Whitewashing in Classic Films: A Look at Hollywood’s Most Egregious Cases

The Silent Era and Early Talkies: Setting the Stage for Whitewashing

Before the film industry even had sound, Hollywood was already erasing people of color from their own stories. Silent films featured nonwhite characters, but rather than casting actors from the actual cultures represented, white actors would don dark makeup, exaggerated features, and adopt offensive accents.

Notable Cases of Whitewashing in Classic Hollywood

• The Sheik (1921) – Rudolph Valentino as an Arab Prince

Rudolph Valentino, an Italian actor, became a Hollywood heartthrob after playing an Arab sheik in The Sheik. Not only was this a blatant case of whitewashing, but the film also romanticized Orientalist fantasies of the Middle East, reducing an entire region and its people to exoticized, hypersexualized caricatures.

• The Good Earth (1937) – Luise Rainer and Paul Muni as Chinese Farmers

One of the most infamous cases of whitewashing, The Good Earth, based on Pearl S. Buck’s novel, cast white actors Luise Rainer and Paul Muni in lead roles as Chinese peasants. Despite the availability of talented Chinese American actors (like Anna May Wong, who was passed over for the lead), Hollywood stuck with yellowface, using heavy makeup to give the actors exaggerated “Asian” features. Rainer even won an Oscar for her performance, proving just how deeply ingrained the system was.

• Madame Butterfly (1932) – Sylvia Sidney as a Japanese Woman

Puccini’s famous opera Madame Butterfly has had its own long history of whitewashing, and Hollywood’s 1932 adaptation was no different. Sylvia Sidney, a white actress of Jewish descent, was cast as Cio-Cio San, a young Japanese woman. She, like many other white actresses in such roles, was given slanted eye makeup and a stereotypical accent, reinforcing offensive ideas about Asian femininity and submissiveness.

• Dragon Seed (1944) – Katharine Hepburn as a Chinese Woman

Another MGM production, Dragon Seed, cast Katharine Hepburn as a Chinese peasant woman fighting against the Japanese occupation. The film features Hepburn and other white actors in full yellowface makeup. Her casting was particularly egregious given that actual Chinese American actors were often sidelined or only given stereotypical bit parts.

• A Song of India (1949) – White Cast Playing Indian Royals

This film, set in India, starred white actors playing Indian royalty. While Indian actor Sabu was cast in a major role, he was one of the very few actors of color given such opportunities, highlighting how even when authenticity was an option, Hollywood often chose to sideline actual South Asian actors.

• Apache (1954) – Burt Lancaster as a Native American Warrior

Few things scream whitewashing quite like a blue-eyed white man playing a Native American warrior. In Apache, Burt Lancaster plays Massai, a real-life Apache warrior, with his skin darkened by makeup. Hollywood had a long history of casting white actors in Indigenous roles while denying actual Native actors meaningful parts, reinforcing false depictions of Indigenous people.

• The Conqueror (1956) – John Wayne as Genghis Khan

Perhaps one of the most laughable (and offensive) examples of whitewashing, The Conqueror cast John Wayne—an all-American cowboy icon—as Mongol leader Genghis Khan. Not only was Wayne’s performance widely panned, but the use of yellowface makeup and an exaggerated accent made it one of Hollywood’s most infamous missteps.

• Aloma of the South Seas (1941) – Dorothy Lamour as a Polynesian Princess

Hollywood had a habit of casting white women as “exotic island beauties,” and Aloma of the South Seas is one of the most blatant examples. Dorothy Lamour, a white actress, played Aloma, a Polynesian princess, wearing brownface makeup and tropical costumes. The film reinforced Western fantasies of the South Seas while completely erasing authentic Polynesian representation. This ties into next week’s deep dive on Hollywood’s long history of misrepresenting Pacific Islander cultures.

The Legacy of Whitewashing and Its Consequences

By casting white actors in nonwhite roles, Hollywood perpetuated damaging stereotypes and robbed countless actors of color of opportunities. Although things have improved since the 1960s, whitewashing remains an issue even today, proving that the fight for authentic representation is far from over.

Although things have improved since the 1960s, whitewashing remains an issue even today, with films like Ghost in the Shell (2017) and Doctor Strange (2016) facing backlash for casting white actors in Asian roles. The history of whitewashing is not just a relic of the past—it’s a reminder of Hollywood’s long-standing exclusion of nonwhite voices.

By acknowledging and discussing these moments, we help ensure that history isn’t repeated. The Golden Age of Hollywood may have been dazzling, but it came at a cost—and it’s important to remember the actors and stories that were pushed aside in favor of a whitewashed fantasy.