Keye Luke (film)

The short film is a documentary and narrative hybrid bio-pic focusing on the earlier life and work of Keye Luke during the 1920s-1940s, a pioneering Asian American actor and painter most known for his roles as the Number One Son, Lee Chan, in the popular Charlie Chan films of the 1930s, and as the very first Kato in the 1940s Green Hornet, decades before Bruce Lee.

Luke also played Detective James Lee Wong in the Phantom of Chinatown (1940), taking over the role of "Mr. Wong" (played by Boris Karloff) and becoming the first leading Asian American detective character in U.S. cinematic history.

[9][10] The film also screened at a University of Washington event in May to honor Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, alongside other films such as Aoki (a documentary on activist Richard Aoki by Ben Wang and Michael Chang) and Anna May Wong: In Her Own Words directed by Yunah Hong.

"[14] Rogue Cinema also commented that the film is "a glorious short made with depth and passion" and "a fabulous cinematic experience [that] should be mandatory viewing for all Cinephiles.

[16] Tau has plans on extending the short film into a feature film about Keye Luke and other pioneering Asian American actors of his generation including Sessue Hayakawa, Anna May Wong and Philip Ahn.