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Shanghai Express (1932)
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Overview
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Director:
Writers:
Release Date:
12 February 1932 (USA)
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Plot:
Many passengers on the Shanghai Express are more concerned that the notorious Shanghai Lil is on board...
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Awards:
Won Oscar.
Another 2 nominations
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NewsDesk:
(3 articles)
Josef Von Sternberg: Eros And Abstraction—Blonde Venus (1932)
(From Twitch. 15 February 2009, 4:27 PM, PST)
Josef Von Sternberg: Eros And Abstraction—Shanghai Express (1932)
(From Twitch. 15 February 2009, 3:22 PM, PST)
(From Twitch. 15 February 2009, 4:27 PM, PST)
Josef Von Sternberg: Eros And Abstraction—Shanghai Express (1932)
(From Twitch. 15 February 2009, 3:22 PM, PST)
User Comments:
Pretty exciting stuff--and among Marlene Dietrich's best
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Cast
(Complete credited cast) | Marlene Dietrich | ... | Shanghai Lily, aka Magdalen |
 | Clive Brook | ... | Captain Donald 'Doc' Harvey |
| Anna May Wong | ... | Hui Fei |
| Warner Oland | ... | Mr. Henry Chang |
| Eugene Pallette | ... | Sam Salt |
| Lawrence Grant | ... | Reverend Mr. Carmichael |
| Louise Closser Hale | ... | Mrs. Haggerty |
| Gustav von Seyffertitz | ... | Eric Baum |
| Emile Chautard | ... | Major Lenard |
Additional Details
Parents Guide:
Runtime:
80 min
Country:
Color:
Aspect Ratio:
1.37 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Mono (Western Electric Noiseless Recording)
Certification:
USA:Passed (National Board of Review) |
USA:Approved (PCA #1390-R, 31 August 1935 for re-release)
Filming Locations:
Company:
Fun Stuff
Trivia:
In her autobiography, Marlene Dietrich claimed that von Sternberg directed most of the cinematography, instead of Lee Garmes (who actually won an Oscar for his work on the film).
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Goofs:
Factual errors: The film is set in northern China (Peking to Shanghai). The government and warlord soldiers are speaking Cantonese, which is a southern Chinese dialect not generally spoken in northern China. The northern dialects of Mandarin Chinese (a Beijing dialect) and/or Shanghainese would be spoken instead.
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Quotes:
Reverend Mr. Carmichael:
Love without faith, like religion without faith, doesn't amount to very much.
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Movie Connections:
Featured in Puzzle of a Downfall Child (1970)
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FAQ
This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.more (29 total)
Message Boards
Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for Shanghai Express (1932)| Recent Posts (updated daily) | User |
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| One of Dietrich's best | ejgreen77 |
| DVD | paisleyraye |
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SHANGHAI EXPRESS is an excellent film from 1932 that stars Marlene Dietrich but also benefits from a strong ensemble cast. In other words, while Dietrich is an important part of the film, she isn't THE film and supporting actors also help to make this a good film. I like this because too often in her early films all the weight of the movie rested on how sexy and alluring Dietrich's characters were supposed to be--and to me, this got very old after a while. It helped here, though, that Dietrich's usual angular and severe looks are a bit less pronounced (as was the case in her very early Hollywood films). Here, she plays "a woman of ill-repute" (a prostitute) but there are many others that give the film life as well--making this film a bit like GRAND HOTEL on the rails! This film has the distinct honor of being one of the only films in which Warner Oland plays an Asian yet this isn't necessarily insulting to real Asian actors. That's because Oland was Swedish-born and often played Asians (such as Charlie Chan)--while qualified Asians were relegated to supporting roles! However, in this film, his character is supposed to be half-Chinese and half-Western--so the casting wasn't a bad idea at all.
Apart from Oland and Dietrich, Anna May Wong, Clive Brook, Lawrence Grant and Eugene Palette, among others, are on hand to provide some color. Ms. Wong, in particular, had some excellent scenes playing a Chinese prostitute and defender of the Chinese Republic (a strange combination, I know).
As far as Grant goes, his was a truly unusual character. His Reverend Mr. Carmichael was odd because initially he came off as such a prudish and self-righteous jerk--so much so that the studio was forced to re-write his character and soften him up some as to avoid offending religious sensibilities of the audiences. However, by changing a few scenes, they made him one of the most unusual and three-dimensional minsters portrayed in film during the era. How he came to actually like and respect Dietrich (the prostitute) may seem a bit silly to some, but I actually liked the way they re-wrote the film. As a result, of all the passengers, Grant's came off as perhaps the most interesting.
As far as the film goes, in addition to good performances, the writing, direction and cinematography were all exceptional. A top-notch film that sure will keep your interest as you follow this train through rebel territory in China.
About the only negative about the film might be that it promotes the old film cliché of "the prostitute with a heart of gold"--in fact, it has this times two! Just once, I'd like to see a film where the prostitute isn't so glamorous (perhaps with a few herpes scabs) and isn't a nice person after all!! Imagine if PRETTY WOMAN had followed THAT formula!!