Shadows Over Shanghai (1938)

A pilot carrying a valuable amulet is shot down over China by a ruthless Russian agent, who also wants the amulet.

Director:

Charles Lamont

Writers:

Joseph Hoffman (screenplay), Richard Sale (original story) (as Richard B. Sale)

Stars:

James Dunn, Ralph Morgan, Robert Barrat

Cast

Cast overview:
James Dunn	...	Johnny McGinty
Ralph Morgan	...	Howard Barclay
Robert Barrat	...	Igor Sargoza
Lynda Grey	...	Irene Roma (as Linda Gray)
Paul Sutton	...	Yokahama
Edward Woods	...	Peter Roma
Edwin Mordant	...	Dr. Adams
Chester Gan	...	Lun Sat Li
Victor Wong	...	Wu Chang
Edward Keane	...	American Consul
Billy Bevan	...	Gallicuddy
William Haade	...	Captain Murphy
Richard Loo	...	Fong
Victor Sen Yung	...	Wang (as Victor Young)

Storyline

Irene Roma, a young Russian teacher at an American mission near Shanghai, is entrusted with an amulet by her brother Peter Roma, who has been wounded by Igor Sargoza, a discredited Russian secret agent, who is aware of the amulet's value. Needing a Russian passport in order to leave Shanghai, Irene presents her problem to Howard Barclay, an English friend of her brother's, and his friend, Johnny McGinty, an American newspaper photographer. Barclay suggests that McGinty marry her, thereby giving her his American citizenship. A Chinese friend sends the bride a beautiful mandarin figure, to be used as an incense burner but Johnny decides to use it as a hiding place for the amulet. Barclay learns that the marriage does not make Irene an American citizen, but he obtains a Chinese special passport and the three friends, after beating off another attack by the Sargoza gang, reach the Japanese merchant ship that is to take then to safety. On ship they encounter Fuji Yokahama who has learned ...

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Plot Keywords:

spy | jewel | 

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Taglines:

Gambling with death... for a $5,000,000 stake!

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

14 October 1938 (USA)

Also Known As:

Ombres sur Shanghai

Company Credits

Production Co:

Franklyn Warner Productions

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Mirrophonic Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The earliest documented telecasts of this film in New York City occurred Monday 16 October 1944 on NBC's pioneer television station WNBT (Channel 1), and Monday 14 October 1946 on Dumont Television Network's WABD (Channel 5), in Los Angeles Sunday 11 April 1948 on Dumont's KTLA (Channel 5), in Baltimore Saturday 19 June 1948 on WBAL (Channel 11), and in Chicago Saturday 17 July 1948 on WGN (Channel 9).

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Goofs

When Irene enters the hotel, she asks the front desk clerk for Mr. Barclay's room number and is told 810 (on the eighth floor). She then goes to the elevator and presses the DOWN button.

User Reviews

This is a very strange little film! But, it is enjoyable.

"Shadows Over Shanghai" is a very strange film, as its plot and timing is quite odd. It's set during the Japanese invasion of China and takes a somewhat neutral stance on this aggressive and morally bankrupt war.

The film begins with a Irene Roma (Lynda Grey) waiting for her brother to fly home to the school she runs in China. However, at the last minute, another plane flies by and shoots him down--right in front of the horrified Irene! Fortunately, the brother is not dead and he entrusts a necklace to her--making her promise to get it to San Francisco. She runs from the school and drives to town on her mission--pursued by the evil Saragoza (Robert Barrat). She soon meets up with a nice-guy reporter, Johnny (James Dunn) and he and a new friend (Ralph Morgan*) help Irene escape from not just Sargoza but Japanese agents as well.

This is a very strange film. It appears as if the writers WANTED to do a film that condemned the Japanese for their bloody attacks on China. But, they hedged their bets and never quite took a strong stand--mostly because the US was officially neutral and because, sadly, Americans generally didn't care about what was happening in Asia. Regardless, it's entertaining and worth seeing--even if the end is a bit dissatisfying.

*Ralph was never nearly as famous as his brother, Frank (the Wizard in "The Wizard of Oz"). I never understood this, as Ralph was a really fine actor and deserves to be remembered. And, interestingly, he really does look an awful lot like Frank, though his acting seemed less bombastic and much more subtle.