Shanghai Express (1932)

A loose woman rediscovers a former lover during a dangerous train ride to Shanghai.

Director:

Josef von Sternberg

Writers:

Jules Furthman (screen play), Harry Hervey (based on the story by)

Stars:

Marlene Dietrich, Clive Brook, Anna May Wong

Won 1 Oscar. Another 2 nominations.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Marlene Dietrich	...	Shanghai Lily
Clive Brook	...	Captain Donald Harvey
Anna May Wong	...	Hui Fei
Warner Oland	...	Henry Chang
Eugene Pallette	...	Sam Salt
Lawrence Grant	...	Mr. Carmichael
Louise Closser Hale	...	Mrs. Haggerty
Gustav von Seyffertitz	...	Eric Baum
Emile Chautard	...	Major Lenard

Storyline

Many passengers on the Shanghai Express are more concerned that the notorious Shanghai Lil is on board than the fact that a civil war is going on that may make the trip take more than three days. The British Army doctor, Donald Harvey, knew Lil before she became a famous "coaster." A fellow passenger defines a coaster as "a woman who lives by her wits along the China coast." When Chinese guerillas stop the train, Dr. Harvey is selected as the hostage. Lil saves him, but can she make him believe that she really hasn't changed from the woman he loved five years before?

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Plot Keywords:

train | prostitution | american | shanghai china | china | 

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Taglines:

Many Men Had Loved Her -- but only one had been loved in return !

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Genres:

Adventure | Drama | Romance | Thriller

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English French Cantonese German

Release Date:

12 February 1932 (USA)

Also Known As:

El expreso de Shanghai

Filming Locations:

Santa Fe Railroad Depot - 1170 W. 3rd Street, San Bernardino, California, USA

Box Office

Gross USA:

$3,700,000

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

82 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Noiseless Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The extras in the film are mostly speaking Cantonese - a Chinese dialect used mainly in southern China. If the film were to be more accurate, the extras would be speaking Mandarin, but most Chinese residents in the Los Angeles area (who worked as film extras) spoke Cantonese, making Josef von Sternberg use Cantonese.

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Goofs

The film is set in northern China (Peking to Shanghai). The government and warlord soldiers are speaking Taishanese, 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

Shanghai Lily: When I needed your faith, you withheld it; and now, when I don't need it, and don't deserve it, you give it to me.

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Alternate Versions

Comments in the AFI Catalogue suggest the credits were changed when re-released in 1935. According to the Catalogue, the original print referred to Harry Herveys work as a novel. In the viewed print on TCM, the onscreen credit was "story." The print was clearly a re-released print because of the PCA certificate number listed onscreen; such numbers were not issued until 1934. It is not known what other changes were made, if any, but the print ran only 82 minutes, suggesting some additional editing had been done.

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Connections

Referenced in Lili Marlene (2007)

User Reviews

A very good movie.

Many consider "The Shanghai Express" the best von Sternberg/ Dietrich film. Perhaps. I certainly agree that it is a very good movie. The story is a bit trivial: two lovers meet again after five years. They were separated due to the lack of faith he had in her. This film is a journey. In fact, two kinds of journeys: a physical one, since the set is a moving train, and a psychological one, since during this journey Captain Harvey (Clive Brook) gains fate, essential to a love relationship. The train movements seem to indicate the attraction Captain Harvey and Shanghai Lily (Marlene Dietrich) feel for each other. This movie gives us one of the most beautiful images in movie history: Dietrich in the dark, smoking a cigarette, with the famous light that gave her that famous "butterfly shadow".