From left: Arthur Jue (cinematographer and Joseph Sunn Jue’s son), Chow Kwun-Ling (Patricia Joe) and Joseph Sunn Jue at the Grandview Film studio in San Francisco Chinatown, 1944.
In the early 1940s, Honolulu native Chow Kwun-Liing was working as a secretary at Hartford Insurance in San Francisco. She was also a part-time cashier at Joseph Sunn Jue’s Grandview Theater in San Francisco Chinatown when Jue launched her movie career. She was cast in eight known Grandview Film American productions, some opposite Wong Chiu-Mo, whom she eventually wed.
After World War II, the couple traveled to Hong Kong and became screen legends of Cantonese language movies. They eventually re-settled in San Francisco in 1957where they worked in non-theatrical jobs and ran a restaurant while remaining active in Cantonese opera.
Chow’s story is a featured profile in Arthur Dong’s upcoming book, Grandview Film: Cinematic Crossings with Joseph Sunn Jue.
Sandra Wong, daughter of Chow Kwun-Ling and Wong Chiu-Mo, is interviewed by writer Arthur Dong via Zoom.
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