ThiefHott Too much of everything

Laikals The greatest movie ever made..!

2hotFeature one of my absolute favorites!

UnowPriceless hyped garbage

kidboots I don't know who the clothing designer was but Anna May Wong looked simply fabulous as the sinuous Oriental dancer, Shosho. It was ironic that Anna had to travel to England to be given a flesh and blood role that allowed her to give an in-depth characterization. Of course after this it was back to America where, apart from the title role in "Daughter of the Dragon", it was back to stereo typical Oriental temptress roles - and she even had to compete with Myrna Loy for a time. She was literally given the role of a lifetime in this superb film. Art direction by Alfred Junge has a very decadent 20s Art Nouveau look and the photography by Werner Brandes captures the high society of London's West End ("This Year of Grace" is playing) to the seedy cabaret life of "my Piccadilly" as Valentine says. Director E.A. Dupont can point to this as a career highlight in a mostly unsatisfactory career. Eventually ending up in Hollywood, the director of the magnificent "Varietie" and "Atlantic" was given directorial assignments of the calibre of "Ladies Must Love" and even "Hell's Kitchen" featuring the Dead End Kids. Initially going to Hollywood in 1927 after his triumph with "Varietie", he left in disappointment after being given a sentimental melodrama to direct. He went to England and set up his own distribution company - World Wide Pictures - "Photoplays Made Where the Story's Laid" and the first movie made was "Moulin Rouge". Even though it was filmed mostly at Elstree, it was a great success and for his next movie Dupont turned to an actual locale in London with Piccadilly. The film was based on a novel by Arnold Bennett and the author also supplied his own scenario.Vic and Mabel (Cyril Richard and Gilda Gray), the top dance act, are the talk of the town - so say the patrons of the Piccadilly Club. And what a club, with an inhouse orchestra of the DeBroy Somers Band (they were one of Britain's premier dance bands of the 20s, it was a pity some of their music couldn't have been incorporated into the soundtrack instead of the rather cheesy score). With a curved balcony and arched staircase overlooking a magnificent ballroom, the setting is super. Valentine Wilmot (Jameson Thomas) is the jaded manager (is there any other kind)??? - as one diner says he started the club and he made it!!!An incident involving a dirty plate (Charles Laughton has a cameo as a disgruntled customer) leads Valentine to the scullery where he discovers Shosho (Wong). Her tantalizing dancing on the tabletop distracts the dishwashers from their work so when Victor departs for America, hoping to leave the club in the lurch, Valentine brings in Shosho as his new dancing star. Mabel (who has a secret yen for Valentine) is horrified - "She can't dance, they'll laugh at her - and you!!" Of course Shosho is a sensation, her shimmering dance leaves the audience spellbound and Mabel distraught as she knows she will no longer be the toast of London!!!Valentine now begins an affair with Shosho - her "intended", Jim, is unhappy, he accidentally sees the mascot he gave her, a tiny Buddha, in Valentine's office - she said she lost it, but someone else is not quite pleased about it either!!! The sensational ending is soon yesterday's news as an excited tipster in more concerned with his race winnings than the sordid headlines and as the new variety show says "Life Goes On"!!!Jameson Thomas was dissatisfied with his career in British movies so went to Hollywood where he was continually cast as a villain or lounge lizard ("Extravagance", "It Happened One Night"). Gilda Gray had a patchy career - her private life was far more exciting but all her movies gave her a chance to dance the shimmy - the dance she made famous!!!

bkoganbing One of the last British silent films casts Gilda Gray and Anna May Wong as rivals for Jameson Thomas owner of the fabled Piccadilly nightclub located, where else but on Piccadilly Circus in London. Piccadilly is set in the heart of Jazz Age London which had everything the American Roaring Twenties had without the inconvenience of Prohibition.They were a little more daring across the pond in depicting an interracial romance. Thomas as owner of the nightclub fires half of his club attraction of the dancing team of Mabel and Vic. Vic is played by Cyril Ritchard and he's got a roving eye which distresses Mabel who is Gilda Gray. It distresses Thomas even more who likes Gilda, sort of.But when Gray as a solo act doesn't bring in the customers, Thomas looks for a replacement and finds it in the slinky, sexy, sultry Anna May Wong. Wong had previously worked in the scullery at the club and got fired when she did a little impromptu dance entertainment for the staff and a customer complained about a dirty plate. But Thomas and his hormones remembered Wong and they begin an association professional and later personal.This interracial triangle ends real bad with one of them dead and the other on trial for murder.Two prominent people who had great careers in film had small parts. You have to look quick to spot Ray Milland as one of the tuxedoed bits during the nightclub scene. But it's impossible to forget Charles Laughton in his screen debut. He's the diner who complains about the dirty plate he was given, spoiling Ritchard and Gray's dance and leading to Thomas's discovery of Wong. Even without Laughton's magnificent speaking voice to aid him, watch how he milks that simple scene for all its worth. No doubt this man was going to have a great career.There is one other prominent role of significance, that of King Hou Chang as Wong's original boy friend who carries a torch bigger than the one Jameson Thomas has. His performance is quite poignant, I'd love to know what happened to him as Piccadilly is only one of two film credits he has.There are some nice shots of London in the Stanley Baldwin-Ramsay MacDonald era incorporated into the film. Piccadilly holds up reasonably well with a plot quite a bit more mature than the era normally would countenance.

jadedalex "Piccadilly" features some Hitchcockian touches, and I was taken aback by the talent and allure of Anna May Wong as "Sho Sho"...Hollywood has always loved the curvaceous blonde, from Harlow to Monroe. No wonder brunettes Louise Brooks and Anna May Wong were passed over by Hollywood. Brooks by her own independent attitude...Ms. Wong, simply from prejudice....she was 'non-white'. She is lovely in this film. Unlike some, I was not put off by the 'modern' soundtrack. I am quite put off by the fact that we did not see Ms. Wong in more starring roles...I think of all of the terrible vehicles that Garbo and Dietrich starred in. Yes, they were lovely creatures, but Ms. Wong, without the prejudice, without World War II (doesn't matter if she was Chinese, she was perceived only as an oriental 'dragon lady'), had the beauty and talent to have been recognized as a true 'star' of her time.

MartinHafer This isn't a great silent film, but for its time it certainly is one of the better ones. The film is all about a nightclub where a famous but fading lady works as a dancer. Despite the passage of time, she has a hard time admitting that she just doesn't have it like she used to despite the drastic drop-off in customers after her partner left for America. The nightclub owner, on a complete lark, recruits sultry Ann May Wong from the cleanup crew to be his new dancer. Her Asian-inspired dancing was, technically speaking, really awful and silly--but the movie extras sure loved it and she became a star--much to the chagrin of the other lady dancer and Anna's boyfriend. Both these people resented that now Anna and the nightclub owner were becoming very cozy. Ultimately, their feelings of betrayal resulted in tragedy, though you'll have to see for yourself what actually occurs.The acting is pretty good, the sets are also lovely and the story is mildly engaging. Had the film been about singing and not dancing, it wouldn't have worked so well. But with a nice score by Robert Israel, the film is lovely. Too bad Anna had no idea how to dance and no one bothered to show her how!By the way, a there are a few things to look for are in the film. Charles Laughton has a small role as an obnoxious customer and it's his first appearance in a feature film. Also, Anna's boyfriend, Jim, is quite cute when he wears Anna's outfit! And finally, on the inter-title cards, they refer to a pistol as a "revolver" even though it is actually a semi-automatic, not a revolver (a tiny mistake, but one that will make gun enthusiasts cringe).