAS may have led to the most significant film role of her career, for shortly afterward, she appeared in Frank Capra's film The Bitter Tea of General Yen (1933), a role that was originally scheduled for Anna May Wong. The story involved the erotically charged relationship between a missionary (Barbara Stanwyck) and a Chinese warlord (Nils Asther). The script also featured a vital character, Mah-Li, a concubine whose scheming throws a spanner into the plots of those around her. Capra and Columbia Pictures, both extremely happy with Mori's work, awarded her third billing. Time's favorable review read: "Stanwyck is satisfactory but the most noteworthy female member of the cast is Toshia Mori, a sloe-eyed Japanese girl…"[6]

Mori returned to minor characters in her subsequent films. In The Painted Veil (1934), starring Greta Garbo, she materializes as the centerpiece of "The Moon Festival" sequence. In Chinatown Squad (1935) she played "Wanda".[7] She appeared in Charlie Chan at the Circus in 1936, and in Charlie Chan on Broadway (1937), Lee (Keye Luke) becomes involved with Ling Tse (Toshia Mori), an employee of the Hottentot Club.

Post-cinema life

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In 1930, Mori married Allen Jung, a Chinese-American actor from San Francisco.[8] After her film career ended, Mori worked as a researcher for Robert Ripley on his short films, Ripley's Believe It or Not!. She died in The Bronx in New York City, aged 83.

Filmography

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Film
Year Film Role Notes
1926 The Non-Stop Flight
  • uncredited
1926 The House Without a Key
  • uncredited
  • Lost film
1927 Mr. Wu
  • credited as Toshia
1927 Streets of Shanghai
  • credited as Toshyie
  • Lost film
1928 The Man Without a Face
  • credited as Toshiye Ichioka.
  • Lost film
1932 The Secrets of Wu Sin
1932 The Hatchet Man Miss Ling, Secretary
1932 Tiger Shark Oriental Lady Barber (uncredited)
1932 Roar of the Dragon Butterfly
1933 The Bitter Tea of General Yen Mah-Li, Concubine
1933 Blondie Johnson Lulu
1933 Fury of the Jungle Chita
1934 The Painted Veil Centrepiece
  • centrepiece of "The Moon Festival" sequence
1935 Chinatown Squad Wanda
1936 Charlie Chan at the Circus Su Toy, contortionist

credited as Shia Jung

1937 Charlie Chan on Broadway Ling Tse, receptionist

References

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  1. ^ "Ancestry Library Edition". Ancestrylibrary.com. Retrieved December 6, 2017.
  2. ^ "Man Without a Face". Archived from the original on June 9, 2011. Retrieved February 17, 2008.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link), silentera.com; accessdate December 6, 2017.
  3. ^ Hall, Mordaunt. (1932-02-04) Review of "The Hatchet Man". Movies.nytimes.com. Retrieved on 2013-09-30.
  4. ^ Review of Roar of the Dragon, Movies.nytimes.com. Retrieved 2013-09-30.
  5. ^ The WAMPAS Baby Stars, b-westerns.com; retrieved 2013-09-30.
  6. ^ Cinema: The New Pictures: Jan. 23, 1933. (Review of The Bitter Tea of General Yen) Time.com (1933-01-23); retrieved 2013-09-30.
  7. ^ At the Mayfair. New York Times (1935-05-30). Retrieved on 2013-09-30.
  8. ^ A conference of Japanese America Actors, Artists, Activists and Interested Critics. resisters.com.

Further reading

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  • The Wampas Baby Stars: A Biographical Dictionary, 1922–1934 (ISBN 0-7864-0756-5) includes biographies of every actress selected, including lists of films in which she appeared.
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