Original subtitles

- [Dion] San Francisco, 1851, Boom Days.

Population of 20,000 swollen from 900 in a short two years.

People of all kinds, from noblemen to criminals,

from every corner of the world, and every ship brought more.

The Chinese formed one group of immigrants.

In the beginning, they were welcome.

They worked hard and they didn't ask for much.

But as they prospered and became more numerous,

the rowdy elements began to resent them.

So the Chinese Question became a first-class problem.

As a reporter on "The Star," I met it head on every day.

(tense music)

(nails clattering)

- Where you going, you heathen?

- He couldn't see ya, mister.

- Who asked you?

Didn't nobody ever learn you to give the sidewalk, pigtail?

- What's going on out here?

- I fell down.

- This thug pulled him over by his queue.

- He did, eh? - He sure did!

This is your boy, mister, you better learn him some manners.

- I pick them up quickly-

- No, no, no, no, no, leave them where they are, Sing,

leave them where they are.

You know, you're right, mister,

I should show him some manners.

- I could do it better.

- Maybe you could at that.

Now pick up those nails!

Pick them up, you thick-skulled clod!

Go on!

Put each and every one of them

carefully back into that keg again.

(nails rattling)

Observe how meek and mannerly

our friend has become, Sing, hm?

- This will make a nice little piece for "The Star."

I'll print it in the Etiquette column.

- Now if you'll wait around

'til our friend here has finished his lesson,

I think that Sing has a better story for you, hm?

Come on, get on with it!

♪ Californi-ay ♪

♪ Californi-ay ♪

- [Announcer] "The Californians!"

♪ In Californi-ay ♪

♪ I've come to live where life is best ♪

♪ In the Golden West ♪

♪ I'm gonna strike it rich in Califor-ni-ay ♪

♪ Califor-ni-ay ♪

- A Chinese community right here in San Francisco.

Your own temple, homes, businesses.

That's a wonderful idea!

- We planned it for long time.

- Well, it's a good story, why'd you keep it quiet?

- If we talk, nobody sell us land.

Now we've got land, Mr. Mac bought it for us!

He is my honorable guardian and counselor.

- Well, what businesses you planning?

- The regular kind.

Two, three stores, laundry.

- Laundry?

That's great!

Now it's either wash my own or wait two months

while it makes a round trip to Honolulu.

- I build a store same as Mr. Mac's.

He give me stock, I pay him later.

Get a wife too.

Same day I open store, we get married! (chuckling)

- You know, I don't believe I've ever seen a Chinese girl.

- Not many here.

There are 3,000 Chinese men, only 11 Chinese women.

- That's long odds, you're lucky to get one.

- I am very lucky!

Pretty soon I get wife, house, store.

Pretty good luck, eh?

- Say, uh, where is your land?

- I show you.

(pensive music)

(woman speaking in foreign language)

Whoa!

The elder is Dai Choo,

honorable president of Tin How Temple Society.

His daughter is Dai Wan, my betrothed.

- Can I talk to him?

Do they speak English?

- Oh yes, Mr. Dai Choo is one of the first three Chinese

to come here from Canton.

Dai Choo, this Mr. Dion, newspaper man.

And this is my betrothed, Dai Wan.

Mr. Dion.

- Whoa.

- Hey, hey you!

You savvy English?

How about you?

Do, do you speak Chinese?

- No.

- I speak English.

- Well, why didn't you say so?

Uh...

Who's Choo?

Dai Choo?

- This gentleman is Mr. Dai.

- I'm Sid Akins.

Friend of mine in the registry office

told me that McGivern transferred the title of this land

to the Tin How Temple Society president, Dai Choo.

Well, what about it?

Speak up!

- Tin How is the queen of the Heavens.

Her temple will be built here.

- (chuckling) Ain't no tin temples

to no tin queens going up here, boy.

- Oh, yes.

- Oh, no!

You keep your ears open and your mouth shut,

and I'll tell you why, I'll make it short and sweet.

I'm Sid Akins, I run this precinct and what I say goes.

Me and my constituents own all the land around here

and we don't want any cheap Chinese shacks

stuck up on the middle of it, so get out.

- This is their land, mister.

- Keep your nose out of this, bright boy.

Now you'll get paid a good price for it,

exactly what McGivern paid.

Go on, I got the money right here in my pocket.

Tell Old Confucius that, will you?

Go on, tell him!

- We won't sell!

- I didn't ask you.

- Lee Sing speak for all.

- He does, eh?

- [Sing] We keep our land.

- [Sid] Only gonna make this offer once.

- We won't sell!

(Sid chuckling)

- Before I'm through with you, you'll be giving it away.

- Can this man do us harm?

- We are on our land.

- The law protects you.

If he shows up again, kick him off.

- The Goddess of Tin How teaches

humility will shame the evil heart.

- You must have plenty of chance

to test that idea here in San Francisco.

(wagon rattling) (suspenseful music)

- Halt!

Come on, get outta there!

(blow thudding)

(grim suspenseful music)

(dramatic music)

- Only the pigtail?

- Good way to get rid of them

is cut the tails off a few and turn them loose.

- They think more of these than a squirrel does of its tail.

(men chuckling)

(grim somber music)

- Sing, now please hold still!

(Sing chuckling)

- I'm all right, Mrs. Mac.

- Sing, tell me, did you recognize any of the other men?

Hm?

Well, what is it, what's the matter, what...

They've cut off his queue.

- He was so proud of it!

23 inches long.

- It's only hair, it'll grow back.

What's so terrible about that?

- Oh, you don't understand, Dion, it is a terrible thing.

Health and happiness aside, nothing is as important

to a Chinese man as his queue!

(chair scraping)

- I cannot go back to my people.

I have lost face.

- That seems a little farfetched.

- No, Mrs. Mac,

in the old country,

only slaves and criminals don't have queues.

- But this isn't the old country, Sing.

- Besides, if my people see what happened,

many would get scared.

They will sell their land and go away.

- Why would they do that?

- Well, it's rather difficult to explain.

In a way, I suppose it's like Samson losing his hair.

You see, the queue stands for manliness,

for honor and prestige.

It's as much a part of Sing as his own nose!

Without it, his people won't listen to him.

They'll have no confidence in him.

- You mean they won't accept him anymore?

- That's right.

He's dishonored, mutilated.

In fact, I very much doubt that his fiancee's father

will allow her to marry a queue-less man.

- Poppycock, Jack!

If the girl loves him, she'll marry him,

even if he gets bald as an egg!

- No, Mrs. Mac, Dai Wan would never disobey her father.

- Oh, look, if his queue's that important,

why don't we just keep quiet about it

and stick it back on?

Who'll know the difference?

- The men took it away.

- I've got an idea!

We'll make you one!

Jack, if we cut the tail off one of the horses.

- Well, sounds like a pretty good idea, I suppose.

- You, uh, you got a horse back there?

- Now don't you worry, laddie, huh?

- See what I mean?

- Yeah!

What is it?

- My Boston transformation.

- Well, he's gonna look pretty funny, a blonde Chinaman!

- Don't be silly, we'll dye it.

- Now, here now, just a minute,

that thing cost a lotta money,

took over 18 months to get here!

- IT took Sing a lot longer to grow his queue.

Now, where's that black stove polish?

(door thudding)

Now let's see you.

Mm-hm!

It's a little off-color but it'll do for tonight.

Tomorrow I'll dip it again.

- I can hardly tell the difference.

Come on, Sing, I'll see you home, just in case.

I gotta put the paper to bed.

- Night.

Do you know what?

I've got a genius for a wife!

(tense music)

- [Dion] Whoa!

(wood thudding)

(Sing speaking in foreign language)

- Tell me, my star, what happened?

- The red-faced man came with others.

They threw stones, they cut our tents, made this fire.

- Our honored elder, your father?

- [Wan] A stone struck him.

He rests.

- And you?

- Tomorrow, if we stay here, worse will come, they said.

- Worse will come to them!

We have had enough humility.

I will go to my guardian and borrow guns.

- No, Lee Sing!

You will never do this.

- There is no other way.

- Oh, yes.

We will go.

- [Sing] Go?

Go where?

- Where we can live in peace.

Tomorrow, we will sell our land.

- My land will not be sold!

- We will sell.

We have consulted.

It is decided.

- You have decided without me?

Why?

- This is why!

The men threw it to us.

Take off your dishonest hair!

- This was dishonest.

I am ashamed of the deceit.

However, I am even more ashamed of you.

My people,

who made this necessary.

This is our land.

Stay!

- To be beaten?

Have our homes burned?

Our men disgraced?

- Yes, if it must be.

I will never sell my land.

- Good for you, Sing.

- Then you will stay alone.

- Father!

- You are no longer his betrothed.

Go.

Lee Sing has lost face.

- Well, he hasn't lost face with his American friends.

It's more honorable for a man to lose what he values

in a good cause than to keep it and lose his cause.

Come on, Sing, we'll show 'em what face is.

(dramatic orchestral music)

(pensive music)

Well, do you like it?

- Well, if you mean to make certain

that Akins will go through with what he started,

it's a masterpiece.

- What do you mean by that?

- I mean that you've made a public issue of it!

Every decent person is gonna say,

"Tsk, tsk, tsk, too bad, isn't it?"

But Akins will be the hero

of every Chinese-hating hooligan in San Francisco!

- Well, he won't be much of a hero

after the vigilantes haul him in.

- What makes you think they're going to?

- You're chairman of the committee,

that's what makes me think so.

- Oh, well, you think wrong,

because I can't take them out on Akins, you know.

- Why not?

- What do you mean why...

Look, you know as well as I do,

that the vigilantes do not act

until all legal means have been exhausted!

- Oh, Jack, this is different.

You're Sing's guardian and counselor.

You backed their plan, you bought their land for them.

Only yesterday you pulled a gun on a man

who mistreated Sing!

- Yes, as a private citizen!

But how long do you think we'd hold public confidence

if we were to hold a drumhead trial on every hooligan

that does something that we don't like?

- Is the public doing anything for Lee Sing?

Look, there's a time to be proper and a time to be right!

Would the committee act if there was legal way to do it?

- Yes, we'd be delighted to get rid of Brother Akins.

- Then let's swear out a warrant in Lee Sing's name.

- Who's going to issue the warrant?

Judge Jennings?

Look, everybody in town knows that Jennings

is owned by those crooks, body and soul.

He'd have Akins out of jail in 10 minutes!

Now would that help the Chinese?

- Suppose we talk to Old Doc Penney?

- That rum-head?

- Doc Penney's forgotten more about law

than anybody out here ever knew.

- Yes, I know, I know!

Yes, he's an honored member of the bar,

every bar in Montgomery Street!

Listen, he hasn't seen the inside of courtroom in years!

- Well, Jack, we got to do something.

(bell ringing)

(door clicking)

- It is Dai Wan, Mr. Mac.

- Oh, bring her in, man, bring her in!

Dai Wan, how good to see you.

- Come on, let's leave them alone.

- Hm? - Come on!

- Oh, hm.

- I had to see you.

- Later I would have come to you.

- I have no words.

- None are needed.

- But I need them.

The men came again at the morning meal.

They wanted to cut more queues.

My father said he will sell the land, so they went away.

They will come back after the midday meal

with papers to sign, then we go away.

- Where?

- To the mountains, to the mines.

- And what will you do there?

Run away again?

- My beloved, come with us.

(kiss smacking)

- [Sing] I must stay.

I have to build on my land.

- They will kill you.

- Then I must die.

Goodbye, my star.

Goodbye is very hard to say.

- Then I will stay with you.

- Thank you, my beloved star.

No man could be more happy.

But in the days to come,

the memory of your venerable father

left alone to face the most bitter days of his years,

would poison our happiness.

You must go with your father.

(door rattling)

Dai Wan?

Tell them not to sell the land.

My friends are helping.

(door thudding)

- Are we helping?

- All right, all right, we'll talk to Old Penney,

if he's sober.

- If he's not, we'll sober him up.

(tense music)

(people chattering) (hoofbeats clopping)

(Jack clearing throat)

- Well, what's wrong with a little nap?

(Doc snoring)

Come on, wake up.

We gotta talk to you!

- [Doc] Huh? (snoring)

- [Dion] We need some help with the law!

- Law?

- Your Honor, counsel for the defense is unprepared.

He has been negligent and cynical,

depriving his client of all legal protection.

I suggest, Your Honor, that this man be cited for contempt!

- Your Honor, (hiccuping) I object.

I'm thoroughly prepared.

All I need is a short recess to consolidate my notes.

May I ask the court for 15 minutes?

- This court is recessed for 15 minutes.

(chair scraping)

(footsteps thudding)

(bar patrons murmuring)

- Oh, a simple problem, gentlemen.

Swear out an injunction.

That's an order of the court

commanding the person addressed to do or not do something.

- In Judge Jennings' court, huh?

- If you'll let me finish, sir.

As I was about to point out, it would be useless

appearing before Judge Jennings, who is Akins' creature.

- But he's the only judge around.

- He is not, young man.

As recently as last week,

an appointment was made to the vacancy

created by the demise of Federal Judge Van Horn.

A young man named Sneed,

pupil of mine, as it happens.

- You taught law?

- At Harvard.

- (clearing throat) Harvard?

- Harvard.

We, uh, we have a federal question here.

Violation of the Fifth Amendment,

which provides that no person may be deprived

of his property except by due process of law.

I propose obtaining from Judge Sneed, uh,

an injunction commanding Akins

to neither molest these Chinese people further

and not trespass upon their property.

- And what happens then?

- Serve the order on him.

Akins must either honor it or ignore it.

If he honors it, your friends are safe.

If he doesn't, he's acted in violation

of the highest legal authority in these parts.

Then, Mr. McGivern, the vigilantes are free to act.

- Counselor, may I say that the Vigilance Committee

could use a man with your undoubted legal talents.

- At your service, sir.

(pensive music)

(hoofbeats clopping)

- Venerable leader, brethren of Tin How Society,

short on hair, long on friends.

American friends, your friends!

I bring good news!

Honored President, this U.S. government paper

tells our enemy not to put one foot on Tin How's land.

It says to Akins what I have said to you.

- Suppose he does not listen.

- Here is the number one law man,

here is the number one merchant man,

here is the number one newspaper man.

All are Tin How's friends!

All say, "Do not sell land."

All say, "Chinese shall have their own place to live."

If Akins does not hear this paper,

they will make him listen.

- Excuse, please.

You have heard the words of our son, Lee Sing.

Is true that he speak for U.S. government?

That red-faced man cannot make us sell our land?

- That's right.

- If he even as much as sets one foot on your land,

he'll wish that he hadn't.

- We of Tin How Society thank our friends.

- Unload the wagons!

- [Dion] Sing, you know what to do?

- Yes, Mr. Dion.

- Now, don't you worry, any of you.

No matter what happens, there's always help close at hand.

- Giddy up!

(hoofbeats clopping)

(suspenseful music)

(hoofbeats clopping)

- Whoa.

- Wanna sell your land now?

I told you you'd be giving it away.

- This paper says do not step on our land.

(paper rustling)

- Federal Court of the State of California.

I'll shave your head this time!

(grim suspenseful music)

- I speak for the U.S. government.

Do not step on our land!

(dramatic music)

(men grunting)

(blows thudding) (Sing grunting)

- Hey, whoa!

(blow thudding) (Sing grunting)

That's enough of that!

(bell ringing)

- Vigilante bell?

You can't try me for this!

- What do you know about that now?

All right, come on.

(bell ringing) (tense music)

(gavel banging)

- Uh (clearing throat), this court is sat

in the absence of Judge Sneed,

who unfortunately was called south

in pursuance of his official duty.

You, and all of you, have been fairly tried

and found guilty by an impartial jury

of the Committee of Vigilance of the City of San Francisco.

Uh, Sid Akins?

You, Akins, are a vicious and destructive man.

Human dignity is the principle

on which this country was founded.

The dignity of the individual,

the right of every man and every woman to self-respect.

You have robbed a number of men and women of basic rights,

a crime differing only a degree from murder.

- Murder?

- I said differing in degree.

That means that a certain degree of restitution can be made.

If you want to save your skin, you better make it.

- Yes sir.

- First, replace the property

you and your thugs have destroyed.

Second, pay to Lee Sing an indemnity of $50 in cash

for each inch of his queue.

It was, uh, 23 inches long.

Third, when these conditions have been met,

our guard will escort you to the city limits.

Step across them

and don't step back until this man's queue

has grown to its original length.

- Well, how long will that be?

- That's for you to calculate,

and don't calculate wrong!

Court dismissed.

(gavel banging)

- Thank you very much, Mr. Mac, Mr. Dion.

- You're entirely welcome.

Tell me, how long will it take

for that queue of yours to grow back, hm?

- Maybe an inch or so a month.

- Well, do us all a favor, will you?

Each time it reaches 22 inches, cut off an inch.

(all chuckling)

Such were the beginnings of San Francisco's Chinatown,

which even before I pulled stakes

became the largest Chinese community outside of the Orient.

The first building to be erected there

was Dai Choo's dream: the Tin How Temple.

And the very first couple to send

their nuptial prayers toward Heaven

in the smoke of Tin How's sacred brazier

were our own good friends, Sing and Wan.

Made a real nice story for the paper,

the kind of story I was glad to write.

(triumphant music)

♪ California ♪

♪ Oh, I've traveled here, I've traveled there ♪

♪ I guess I've been most everywhere ♪

♪ But I like where I am today ♪

♪ And here is where I'll stay ♪

♪ Now one thing I just can't endure ♪

♪ Is being broke and being poor ♪

♪ So I come west to take the cure ♪

♪ And here is where I'll stay ♪

♪ I've come to Californi-ay ♪

♪ Californi-ay ♪

♪ There's gold in them there hills in Californi-ay ♪

♪ I've come to live where life is best ♪

♪ In the Golden West ♪

♪ I'm gonna strike it rich in Californi-ay ♪

♪ Californi-ay ♪

♪ Californi-ay ♪

♪ There's gold in them there hills ♪

♪ In Califor-ni-ay ♪

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