The Forbidden City opens with a famous quote from Kipling: "East is East and West is West. And never the twain shall meet." What follows is what you would expect from a Mary Murillo screenplay: loads of people speaking in "Charlie Chan"-like epigrams (via titles of course); the fatal outcome of miscegenation; and Occidental actors done up in Oriental makeup interacting with genuine Asian bit players; in other words, a slightly uneasy experience for a modern audience. But The Forbidden City is also a rare chance to watch in action one of the genuine mega-stars of the silent screen, Norma Talmadge, who suffers prettily and plays her choice dual role with commendable restraint. The same, alas, cannot be said of the screenplay. Much admired in her day, Mary Murillo was the Elinor Glyn of the 1910s and The Forbidden City comes with titles such as "San San die if love-man go away" or "Whilst San San watched from the shadow world -- the two she had loved found each other." Not even an actress as obviously accomplished as Norma Talmadge can emerge entirely unscathed from that kind of hokum.
by Hans J. Wollstein
review
