'Miss Suvarṇa'), was a 1923 romance film written and directed by Henry MacRae, set in Thailand (then Siam) and starring Thai actors.
It premiered on June 22, 1923, at the Nakhon Si Thammarat Theatre and then opened the next day at the Phatthanakon Cinematograph, the Hong Kong Cinema Hall and the Victoria Theater.
Naturally an immense amount of interest centered upon 'Suvarna of Siam' the local drama-film upon which Mr. Henry Macrae, Mr. Robert Kerr and Mr. Dal Clawson have been at work for some time past.
And all this wanders through a lot of real life scenes, from Their Royal Highnesses the Princes Damrong and Purachatra sitting "at the receipt of custom" to "elephants a pilin' teak," golf at Hua Hin, the Raek Na ceremony, a Bangkok fire, and views upon views of palaces and wats, incidentally proving a really first-class advertisement to the State Railways and various other of Siam's modernities.
– Bangkok Daily Mail, Monday, 25 June 1923[2]Production started in 1922, but before he could begin filming, MacRae had to first ask for permission from the Siamese Royal Court.
For our benefit, he has to give a copy of the film to the State Railway in return...", an excerpt from the writings of Prince of Kamphaengphet reads, in reaction to a visit by MacRae who wanted to "take picture[s] of Bangkok and the Beauties of Siam, including the King and the Palace Buildings."
"And after considerable maneuvering, I finally secured an audience which resulted in securing the entire [Royal Entertainment] Company's assistance together with the free use of the King's 52 automobiles, His Majesty's 600 race horses, the free use of the navy, the Royal Palaces, the railways, the rice mills, thousands of miles of rice fields, coconut groves, klongs and Elephants, and white elephants at that.
Together with his friend (Choosak Eamsuk), Nong seeks to disrupt the production of Miss Suwanna, which he sees as a corruptive influence on traditional culture.