Confessions of an Opium Eater

Confessions of an Opium Eater
Confessions of an Opium Eater
	Roy V. Livingston; Edward Curtiss
Music by	Albert Glasser
Production; company	Photoplay
Distributed by	Allied Artists Pictures
Release date	June 20, 1962 (United States);
Running time	85 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English

Confessions of an Opium Eater also known as Souls for Sale and Evils of Chinatown

DVD as part of the Warner Archive Collection in 2012.^[2]

This film stars

tong war in San Francisco. Price also narrated the film, whose evocative cinematography resembles a nightmare. The film was something of a departure for Price; the prolific actor never performed another role that involved so much physical action.^[3]

Plot

In 1902, adventurer Gilbert De Quincey, a descendant of Thomas De Quincey, is hired by the editor of a Chinese newspaper to stop auctions of trafficked Chinese women to be the brides of Chinese men resident in the United States. The community is split down the middle between those feeling the traditional practice is the only way for overseas Chinese to obtain brides, and those who regard the practise as indecent.

Cast

Vincent Price as Gilbert De Quincey
Linda Ho as Ruby Low
Richard Loo as George Wah
June Kyoto Lu as Lotus (as June Kim)
Philip Ahn as Ching Foon
sing-sing voice
Caroline Kido as Lo Tsen
Terence De Marney as Englishman in opium den

Reception

In 1998, Jonathan Rosenbaum of the Chicago Reader included the film in his unranked list of the best American films not included on the AFI Top 100.^[4]