Alla Nazimova
Mahlee & Blanche Sackville
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Synopsis
A woman of mixed Chinese and European ancestry seeks belonging at a Christian mission in Beijing. Romantic rejection and the arrival of her European half-sister deepen her sense of exclusion. A rebel leader exploits that resentment by persuading her to assume a symbolic role in an uprising, linking personal humiliation to a violent political conflict.
Cast
DirectorsAlbert Capellani
Historical context
Alla Nazimova plays both half-sisters in a melodrama shaped by the period's racial assumptions and Western view of China. The production also marked Anna May Wong's screen debut as an extra, before her later emergence as a major performer.
Sources and availability
The synopsis and editorial text were written for this collection. The references below were cross-checked to identify the film and its copy; each editorial section identifies its reference.
Work catalogued as public domain in the United States.
The reference concerns the original work. Restorations, colorization, translations and other territories may have different conditions. This site uses the player enabled by the channel.
Availability checked on September 10, 2026.
Photograph credit
Photographs cropped, resized and optimized as WebP, displayed in monochrome.
- Alla Nazimova — Mishkin Studio · Public domain
- Noah Beery Sr. — Unknown photographer · Public domain
