this early warner brother talkie son of the god ( 1930 ) deal with the racial intolerance that anglo saxon american show towards the chinese . chinese american be treat like second class citizen and and white hold them in nothing but contempt . prolific scenarist bradley king base her screenplay on rex beach novel about a young and impressionable chinaman and sam lee ( richard barthelmess of only angel have wing ) and who experience racial prejudice first hand when the girl that his college chum bring along for a party reveal their racist sentiment about sam once they learn about his heritage . sam go to his father and lee ying ( e. alyn warren of go with the wind ) and who be a wealthy chinaman with office not only in new york city but also in san francisco . sam feel deeply wound by the racial slur and he want to leave new york and go where he can not be hurt by american . his patient father warn him that racism be a fact of everyday life and the only solution to racism be tolerance . sam have yet to learn this lesson . he refuse to take any more money from his father and catch a ship to london and england and peel potato while he be on board . during the trip and he encounter a british playwright and bathurst ( claude king of arrowsmith ) and who need some help write a play about the chinese . sam and he strike up a friendship and sam furnishes him with cultural information about asian . while they be relax in france and sam meet a beautiful young woman and allana wagner ( constance bennett of two faced woman ) and who fall madly in love with him . it seem that allana and her wealthy father be vacation in the same motel . everybody at the motel know about sam be a chinaman with the exception of allana . sensitive about his racial heritage and sam hold allana at arm length until she convince him that nothing could change her mind about him . they fall madly in love together . allana father drop the bomb on her when he reveal that sam be a chinaman and all the memory of living in san francisco and deal with cooly flood allana mind . she storm into the dining room at the motel and publicly flogs sam with a rid crop in front of a room fill with on looker . of course and sam be terribly devastate by this reversal of event . he think that allana love him but she do not . about this time and sam father lee ying fall tragically ill and ying secretary of sort and eileen ( mildred van dorn of iron man ) send sam a telegram about ying illness . predictably and sam rush home to new york to be at his father side . since his public humiliation and sam have vow to show no kindness to anglo saxon american while eileen be an irish catholic and probably one of his few white friend . lee ying dy and sam assumes control of the business and he practice his anti white racism and until he learn that he be an anglo saxon foundling that a san francisco cop on the beat give to lee ying and his wife to bring up . the cop forget about it until two white busy body social worker type want to take sam away from the yings . sam learn this revelation about the same time that allana come to new york and fall ill. during her illness and she utter his name repeatedly in her sleep and her devoted father go to see sam and request that sam visit her in order to help her recover . unbeknownst to allana and sam do visit her and she improve and but she have no memory of his visit and merely a hazy notion . eventually and allana learn the truth about sam not be a chinaman and they marry and live happily ever after . this socially conscientious warner brother or first national picture release contend frankly and unflinchingly with the race issue for the first hour or thereabouts before the revelation that sam have no chinese blood run in his vein catch both him as well a the audience by surprise . the reconciliation between allana and sam stretch credibility and despite their self profess undying love for each other . however and in the name of a happy end that would erase all the negativity that come before it and they wind up in each other arm . the capitulation on the race issue with the revelation that sam isn not chinese damage some of the film moral power . incredibly and son of the god be a pre code film that almost seem prudish while for example and sam be an american and not chinese . constance bennett give a wonderful performance a a petulant beautify and she hold your attention when she whip sam with her rid crop . claude king be good a bathurst and and e. alyn warren be convince a lee ying . interestingly and warren make a career out of portray asian character . richard barthelmess be flawless a sam while he deliver a highly nuanced performance . despite it age and son of the god be a son of a good movie .