Drama

Son of the Gods (1930): Cast & Plot

Name: Son of the Gods
Genre: Drama
Released: 1930-03-09
Duration: 1 h 30 min
Cast: Richard Barthelmess, Constance Bennett, E. Alyn Warren, Claude King, Mildred Van Dorn

Son of the Gods is a 1930 drama directed by Frank Lloyd, starring Richard Barthelmess as Sam Lee, Constance Bennett and E. Alyn Warren. It runs 1 hour 30 minutes.

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Read the plot summary

Released: March 9, 1930
Runtime: 1h 30m (90 min)
Director: Frank Lloyd
Genre: Drama
Original language: English
Studio: First National Pictures
After the credits: No No extra scene

The story

What Is Son of the Gods About?

The premise of Son of the Gods without spoilers. The whole story is in the plot summary further down.

The handsome, light‑skinned son of a prosperous Chinese merchant (Richard Barthelmess) lives apart from his widowed father and presents himself as white. When the society beauty he adores (Constance Bennett) discovers his true heritage, he is subjected to prejudice, rejection, insults and heartbreak, forcing him to confront the consequences of his concealed identity.

Son of the Gods Themes & Keywords

· 50 tags

taxi dancer
traditional chinese funeral
gambling casino
public humiliation
man woman romance
polo game
college student
riding crop as weapon
connecticut
title co written by female
polo player
group date

+38 more

roadster
pre code film
south of france
heiress
falling in love
spurned suitor
technicolor sequences
sepia toned scene
adoptive father adopted son relationship
street orphan
adoptive family
racism
xenophobia
racial intolerance
englishman
roulette table
marriage engagement
broken engagement
inheriting family business
embittered
policeman
man learns he is not his father's son
concerned father
feel good romance
romantic reunion
ends with a kiss
lost footage
racial identity
american
flashback
travel
secretary
san francisco california
racial prejudice
prayer
playwright
nightclub
new york city

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Cast & crew

Son of the Gods Cast & Characters

Richard Barthelmess leads the cast as Sam Lee, with Constance Bennett as Allana Wagner and E. Alyn Warren as Lee Ying. Directed by Frank Lloyd; 16 actors are credited in all.

Director Frank Lloyd

Richard Barthelmess as Sam Lee
Constance Bennett as Allana Wagner
E. Alyn Warren as Lee Ying
Claude King as Bathurst

Also Starring in Son of the Gods

· 12 more

Mildred Van Dorn Eileen
Robert Homans Dugan (uncredited)
George Irving Attorney (uncredited)
Dickie Moore Sam Lee as a Child (uncredited)
Bess Flowers Casino Patron (uncredited)
Frank Albertson Kicker
Geneva Mitchell Connie (uncredited)
James Eagles Spud (uncredited)
Anders Randolf Mr. Wagner
Barbara Leonard Mabel
Dorothy Mathews Alice Hart (uncredited)
King Hou Chang Moy

From the director

More from Frank Lloyd

More films directed by Frank Lloyd, best-rated first: Mutiny on the Bounty, Cavalcade, The Last Bomb and Blood on the Sun.

Full filmography

Plot

Son of the Gods Plot Summary

What happens in Son of the Gods from start to finish, spoilers included, with a timeline of 12 key events. The opening is below; the full summary is a 3-minute read.

Spoilers ahead

Sam Lee is the son of the extremely wealthy Chinese merchant Lee Ying, and he can pass as white. Raised in a world where money smooths prejudice, he is sent to a prestigious university and tolerated in white social circles largely because of his wealth. Yet an incident on a triple date reveals the cruelty that can surface when race is exposed: the two white girls discover that their companions are out with a “dirty yellow Chinaman,” and they pressure the pair to leave with them. The humiliation leaves Sam feeling alienated, and he ultimately drops out of school.

Full summary

The whole story of Son of the Gods, scene by scene

Read the full summary