Luise Rainer (Düsseldorf, Germany 12 January 1910 - 30 December 2014). She was the first thespian to win multiple Academy Awards and the first to win back-to-back; at the time of her death, thirteen days shy of her 105th birthday, she was the longest-lived Oscar recipient, a superlative that has not been exceeded as of 2022
She was the longest lived Oscar Best Actress. Olivia de Havilland almost came close. I still remember seeing her participating in two Oscars Reunion of Academy Award winners years ago.. Watching this video while she was already 100 and could answer sharply remembering all those past years of her work was amazing...
Soooooooo happy I clicked "play". I've known about Ms. Rainer for many years but never saw her in an interview. This video should be made mandatory in all acting schools, the students would learn more in this 28 minutes than in a whole semester, at least more about what matters. Sublime.
What a gloriously beautiful woman, inside and out. A person and personality to marvel at and truly admire. How honored and gifted are we to have had her so long...even if her professional career was so short. This left me in tears.
One of the special things in this stay at home virus time...able to watch the festival at home. Luise Rainer is one of my favorites. What a treat to see her talk. Miss Robert Osborne...treat to see him more too.
Luise Rainier was so wonderful in her expressive nature by telling us about her work in the Good Earth. What a gifted actress and as someone said, these actors never lose their craft and that is for sure.
Every single time I listen to this great Woman tears flow down my face because of the Ultimate Beauty of Her Wisdom, Knowledge and The Spiritual Innerstanding of Mr. Rainer🙏🕊✝️She is greatly missed!
@@12classics39 Judging from the way she walked, it is probable that Miss Rainer was afflicted with arthritis, as one would expect of anyone 85 years old, much less one hundred. I think she preferred to explain it away in an amusing fashion, so as not to be pitied. That she could walk at all at that age is a testament to her vivacity and determination not to let her audience down.
Thank you for posting this. I lived a short walk from the Egyptian at that time, wanted to go but missed it. It’s amazing how wonderfully expressive her face was even at 100. Her eyes had the same sparkle that they had in the 1930s. The Rainer from her Hollywood days totally shone through.
What a wonderful interview. She heard everything - she’s an actress and did a great job here in one of if not her last performance . Acting was her way of being creative . It shows what an inquisitive expansive mind she has . She doesn’t think of acting as lying . She sees it as a way to bring out the humanity in people who constantly work and shut themselves off in order to answer all the responsibilities of life . She loved life and this was a regular day for her. She made sure her life followed the path not traveled often by others . A creative courageous lady the world was lucky to have had the pleasure of being entertained and moved by . Thank you ms Rainer .
How lovely and with Great wit. Love her Beauty, at this age, she still has her Beautiful attitude and style. That you For sharing this Woman, her story. Robert is and was One classy, well Knowledge of the Industry. Thank you Both for this.
KATHERINE WEDIC 💕💕💕 HELLO TO YOU AND YES INDEED I THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH FOR YOUR 💯% TRUE AND CORRECT COMMENT 💕💕 BECAUSE MR. OSBOURNE WAS A BEAUTIFUL SOUL OF A HUMAN BEING 💕💕 PEACE AND LOVE TO YOU AND YOUR FAMILY ALWAYS """KATHERINE WEDIC""" 💕💕🙏🙏💕💕 AND TO ALL RIGHTEOUS PEOPLE FROM 🌞🌞 KATHERINE IN CHICAGO ILLINOIS ON TUESDAY MARCH 2 ,2021 AT 1:47pm 💙 💙 THE MARATHON CONTINUES 💙 💙
And the Oscar goes to....Luise Rainer. This interview is definitely worthy of a third Oscar. I couldn’t stop watching. She was profound and spoke volumes even when she said very little as she expressed her feelings from deep within. Though she struggled to hear, read, and speak she captivated the audience with her storytelling like any great actor would do. Loved how she called out the sexiest, misogynist, racist Hollywood studio system as she relayed her encounters with the MGM heads without saying an evil word against them. She spoke beautifully about everyone. Here is someone at peace with herself and everyone and everything around her. What a wonderful human being!
Exactly. Actors didn’t have much power in the old studio system, but Luise fought back against the racism and sexism in every way she could. She deserves to be applauded for speaking up and saying she wasn’t right for the part (the implication is, obviously, because she was white) and for straight-up calling the makeup artists “mad” for thinking a Chinese character was no more than a caricature mask for her to wear. She did what she could; kudos to her.
She used to be my customer at our food market in the Kings Road Chelsea . Indomitable spirit . Always very lovely with everyone especially small children. She was the queen of sampling. Everyone knew she was famous but they didn’t know what for and tbh didn’t care either. Her Diva like presence is sorely missed .
I'm glad she spoke about the beginnings of the film and wonder if the actress she was speaking about Anna May Wong. I would hope so, but I don't know if I am putting "character" onto someone who I admire.
It was unfortunate for Anna May and so many others of Chinese ancestry that the prevailing 'anti-Chinese' law(s) prohibited so many things, including mixed marriage, what we now term 'hanging out' with other races, like Jim Crow in the south.
Anna May Wong felt she was born to play the part of O-Lan. When MGM decided to cast Caucasion actors to play Chinese characters it put Anna into a deep depression. This resulted in her traveling to China for the better part of a year. It's a blemish on old Hollywood that they forfeited the opportunity to cast the sublime Anna May Wong to play a Chinese woman because they were afraid of betraying some ridiculous anti-Chinese law that really didn't exist by the later 1930s.
I watched THE GOOD EARTH 30 years ago on TV. Loved her performance. Anna Mae Wong would have been great . And Louise's face in the film reminded of Meryl Streep's. Check the photos.
Luise Rainer has made her mark in history, but let us be honest: 'The Good Earth' should really have gone to Anna May Wong. The Hays Code made sure that Anna May Wong would never have had the chance to play Olan.
@@julianmarsh1378 Anna May Wong should’ve played the role though, Hollywood tormented her and she couldn’t even play a role that consist of her own race, Anna May Wong would’ve done better.
@@jamiehernandez4746 You can't know that she would have done better. And saying an acting role should be based on race is itself somewhat questionable.
@@julianmarsh1378 no it’s not because at the end of the day they got a white actress and she did yellow face, Hollywood has a deep past about this, not right.
“I don't believe in acting. I believe in being.” She knew the secret to truly great performances. Also I love how she tears Paul Muni to shreds. What an egotistical nut, asking his wife to sit under the camera all day!
When Miss Rainer referred to another actress who was lobbying for the part of O-Lan Mr. Osborne should have asked her who it was. That person was Anna May Wong. She was the first successful Chinese actress in cinema. She had read the book "The Good Earth" and immediately became enthralled with O-Lan. She felt she was born to play the part. Unfortunately because of the miscegenation law toward the Chinese at the time Anna wasn't given the part. It broke her heart and put her into a funk that resulted in her travelling to China for the better part of a year. Not to take anything away from the sublime Luise Rainer it's a shame Hollywood chose to cast Caucasian actors to play other ethnicities. As I watch Miss Rainer in the part of O-Lan I never for a minute believe she is Chinese. Or that Paul Muni is Chinese. There were many fine Chinese actors who could have played the lead roles in the "The Good Earth". Sadly Hollywood at the time wouldn't bank on these people so hiring Caucasian actors to play in yellow face was playing it safe.
weird that at this day and age ppl are celebrating individuals who were part of outcasting asians and people of colour in the industry. lived 100 years and didn’t acknowledge her mistakes until the end, racism for yall.
I got the DVD from the library. I first watched the film about 10 years ago. I kept meaning to read the book. I finally read the book a few days ago and watched the film again today.
She may have been a great actress. And indeed a star. But her star power wasn’t the only thing that won her that role, it was also Hollywood’s deep racism. Let’s give credit where credit is due.
Shmemi... Luise Rainer worked for a movie studio. In the 30s, 40s and 50s when an actor was under contract to a studio, he/she was expected to do the roles he/she was assigned, otherwise face suspension or worse like being fired. Luise Rainer did not obtain the role of Olan due to anything racial. She was assigned the role by the studio like so many of her acting peers. What you should have commented is perhaps Luise Rainer believed that a real Asian actor would have "looked" better for authenticity, but the question remains: Would an Asian actor have been as good or better than Luise Rainer??? We have already seen what Luise Rainer did with the role!!!!
@@brianoyler706 her name was Anna May Wong. She was a star. She had talent. And she was Taiwanese american. MGM refused to cast her despite screen testing her. Comments like these really don’t warrant a reply but this argument about “the studio system” is just patently false. How could it not be about race when none of the main characters were given to Asian actors?
@@shmeemee Well, to put it to you bluntly so that you understand, MGM probably did not have any Asian actresses under contract. The role of Olan was offered to those actresses whom MGM had under contract. MGM was not going to go out of its way to hire actresses outside of the studio!!!!
@@brianoyler706 thank you for putting it bluntly so I’d understand, I dumb. But pray tell, why didn’t MGM have any Asian actresses under contract? Don’t tell me it’s not about race.
The irony... a German-Austrian Jewish woman, playing a role that was designated for Anna May Wong, albeit suggested to play, but because of optics, Luise was cast. Talk about a screw-you.
Luise herself doesn’t deserve blame for that. In the old studio system, actors had pretty much no say in what films they did or didn’t make; if you were under contract, you had to obey the studio head.
For sure and I agree. However, historically speaking, she's errantly listed as White woman, which in visible context she is, but to be correct Anna May Wong was wholly omitted from the narrative and this story. Bette Davis famously sued the studios, so one could bite the hand that fed them but few chose to. @@12classics39
This is what acting is about. You don't have to be Asian to play one, you don't have to be black to play one(I just saw a show where a black actor played a famous white guy). It's called acting. Stop this race card playing!!!!
Michelle Cueto...it is very difficult to state whether one actor "deserves" a role over another. Did you not listen to Luise Rainer say that she had to feel the character. Just because Anna May Wong was Asian does not mean that she deserved the role. Perhaps Anna May Wong would have been great in the role of Olan or perhaps not. We have already seen what Luise Rainer did with the role .
Anna May Wong deserves that role. And casting a white actress to play Asian role is racist. Don't say different times. Racism does not change across times.
@@wentaoma211State your criteria on how Anna May Wong "deserved" the role of Olan. Anna May Wong being Asian is a given. What else makes Anna May Wong the right choice??
Paul Muni was also a non-Asian playing an Asian. That was common practice in those days at the Hollywood movie studios. No one is putting a value judgement on this practice. It was just the way things were done in 1936-7.
This is what actors do. They are able to put themselves in other people's shoes so to speak. It take a great actor and actress to pull this off. She did. It could have gone badly, it didn't. Her portrayal is believable and touching.
Considering the nature of many of the comments found here, it is no wonder so many people hate the Left. The self-righteousness is suffocating. No one ever said Anna May Wong should not gotten the role, but at the end of the day, this is something to wring one's hands about? I say in passing that Rainer did a good job in that role and the idiots on parade come out like so many peasants marching on Dr. Frankenstein's castle...it is a good movie as it is and as a viewer that is my interest in it. That seems too much for the holier than thou crowd.
i disagree. i am not discrediting Luise Rainer, but anna may wong was done the biggest injustice. her whole career she was subjected to playing racist tropes and the role that was FINALLY for her, she couldn't play. The director himself said that Wong's audition could make a grown man cry, but she was too "Chinese" for the role and the studio had to adhere to miscegenation laws. It's not about being political so you yourself can get down from your high horse.
Michellecloud... Luise Rainer worked for a movie studio in 1937. In the 30s, 40s and 50s when an actor was under contract to a studio, he/she was expected to play the roles to which he/she was assigned. If the actor refused, he/she faced suspension or worse like being fired. Luise Rainer obtained the role of Olan by assignment, not through anything racial. I doubt whether MGM had any female Asian actresses under contract at that time. If Anna May Wong had been chosen for the role, questions still remain: would Anna May 's acting have been as good or better , or would the choice of an Asian actor have been the right choice due to "looks" and authenticity??? One cannot determine whether one actor "deserves" a role over another due to extenuating circumstances like race, religion, sexual orientation, etc ... We have already seen what Luise Rainer did with the role!!!
This interview is wonderful.......Luise Rainer....Beautiful......5 Stars TCM!!!
Luise Rainer (Düsseldorf, Germany 12 January 1910 - 30 December 2014). She was the first thespian to win multiple Academy Awards and the first to win back-to-back; at the time of her death, thirteen days shy of her 105th birthday, she was the longest-lived Oscar recipient, a superlative that has not been exceeded as of 2022
She was the longest lived Oscar Best Actress. Olivia de Havilland almost came close. I still remember seeing her participating in two Oscars Reunion of Academy Award winners years ago.. Watching this video while she was already 100 and could answer sharply remembering all those past years of her work was amazing...
Soooooooo happy I clicked "play". I've known about Ms. Rainer for many years but never saw her in an interview. This video should be made mandatory in all acting schools, the students would learn more in this 28 minutes than in a whole semester, at least more about what matters. Sublime.
Yes, great comment.
She is a Wise woman, stood up for herself, dignity
Is not for sale.
Atta girl, you are
Young at ❤ 🤍 💙
Luise Rainier in Pearl Buck’s “The Good Earth” was the blockbuster film before”Gone With the Wind.”
She still looks and sounds amazing.
She's still very theatrical, these actors never lose their craft.
So wonderful and believeable as Plan. So unforgettable.
I meant Olan.
What a gloriously beautiful woman, inside and out. A person and personality to marvel at and truly admire. How honored and gifted are we to have had her so long...even if her professional career was so short. This left me in tears.
One of the special things in this stay at home virus time...able to watch the festival at home. Luise Rainer is one of my favorites. What a treat to see her talk. Miss Robert Osborne...treat to see him more too.
👍🙏
How dare you. That's Mr. Robert Osborne.
Luise Rainier was so wonderful in her expressive nature by telling us about her work in the Good Earth. What a gifted actress and as someone said, these actors never lose their craft and that is for sure.
Every single time I listen to this great Woman tears flow down my face because of the Ultimate Beauty of Her Wisdom, Knowledge and The Spiritual Innerstanding of Mr. Rainer🙏🕊✝️She is greatly missed!
What a life force! 100 years young 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
Indeed. “I fell idiotically on the back of my neck, which would break the neck of a person, but my neck they couldn’t get through.” GO OFF QUEEN!!
@@12classics39 Judging from the way she walked, it is probable that Miss Rainer was afflicted with arthritis, as one would expect of anyone 85 years old, much less one hundred. I think she preferred to explain it away in an amusing fashion, so as not to be pitied. That she could walk at all at that age is a testament to her vivacity and determination not to let her audience down.
Thank you for posting this. I lived a short walk from the Egyptian at that time, wanted to go but missed it. It’s amazing how wonderfully expressive her face was even at 100. Her eyes had the same sparkle that they had in the 1930s. The Rainer from her Hollywood days totally shone through.
So beautiful... this lady was fabulous...
even at the age of 100, you can still see the vibrant emotions from her eyes. Her eyes haven't changed.
What a wonderful interview. She heard everything - she’s an actress and did a great job here in one of if not her last performance . Acting was her way of being creative . It shows what an inquisitive expansive mind she has . She doesn’t think of acting as lying . She sees it as a way to bring out the humanity in people who constantly work and shut themselves off in order to answer all the responsibilities of life . She loved life and this was a regular day for her. She made sure her life followed the path not traveled often by others . A creative courageous lady the world was lucky to have had the pleasure of being entertained and moved by . Thank you ms Rainer .
How lovely and with
Great wit. Love her
Beauty, at this age, she still has her
Beautiful attitude and style. That you
For sharing this
Woman, her story.
Robert is and was
One classy, well
Knowledge of the
Industry. Thank you
Both for this.
I share the same birthday as hers .. I am obsessed with her now!
She passed away, aged 104, in fashionable Belgravia. She deserved nothing less. The best actress to have ever lived in my humble opinion.
Bravo! What a fabulous lady.💖🤗✨💫
I think that he's the most respectful interviewer
KATHERINE WEDIC 💕💕💕 HELLO TO YOU AND YES INDEED I THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH FOR YOUR 💯% TRUE AND CORRECT COMMENT 💕💕 BECAUSE MR. OSBOURNE WAS A BEAUTIFUL SOUL OF A HUMAN BEING 💕💕 PEACE AND LOVE TO YOU AND YOUR FAMILY ALWAYS """KATHERINE WEDIC""" 💕💕🙏🙏💕💕 AND TO ALL RIGHTEOUS PEOPLE FROM 🌞🌞 KATHERINE IN CHICAGO ILLINOIS ON TUESDAY MARCH 2 ,2021 AT 1:47pm 💙 💙 THE MARATHON CONTINUES 💙 💙
Robert was so wonderful with her.
I just stumbled upon this video from my bed at night in a TH-cam rabbit hole and now I’m sitting here crying
This is so precious💕 thank you so much Robert and TCM!
Great interview. Dear, charming and inspiring woman.
Now, that is an Artist... pure, raw, truth and beauty and wise.
And the Oscar goes to....Luise Rainer. This interview is definitely worthy of a third Oscar. I couldn’t stop watching. She was profound and spoke volumes even when she said very little as she expressed her feelings from deep within. Though she struggled to hear, read, and speak she captivated the audience with her storytelling like any great actor would do. Loved how she called out the sexiest, misogynist, racist Hollywood studio system as she relayed her encounters with the MGM heads without saying an evil word against them. She spoke beautifully about everyone. Here is someone at peace with herself and everyone and everything around her. What a wonderful human being!
Exactly. Actors didn’t have much power in the old studio system, but Luise fought back against the racism and sexism in every way she could. She deserves to be applauded for speaking up and saying she wasn’t right for the part (the implication is, obviously, because she was white) and for straight-up calling the makeup artists “mad” for thinking a Chinese character was no more than a caricature mask for her to wear. She did what she could; kudos to her.
She was a great actress!❤️❤️
"Humans - seem different but all 'feel the same'"; what an inspirational human being; a gem that Hollywood didn't cast !
RIP Luise Rainer
1910 - 2014
Great lady. She was the star until her last days. She loved her fans... and she did not pretend ...I will love her forever.
I seen the movie The Good Earth-Great movie and WOW on how the story was told. Happy 100 back then.
what a marvelous interview!
Wow! ❤❤❤
Thank you!
Oh my I am so glad I found this, she is so clear in speaking of The Good Earth. She was an angel in films.
what a wonderful， truthful and graceful actress，lady and artist！what a wonderful host！ of beauty，feelings of universality and humanity❤☮️
She was beautiful.
SpockBoy, she is beautiful.
@@gailbrown9505 I said she WAS because she is no longer alive.
@@spockboy I'm going way out on a limb and guess that Gail Brown meant that because Luise is captured on film, she is and always will be beautiful.
@@akrenwinkle Agreed, :)
Wow! Wonderful interview.
She is a marvel. Exquisite actress.
A very special lady and a wonderful film
The purest form of what true acting is meant to be and is: Miss Rainer.
Yayy yellow face
@@dana17958 eh? Try harder, troll…
She used to be my customer at our food market in the Kings Road Chelsea .
Indomitable spirit .
Always very lovely with everyone especially small children.
She was the queen of sampling.
Everyone knew she was famous but they didn’t know what for and tbh didn’t care either.
Her Diva like presence is sorely missed .
Can’t wait to watch her and muni next in the good earth !!!
Great Film.
"its not acting its BEING" [Luis Rainer] That and She and Barrymore ---now that's a tandem of Hollywood royalty.
She was Olan! Thank you!
RIP Luise Rainer (January 12, 1910 - December 30, 2014), aged 104
You will be remembered as a legend
I'm glad she spoke about the beginnings of the film and wonder if the actress she was speaking about Anna May Wong. I would hope so, but I don't know if I am putting "character" onto someone who I admire.
It was unfortunate for Anna May and so many others of Chinese ancestry that the prevailing 'anti-Chinese' law(s) prohibited so many things, including mixed marriage, what we now term 'hanging out' with other races, like Jim Crow in the south.
Anna May Wong felt she was born to play the part of O-Lan. When MGM decided to cast Caucasion actors to play Chinese characters it put Anna into a deep depression. This resulted in her traveling to China for the better part of a year. It's a blemish on old Hollywood that they forfeited the opportunity to cast the sublime Anna May Wong to play a Chinese woman because they were afraid of betraying some ridiculous anti-Chinese law that really didn't exist by the later 1930s.
Is she talking about Anna may wong at 7:03?
SHE WAS!!!!!!!!! Every actor in hollywood at that time campaign and was rooting for Anna, but Hollywood as usual missed the mark.
Yes. Kudos to her for basically telling Thalberg “this part is hers, not mine, you bigot.”
I watched THE GOOD EARTH 30 years ago on TV. Loved her performance. Anna Mae Wong would have been great . And Louise's face in the film reminded of Meryl Streep's. Check the photos.
Well done this interviewer was so incredibly respectful Excellent
No editing just letting her do her thing in the audience participation write it down💜👍🏾
She never forget and never be forgotten..
A classic beauty inside and out.
Luise Rainer has made her mark in history, but let us be honest: 'The Good Earth' should really have gone to Anna May Wong. The Hays Code made sure that Anna May Wong would never have had the chance to play Olan.
now that's a star!!!!!!!
She all radiated with beauty... kinda a twinkle. So entertaining and joyful!
When stars were stars and classically trained in their art.
She is a dear dear lady!
Unforgettable
Good grief: So many actors today need to see this.
Still lovely at 100
Anna May Wong should have played her role on the Good Earth!
No...Hollywood should have found more roles like these and Anna should have had some of those...Rainer did wonderful work in The Good Earth.
@@julianmarsh1378 Anna May Wong should’ve played the role though, Hollywood tormented her and she couldn’t even play a role that consist of her own race, Anna May Wong would’ve done better.
@@jamiehernandez4746 You can't know that she would have done better. And saying an acting role should be based on race is itself somewhat questionable.
@@julianmarsh1378 no it’s not because at the end of the day they got a white actress and she did yellow face, Hollywood has a deep past about this, not right.
@@jamiehernandez4746 Don't care.
This video of the interview was published in 2020 but the interview itself was in 2010.
Love 💕 love 💕 such a great actress BRAVO 👏
Excellent.
Wow. She was beautiful and looked like her younger self
In Honor of her, please put closed captions on this video
“I don't believe in acting. I believe in being.” She knew the secret to truly great performances. Also I love how she tears Paul Muni to shreds. What an egotistical nut, asking his wife to sit under the camera all day!
The Good Earth is a bloody good movie .
When Miss Rainer referred to another actress who was lobbying for the part of O-Lan Mr. Osborne should have asked her who it was. That person was Anna May Wong. She was the first successful Chinese actress in cinema. She had read the book "The Good Earth" and immediately became enthralled with O-Lan. She felt she was born to play the part. Unfortunately because of the miscegenation law toward the Chinese at the time Anna wasn't given the part. It broke her heart and put her into a funk that resulted in her travelling to China for the better part of a year. Not to take anything away from the sublime Luise Rainer it's a shame Hollywood chose to cast Caucasian actors to play other ethnicities. As I watch Miss Rainer in the part of O-Lan I never for a minute believe she is Chinese. Or that Paul Muni is Chinese. There were many fine Chinese actors who could have played the lead roles in the "The Good Earth". Sadly Hollywood at the time wouldn't bank on these people so hiring Caucasian actors to play in yellow face was playing it safe.
weird that at this day and age ppl are celebrating individuals who were part of outcasting asians and people of colour in the industry. lived 100 years and didn’t acknowledge her mistakes until the end, racism for yall.
A wonderful woman.
My goodness an immortal
Wow! I saw The Good Earth in my 7th grade class in 1970's and was fascinated by her performance. I actually thought she was Chinese. I love this film.
I am on the verge of completion of the novel The Good Earth.
But I want to watch the movie too. But I can't find it anywhere what should I do 😭?
i know a websitr show it freely
@@felix.carbonel.3799 ikr
It is free streaming on Amazon Prime Video.
@@TakeTheStep10 I can send it to you if you are still looking to watch. A great film.
I got the DVD from the library. I first watched the film about 10 years ago. I kept meaning to read the book. I finally read the book a few days ago and watched the film again today.
Hollywood did a number on her.
The tremendous vulnerability of her acting style comes to mind when I see Meryl Streep in “Sophie’s Choice.”
When was this filmed
Wonderful lady. Such a shame they did not cast an actual Asian or Asian American for the roll. Difren times... And all that....
Exactly
If another actress ( regardless on nationally) would have done the Good Earth, I don't think she would have been as great . Way big shoes to full.
Yeah. I’m sort of pissed that they white washed the movie, but as you said, different times. At least they made a movie on Asian culture back then.
Like Ana May Song...?
@@emdee3326 Anna May Wong. I think she's the actress Miss Rainer is referring to that wanted that part so badly.
Anna Mae Wong brought me here...
.
She may have been a great actress. And indeed a star. But her star power wasn’t the only thing that won her that role, it was also Hollywood’s deep racism. Let’s give credit where credit is due.
Let them have their heroes. They're losing ground everywhere else.
Shmemi... Luise Rainer worked for a movie studio. In the 30s, 40s and 50s when an actor was under contract to a studio, he/she was expected to do the roles he/she was assigned, otherwise face suspension or worse like being fired. Luise Rainer did not obtain the role of Olan due to anything racial. She was assigned the role by the studio like so many of her acting peers. What you should have commented is perhaps Luise Rainer believed that a real Asian actor would have "looked" better for authenticity, but the question remains: Would an Asian actor have been as good or better than Luise Rainer??? We have already seen what Luise Rainer did with the role!!!!
@@brianoyler706 her name was Anna May Wong. She was a star. She had talent. And she was Taiwanese american. MGM refused to cast her despite screen testing her. Comments like these really don’t warrant a reply but this argument about “the studio system” is just patently false. How could it not be about race when none of the main characters were given to Asian actors?
@@shmeemee Well, to put it to you bluntly so that you understand, MGM probably did not have any Asian actresses under contract. The role of Olan was offered to those actresses whom MGM had under contract. MGM was not going to go out of its way to hire actresses outside of the studio!!!!
@@brianoyler706 thank you for putting it bluntly so I’d understand, I dumb. But pray tell, why didn’t MGM have any Asian actresses under contract? Don’t tell me it’s not about race.
She was great--what a beauty-as great as Dietrich but she retired early....Love Robert Osborne
🥰🥰🥰🥰
She is no doubt a talented actress but it hurts so much when white people portray us Asian characters...
The great thing is that she recognizes that it was weird and that another woman was better for the part
that was the 1930ies and I do firmly believe that she did it with all due respect that anyone could possibly have had (!)
No, you miss the point. It's called ACTING. Stop playing the race card, racist.
Right???? They did Anna May Wong dirty!
It was a different time and place 🙄 Stop complaining about stuff that you can't change. It makes you look low IQ!
The irony... a German-Austrian Jewish woman, playing a role that was designated for Anna May Wong, albeit suggested to play, but because of optics, Luise was cast. Talk about a screw-you.
Luise herself doesn’t deserve blame for that. In the old studio system, actors had pretty much no say in what films they did or didn’t make; if you were under contract, you had to obey the studio head.
For sure and I agree. However, historically speaking, she's errantly listed as White woman, which in visible context she is, but to be correct Anna May Wong was wholly omitted from the narrative and this story. Bette Davis famously sued the studios, so one could bite the hand that fed them but few chose to. @@12classics39
Her portrayal of Olan was perfect. Despite her not being an asian.
This is what acting is about. You don't have to be Asian to play one, you don't have to be black to play one(I just saw a show where a black actor played a famous white guy). It's called acting. Stop this race card playing!!!!
Michelle Cueto...it is very difficult to state whether one actor "deserves" a role over another. Did you not listen to Luise Rainer say that she had to feel the character. Just because Anna May Wong was Asian does not mean that she deserved the role. Perhaps Anna May Wong would have been great in the role of Olan or perhaps not. We have already seen what Luise Rainer did with the role .
Anna May Wong deserves that role. And casting a white actress to play Asian role is racist. Don't say different times. Racism does not change across times.
@@wentaoma211State your criteria on how Anna May Wong "deserved" the role of Olan. Anna May Wong being Asian is a given. What else makes Anna May Wong the right choice??
Paul Muni was also a non-Asian playing an Asian. That was common practice in those days at the Hollywood movie studios. No one is putting a value judgement on this practice. It was just the way things were done in 1936-7.
Different times… but don’t bullshit. The only person who could play another ethnicity from what they are is Robert Downey Jr. Ha!
I can't be the only one deeply offended by the good earth. Maybe a remake with actual Asians should be considered
Outstanding excellent movie! Luise Rainer(O-Lan) looks exactly like Meryl Streep who looks Asiatic herself.
girlie did yellow-face, praising her for what?
Right..
Triggered 🤣
@@marywebb9127 as we should
@@michellecloud5159 🙄
This is what actors do. They are able to put themselves in other people's shoes so to speak. It take a great actor and actress to pull this off. She did. It could have gone badly, it didn't. Her portrayal is believable and touching.
Considering the nature of many of the comments found here, it is no wonder so many people hate the Left. The self-righteousness is suffocating. No one ever said Anna May Wong should not gotten the role, but at the end of the day, this is something to wring one's hands about? I say in passing that Rainer did a good job in that role and the idiots on parade come out like so many peasants marching on Dr. Frankenstein's castle...it is a good movie as it is and as a viewer that is my interest in it. That seems too much for the holier than thou crowd.
i disagree. i am not discrediting Luise Rainer, but anna may wong was done the biggest injustice. her whole career she was subjected to playing racist tropes and the role that was FINALLY for her, she couldn't play. The director himself said that Wong's audition could make a grown man cry, but she was too "Chinese" for the role and the studio had to adhere to miscegenation laws. It's not about being political so you yourself can get down from your high horse.
Michellecloud... Luise Rainer worked for a movie studio in 1937. In the 30s, 40s and 50s when an actor was under contract to a studio, he/she was expected to play the roles to which he/she was assigned. If the actor refused, he/she faced suspension or worse like being fired. Luise Rainer obtained the role of Olan by assignment, not through anything racial. I doubt whether MGM had any female Asian actresses under contract at that time. If Anna May Wong had been chosen for the role, questions still remain: would Anna May 's acting have been as good or better , or would the choice of an Asian actor have been the right choice due to "looks" and authenticity??? One cannot determine whether one actor "deserves" a role over another due to extenuating circumstances like race, religion, sexual orientation, etc ... We have already seen what Luise Rainer did with the role!!!
This is absurd.
Why?
I would like to see how well you look at 100!