Love Is A Many-Splendored Thing

1955

DirectorHenry King
ProducerBuddy Adler
Production Company20th Century Fox
Release DateAugust 18th, 1955
CastWilliam Holden (Mark Elliot), Jennifer Jones (Dr. Han Suyin), Torin Thatcher (Humphrey Palmer-Jones), Isobel Elsom (Adeline Palmer-Jones), Murray Matheson (Dr. John Keith), Virginia Gregg (Anne Richards), Richard Loo (Robert Hung), Soo Yong (Nora Hung), Philip Ahn (Third Uncle), Donna Martell (Suchen, Suyin’s Sister), Maria McClay (Rosie Wu – uncredited), Ashley Cowan, James Hong

Mark Elliot (William Holden) plays an American reporter covering the Chinese civil war in 1949 Hong Kong. While undergoing a trial separation from his wife, he meets Dr. Han Suyin (Jennifer Jones), a widowed physician from mainland China. As they fall in love with each other they experience disapproval from both her family and his friends about their interracial romance.

The fact that this film touches on racial issues prevalent at the time, while at the same time employing the use of Yellow Face by picking Jennifer Jones to play Dr. Han Suyin creates an absurd sense of both approval of the film taking a rather progressive stance for the 1950s, and severe discomfort and sadness in the face of the reality of 1950s Hollywood, which would almost exclusively use white actors only for any lead and supporting roles, regardless of the characters’ ethnicities.

Maria McClay as Rosie Wu, being scolded for biting her date, Ashley Cowan as a British Soldier, by Jennifer Jones as Dr. Han Suyin.

Maria had a minor uncredited role in this particular movie as Rosie Wu, the giggly and somewhat out of control date of a British sailor played by Ashley Cowan, whom she accompanies to the hospital for treatment by Dr. Han Suyin, after having bit him. Apparently this is something her character had done before as the doctor scolds her for doing it again despite telling her not to the last time around.

Scenes Featuring Maria

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S11 E19 – Dress (1961)

You Bet Your Life

HostGroucho Marx
ProducerJohn Guedel
Production CompanyJohn Guedel Productions, NBC Studios Burbank
AiredFebruary 2nd, 1961 on NBC
CastGroucho Marx (Host), George Fenneman (Announcer & Assistant) Aden Lowry (Self, Contestant, Interior Decorator from Kansas), Maria McClay (Self, Contestant, Actress and Model)
Maria McClay with fellow contestant Aden Lowry and host Groucho Marx.

Maria appeared on an episode of the last season of Groucho Marx’s game show You Bet Your Life. the secret word for winning an extra $100 in this episode was “Dress”. Groucho coaxes Maria into saying the word adding to her winnings.

It’s wonderful to be able to see Maria being herself given that almost all other video we have is of her acting on screen. There’s a bit of casual sexism from Groucho that’s probably par-for-the-course for the late 50s/early 60s but once he gets that out of his system and doesn’t do any more of it, it’s lovely to just watch Maria be herself.

Scenes Featuring Maria

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S01 E17 Night Cry (1961)

Hong Kong

DirectorWalter Doniger
ProducerArt Wallace
Production Company20th Century Fox Television
AiredJanuary 25th, 1961, ABC
CastRod Taylor (Glenn Evans), Lloyd Bochner (Neil Campbell), Liam Redmond (Marriott), Michael David (Bartley), Antoinette Bower (Laura), Dean Harens (Hal Spencer), Maria McClay (Sou Mei), Peter Chong (Old Chinese Man), Barney Phillips (Crane), Victor Sen Yung (Tung Poy)
Maria McClay as Sou Mei, putting the squeeze on a murderous cop in Hong Kong.

Where is Rod Taylor? The headlining star is almost completely absent during the one episode of the series that Maria played in. Instead this episode is about his friend, Inspector Neil Campbell (Lloyd Bochner in official Hong Kong police shorts) who must track down a bad cop who kills guy and then frames an old friend of the police chief.

Maria’s character, Sou Mei, helps out by pretending to blackmail the murderous cop in order to get him to confess or give himself away otherwise. While this is definitely one of her shorter appearances in a TV show, she actually not only has a lot of lines but is able to show off a considerable range all the way from sweet and submissive to hard-nosed and intense as she clearly enjoys squeezing her victim for all he’s worth.

This is also the first time, at least as far as what we’ve been able to determine, that she appears in the credits as Maria McClay rather than Maria Tsien or Maria Tsien McClay.

Scenes Featuring Maria

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Maria McClay