Stanley White
Encyclopedia
Captain Stanley "Stan" White (born Stanisław Luszinski) is a fictional character
from Robert Daley
's 1981 novel Year of the Dragon (in which he is named Arthur Powers) and the 1985 film of the same name
. In the film, he was portrayed by Mickey Rourke
. He is a highly-decorated New York City police officer, but has a disdain for authority and his unorthodox policing techniques, although successful, have made his superiors as fond of him as he is of them. The real Stanley White, upon whom the film's principal character is based, went on to make several cameo appearances in the films of Year of the Dragon co-screenwriter Oliver Stone
.
, New York City
. He later changed his name. He often uses the derogatory term "Polack
" and is sometimes called that himself. In the 1960s, he served as a Marine
during the Vietnam War
and lived in Queens
upon his return, with his wife Connie who he met before the war. His experiences in Vietnam left him mentally scarred, bitter and racist towards Asian people. He sees little or no difference between Vietnamese
and Chinese people
, or even Chinese-Americans. He joined the New York Police Department in, or around, 1970 and was originally based in Brooklyn before being transferred to the 5th Precinct in Chinatown, Manhattan
.
to keep the peace. He is put in charge of the Asian Gang Unit but told to only bring down the street gangs, and not the Triads or Tongs
. He defies his superiors, however, and soon visits the leaders of the Hun San Tong and tells them that he is now in charge in Chinatown, and that he will not turn a blind eye to their activities as those before him have done. Joey Tai, the young charismatic son of the late crime boss, takes leadership of the Hun San almost simultaneously with White's arrival.
White's relationship with his wife, Connie, is strained and their marriage seems to be coming to an end, despite Stan's efforts to stay together. He soon meets Tracy Tzu, a Chinese American
TV news reporter, and takes her out for dinner at a Chinese restaurant. There, a gang of masked gunmen attack in response to a gangland feud between the Hun San and the Nam Song Triad, killing a number of civilians. White shoots back at them and chases them from the premises. This makes him realise how deadly the gangs can be, and also that the locals will not inform on them. He then recruits Herbert Kwong to go undercover in one of Tai's restaurants and listen to gang members' conversation.
After missing a meal with his wife at a restaurant, Stan was thrown out by Connie and he then went to live with Tracy at her penthouse despite her already having a boyfriend. After another meeting with Joey Tai, in which Tai's disrespect infuriated him, Stanley told all of the beat cops under him to crack down on gang members, and to arrest them for the slightest crimes such as loitering. He also told them that any of his officers caught taking bribes would be severely punished, and if they were female they "better bend over". He also arranged a number of raids on gambling dens and other Tong-owned businesses. This crackdown led Joey Tai to attempt to kill White. He sent two hitmen to his home, where he was visiting Connie. One man managed to kill Connie by slitting her throat, but the other failed to kill Stanley who shot them dead as they fled in a car. Connie's funeral was held in traditional Polish Catholic fashion and attended by Stanley, his colleges, and even Tracy.
Herbert, the undercover officer, was eventually found out and shot on his way home from work. Stanley then began his vendetta against Joey Tai, and went looking for him at a Chinatown nightclub
. There, he pulled him into a toilet cubicle and began beating him up. Two of Tai's female bodyguards soon rescued him, however, by shooting Stanley's partner in the stomach and grazing Stanley's neck. He then gave chase to them through the streets and managed to shoot one dead as she ran across a busy road. The next day, Stanley finds out that Tracy was raped by Joey Tai's goons and threatened not to report on Chinatown's gangs any longer. He was also sent back to Brooklyn due to his unorthodox policing.
Due to the information that Herbert acquired before his death, White was able to find out that Joey Tai was smuggling heroin into the country in ships from Thailand
. Despite his removal from the case, he continued with his journey for revenge. He travelled to the docks on the night that the ship arrived and waited for Tai to show. He rammed Joey Tai's vehicle with his car then pulled him out at gun-point. A shoot-out ensued, with Tai escaping in his car and his bodyguard being shot. He tried to flee across a bridge but was stopped by an on-coming train. He then ran across the bridge on foot with Stanley White in pursuit. In a climatic face-off, Tai turned around to face White and they both ran towards each other firing their pistols. Joey Tai was shot in the torso and legs, and fell to the ground. In excruciating pain and with police closing in, Tai begged White for his gun in order to shoot himself. Stanley granted him this last wish, even though he was never told exactly where the heroin was stashed on the ship. The film ends with Stanley trying to attack members of the Hun San, but being held back by police and bodyguards, at Joey Tai's illustrious funeral. He is then pulled from the crowd by Tracy and they share a kiss in the middle of the busy street.
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
from Robert Daley
Robert Daley
Robert Daley , is an American novelist. He is the author of 28 books, five of which have been adapted for film.Daley graduated from Fordham University in 1951 and served in the Air Force during the Korean War...
's 1981 novel Year of the Dragon (in which he is named Arthur Powers) and the 1985 film of the same name
Year of the Dragon (film)
Year of the Dragon is a 1985 film directed by Michael Cimino, starring Mickey Rourke, Ariane Koizumi and John Lone. The screenplay was written by Cimino and Oliver Stone and adapted from the novel by Robert Daley....
. In the film, he was portrayed by Mickey Rourke
Mickey Rourke
Philip Andre "Mickey" Rourke, Jr. is an American actor, screenwriter and retired boxer, who has appeared primarily as a leading man in action, drama, and thriller films....
. He is a highly-decorated New York City police officer, but has a disdain for authority and his unorthodox policing techniques, although successful, have made his superiors as fond of him as he is of them. The real Stanley White, upon whom the film's principal character is based, went on to make several cameo appearances in the films of Year of the Dragon co-screenwriter Oliver Stone
Oliver Stone
William Oliver Stone is an American film director, producer and screenwriter. Stone became well known in the late 1980s and the early 1990s for directing a series of films about the Vietnam War, for which he had previously participated as an infantry soldier. His work frequently focuses on...
.
Early life
White was born Stanisław Luszinski to a Polish-American Catholic family in BrooklynBrooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
, New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. He later changed his name. He often uses the derogatory term "Polack
Polack
The noun Polack , in the contemporary English language, is a derogatory reference to a person of Polish descent. It is an Anglicisation of the Polish language word Polak, which means a Polish male person...
" and is sometimes called that himself. In the 1960s, he served as a Marine
United States Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for providing power projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to deliver combined-arms task forces rapidly. It is one of seven uniformed services of the United States...
during the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
and lived in Queens
Queens
Queens is the easternmost of the five boroughs of New York City. The largest borough in area and the second-largest in population, it is coextensive with Queens County, an administrative division of New York state, in the United States....
upon his return, with his wife Connie who he met before the war. His experiences in Vietnam left him mentally scarred, bitter and racist towards Asian people. He sees little or no difference between Vietnamese
Vietnamese people
The Vietnamese people are an ethnic group originating from present-day northern Vietnam and southern China. They are the majority ethnic group of Vietnam, comprising 86% of the population as of the 1999 census, and are officially known as Kinh to distinguish them from other ethnic groups in Vietnam...
and Chinese people
Chinese people
The term Chinese people may refer to any of the following:*People with Han Chinese ethnicity ....
, or even Chinese-Americans. He joined the New York Police Department in, or around, 1970 and was originally based in Brooklyn before being transferred to the 5th Precinct in Chinatown, Manhattan
Chinatown, Manhattan
Manhattan's Chinatown , home to one of the highest concentrations of Chinese people in the Western hemisphere, is located in the borough of Manhattan in New York City...
.
Year of the Dragon
After the murder of a Chinese crime boss by a member of a street gang, White is assigned to the 5th Precinct in ChinatownChinatown
A Chinatown is an ethnic enclave of overseas Chinese people, although it is often generalized to include various Southeast Asian people. Chinatowns exist throughout the world, including East Asia, Southeast Asia, the Americas, Australasia, and Europe. Binondo's Chinatown located in Manila,...
to keep the peace. He is put in charge of the Asian Gang Unit but told to only bring down the street gangs, and not the Triads or Tongs
Tong (organization)
The word tong means "hall" or "gathering place". In North America a tong is a type of organization found among Chinese living in the United States and Canada. These organizations are described as secret societies or sworn brotherhoods and are often tied to criminal activity...
. He defies his superiors, however, and soon visits the leaders of the Hun San Tong and tells them that he is now in charge in Chinatown, and that he will not turn a blind eye to their activities as those before him have done. Joey Tai, the young charismatic son of the late crime boss, takes leadership of the Hun San almost simultaneously with White's arrival.
White's relationship with his wife, Connie, is strained and their marriage seems to be coming to an end, despite Stan's efforts to stay together. He soon meets Tracy Tzu, a Chinese American
Chinese American
Chinese Americans represent Americans of Chinese descent. Chinese Americans constitute one group of overseas Chinese and also a subgroup of East Asian Americans, which is further a subgroup of Asian Americans...
TV news reporter, and takes her out for dinner at a Chinese restaurant. There, a gang of masked gunmen attack in response to a gangland feud between the Hun San and the Nam Song Triad, killing a number of civilians. White shoots back at them and chases them from the premises. This makes him realise how deadly the gangs can be, and also that the locals will not inform on them. He then recruits Herbert Kwong to go undercover in one of Tai's restaurants and listen to gang members' conversation.
After missing a meal with his wife at a restaurant, Stan was thrown out by Connie and he then went to live with Tracy at her penthouse despite her already having a boyfriend. After another meeting with Joey Tai, in which Tai's disrespect infuriated him, Stanley told all of the beat cops under him to crack down on gang members, and to arrest them for the slightest crimes such as loitering. He also told them that any of his officers caught taking bribes would be severely punished, and if they were female they "better bend over". He also arranged a number of raids on gambling dens and other Tong-owned businesses. This crackdown led Joey Tai to attempt to kill White. He sent two hitmen to his home, where he was visiting Connie. One man managed to kill Connie by slitting her throat, but the other failed to kill Stanley who shot them dead as they fled in a car. Connie's funeral was held in traditional Polish Catholic fashion and attended by Stanley, his colleges, and even Tracy.
Herbert, the undercover officer, was eventually found out and shot on his way home from work. Stanley then began his vendetta against Joey Tai, and went looking for him at a Chinatown nightclub
Nightclub
A nightclub is an entertainment venue which usually operates late into the night...
. There, he pulled him into a toilet cubicle and began beating him up. Two of Tai's female bodyguards soon rescued him, however, by shooting Stanley's partner in the stomach and grazing Stanley's neck. He then gave chase to them through the streets and managed to shoot one dead as she ran across a busy road. The next day, Stanley finds out that Tracy was raped by Joey Tai's goons and threatened not to report on Chinatown's gangs any longer. He was also sent back to Brooklyn due to his unorthodox policing.
Due to the information that Herbert acquired before his death, White was able to find out that Joey Tai was smuggling heroin into the country in ships from Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
. Despite his removal from the case, he continued with his journey for revenge. He travelled to the docks on the night that the ship arrived and waited for Tai to show. He rammed Joey Tai's vehicle with his car then pulled him out at gun-point. A shoot-out ensued, with Tai escaping in his car and his bodyguard being shot. He tried to flee across a bridge but was stopped by an on-coming train. He then ran across the bridge on foot with Stanley White in pursuit. In a climatic face-off, Tai turned around to face White and they both ran towards each other firing their pistols. Joey Tai was shot in the torso and legs, and fell to the ground. In excruciating pain and with police closing in, Tai begged White for his gun in order to shoot himself. Stanley granted him this last wish, even though he was never told exactly where the heroin was stashed on the ship. The film ends with Stanley trying to attack members of the Hun San, but being held back by police and bodyguards, at Joey Tai's illustrious funeral. He is then pulled from the crowd by Tracy and they share a kiss in the middle of the busy street.