Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
Gene Tierney | ... | Poppy | |
Walter Huston | ... | Sir Guy Charteris | |
Victor Mature | ... | Doctor Omar | |
Ona Munson | ... | 'Mother' Gin Sling | |
Phyllis Brooks | ... | The Chorus Girl | |
Albert Bassermann | ... | The Commissioner | |
Maria Ouspenskaya | ... | The Amah | |
Eric Blore | ... | The Bookkeeper | |
Ivan Lebedeff | ... | The Gambler | |
Mike Mazurki | ... | The Coolie | |
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Clyde Fillmore | ... | The Comprador |
Grayce Hampton | ... | The Social Leader | |
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Rex Evans | ... | The Counselor |
Mikhail Rasumny | ... | The Appraiser (as Mikhail Rasumni) | |
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Michael Dalmatoff | ... | The Bartender (as Michael Delmatoff) |
A young woman, Poppy, out for excitement in Shanghai, enters a gambling house owned by "Mother" Gin Sling, a dragon-lady who worked herself up from poverty to buy the casino. Sir Guy Charteris, wealthy entrepreneur, has purchased a large area of Shanghai, forcing Gin Sling to vacate by the coming Chinese New Year. Under orders from Gin Sling, who has found out Poppy is Charteris' daughter, the smarmy Doctor Omar leads Poppy deeper and deeper into an addiction to gambling and alcohol. Gin Sling, realizing that Charteris was her long-ago husband who she thinks abandoned her, plans her revenge by inviting Charteris to a Chinese New Year dinner party to expose his past indiscretions. Charteris, however, has a suprise of his own to spring on Gin Sling. Written by Doug Sederberg <vornoff@sonic.net>
Most of those movie review reference books you see floating around in paperback call this film campy idiocy. It's campy only in the sense that it was made at a time when a certain degree of heavy-handedness and melodrama was the norm in films. It's certainly not idiotic. It is a story of perceived betrayal and self-degradation. The play it was based on was considered quite thought provoking and socially daring. The film was somewhat cleaned up but still addressed the main issues. The characterizations are quite involving, especially Mature's.