The Courageous Coward

Sessue Hayakawa was making the transition from Asian villain to sympathetic hero in this picture. The plot is a combination of racial stereotypes that were common in the U.S. during the silent era and real-life situations experienced by Asians living Stateside. Hayakawa plays Suki Iota, a student who, while born and bred in America, wants a wife with traditional Japanese values. She appears in the form of Rei (Tsuru Aoki, Hayakawa's real-life wife), a singer who becomes known as the Japanese Nightingale.

Director: William Worthington

Cast: Sessue Hayakawa, Tsuru Aoki, Toyo Fujita, George Hernandez, Francis McDonald, Charles A. Post

Audience-only score — full critic data not yet in the ReelXO vault.