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OPEN CLASSIC CINEMA · 1060

A Tale of Two Worlds

192173 minUnited States

Synopsis

Rescued as a child during the Boxer Rebellion, Sui Sen is raised in an American Chinese community. Her guardian makes a bargain he expects never to fulfill, promising her in marriage in exchange for a rare scepter. When the object is produced, the arrangement threatens to place her in the power of a man she does not love.

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Video edition: Wikimedia Commons
Original language: No spoken dialogue. Intertitles: not identified.
This copy runs: 73:17
Subtitles: No subtitle track in this language

No spoken dialogue. Intertitles: not identified. No subtitle track in this language.

Languages and subtitles

No subtitle track in this language

Wikimedia Commons · Frank Lloyd · Public domain

Cast

Leatrice Joy

Wallace Beery

DirectorsFrank Lloyd

Historical context

The American melodrama makes racial identity and an imagined Chinatown underworld central to its rescue plot. Its treatment of Chinese characters reflects Hollywood stereotypes rather than a reliable portrait of the community it depicts.

Sources and availability

General references identify the work and its copy. A reference beside an editorial section is linked to the claims checked in that section.

Wikipedia — film reference Wikidata — film identity and credits

Work catalogued as public domain in the United States.

The public-domain references concern the original films in the United States. Rights can differ for other countries, editions, restorations, music or translations. Sources are listed on each film page.

Availability checked on September 15, 2026.

Photograph credit

Photographs cropped, resized and optimized as WebP, displayed in monochrome.

Leatrice Joy — Photographer not credited in intermediate source. · Public domain
Wallace Beery — MGM studio photographer · Public domain

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