Long story short / produced by Film News Now & Wahini Dakini Productions ; written by Jodi Long ; directed by Christine Choy.

[New York, NY] : Filmakers Library, [2009]

1 online resource (53 min.)

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Combining a poignant family story with the stigma of racism, this film gives insight into the Asian-American experience, including the trauma of internment. The latest film from Academy Award-nominated director Christine Choy (Who Killed Vincent Chin?) tells the fascinating story of Larry and Trudie Long, a popular husband-and-wife nightclub act of the '40s and '50s. Narrated by their daughter, actress Jodi Long, the film traces the couple's rise from the Chinatown nightclub circuit to a coveted appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show. Known as "The Leungs," (a more Chinese-sounding name), they performed a mix of tap dancing, witty repartee and "Chinaman" caricatures that both played to and undermined the racist attitudes of the day. Trudie Long, born Kimiye Tsunemitsu, was actually not Chinese but of Japanese descent, which made her the target of discrimination during the war. Because of the limited opportunities for Asian Americans in the Broadway theater, Larry mourned the fact that he lost his role in the original production of Flower Drum Song. Although he went on to perform in the show's traveling company, his career never fully recovered. Redemption of a sort came when daughter Jodi appears on Broadway in a revival of the same musical, re-written by Chinese-American playwright David Henry Hwang.

ASP-AVON. OCLC KB.

Images / Online / Video & Film

English

February 14, 2024

Executive producers, Rose HyeJung Han, Patricia Richardson ; camera, Jens Sturrup, Kuling Siegel, Sally Nemeth, Dean Chamberlin ; editor, Douglas Cheek.

For High School; College; Adult audiences.