Customer Reviews

Shanghai Express [VHS]

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
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1 star:		(1)

 

 

"Shanghai Express", is one of those films that very aptly fits into the category of "they sure dont make them like this anymore". Boasting hauntingly beautiful camera work and photography, the film being very much a product of the glamourous 1930's treats its leading ladies face as if it was a rare icon throughout the films running time. These haunting images are the work of Joseph Von Sternberg, the genius who was responsible for creating so much of the mystic around Marlene Dietrich in classic roles like "Morocco", "Blonde Venus", and "The Scarlet Empress".

Exotica is the one word that constantly comes to mind when viewing "Shanghai Express". It's not so much the storyline (which in actual fact while entertaining is rather trite) that holds your attention so much as the ever more amazing series of "photographic images" that are made of Marlene Dietrich throughout the film wrapped up as she is in exotic furs, black feathers or shrouded in cigarette smoke or partial shadows. They truly are what Hollywood glamour at this time was all about and they were responsible for creating some unforgettable visual images of Dietrich that have gone down in Hollywood folklore. "Shanghai Express" tells the story of a disparate group of passengers on the express train travelling to Shanghai during the Chinese civil war. Along the way we get to findout abit more about each of the passengers before the train is hijacked by a warlord who is travelling on the train. Dietrich plays one of her most famous characters in Shanghai Lily, a lady of ill repute who makes the memorable statement that "it took more than one man to change my name to Shanghai Lily". On board the train she encounters her great love from 5 years previous Capt. Donald Harvey (Clive Brook) a man who has never got over his great passion for her. Brook as other reviewers have mentioned is a strange choice as the romantic lead here as he is obviously too old for the role while still being a capable actor. Despite the lack of real chemistry between them they nevertheless work well and make the scenario of them rekindling their love and Shanghai Lily being willing to sacrifice herself to ensure Donald's safety when he is in the hands of the warlord that bit more believable. The film is peppered with other great performances. Anna May Wong plays the spunky partisan Hui Fei and since very little of her work is available for viewing these days her presence in "Shanghai Express" is a reat treat. She was a wonderfully gifted actress and here her presence is vital to the plot development which finds her being raped by Warlord Chang and then seeking her own revenge for the injustice done to her by fair means or foul. Warner Oland, famous as one of the actors to play Charlie Chan here plays the devious Henry Chang a man of mystery on the journey who turns out to be a vicious warlord who hijacks the train when one of his supporters is arrested. There has been criticism of a westerner playing the role of Chang however Oland is wonderful in the role and really gets his teeth into the character of the ruthless warlord. The memorable Louise Closser Hale, a veteran of so many 1930's melodramas scores here as the elderly busybody Mrs. Haggerty who's main concern is looking after her little dog and who strongly disapproves of everyone and everything on the train. Her bossy nature contrasts beautifully in her scenes with Warner Oland and she is definately a match for him in the bossy stakes. Eugene Pallette is also memorable in his usual gruff way playing Sam Salt the compulsive gambler on board who tries to continually place bets on anything that is occuring.

Working in collaboration with Joseph Von Sternberg Marlene Dietrich had a dream run at Paramount in the early 1930's. Her work with Von Sternberg is certainly what she is most remembered for but it's easy to forget that all the expertise at Paramount was responsible for creating the "Dietrich look". Camera work is the vital selling point in this film as I have mentioned creating so many unforgettable images of the Dietrich glamour. Costumes are also a stand out here as Marlene, dressed unforgettably by Travis Banton wears a series of exotic gowns that no other actress of this time, with the possible exception of Garbo could have worn. The overall look of the film is a beautiful feast for the eyes and the scenes of the Chinese markets, and the station were the passengers are held at are filled with atmosphere and are first rate in their execution.

A huge success on its release in 1932 "Shanghai Express" is still a movie treat and clearly illustrates how the mystic of Marlene Dietrich was born. She is perfect in the role, mesmerizing in actual fact, and is the main reason for enjoying repeated screenings of this classic. It is my favourite Dietrich film and really points out what Hollywood glamour was all about. Enjoy.

A remarkable and mystically exotic story of love and destruction - the kind of film for which both star and director became legends. As "the White Flower of Chinese coast" Marlene speaks her most famous line in the film: "It took more than one man to change my name to Shanghai Lily"! Dietrich, as always gave Von Sternberg the exact performance he envisioned while Clive Brook is pretty good as Captain Harvey, the object of Marlene's affection. Anna May Wong had probably her best Hollywood role as Hui Fei, the prostitute in search of redemption; she had been raped by insatiable rebel leader Oland. The story on which this movie is based is clearly drawn from Guy de Maupassant's classic short story of a French prostitute - "Boule de Suif". The photography of this film is in every respect excellent (Lee Garmes). Dietrich was dressed by Travis Banton for this and she looks truly ravishing throughout the movie (the film made 3 million dollars in the depressed year of 1932).

Here is the legendary film that spawned hundreds of imitators, starring the one and only Marlene Dietrich in her early Hollywood signature role of Shanghai Lily. Actually, anybody else in this role would have been silly. Only a mysterious creature like Dietrich could carry this off.
More of an ensemble picture than one would think, the film has a pretty straight-forward plot, which is unusual for a Von Sternberg film. Dietrich plays a coaster, which is a polite term for a hooker, in China. she and group of other strangers board the Shanghai Express enroute to Shanghai. On board, she encounters former love Captain Harvey, who is about as warm as ice water. During the trip, the train is hijacked by Chinese rebels, and Lily must choose to sacrifice herself for her former(and still) love to save his life.
As I said, it all sounds hackneyed, but when watching, one can't help but be mesmerized. Dietrich is at her most exotic and alluring in this role, and you really can't take your eyes off of her. She carries the entire film in her hands, and the ending is the only one you can accept. Pure Hollywood hokum, but pure magic as well. Get this film and see for yourself. I highly recommend it!

The first thing that strikes the eye on viewing this film is the magnificent, absolutely ravishing photography of Lee Garmes. The hokey plot deals with intrigue and romance on a train speeding through war-torn China. Marlene Dietrich is Shanghai Lily, a woman of ill-repute ("It took more than one man to give me the name Shanghai Lily"). Clive Brook is her stiff upper lip English lover(a stiff but amusing performance). With Warner Oland as a cruel, lecherous Chinese war lord and Anna May Wong as the chief victim of Mr.Oland's "attentions". A masterpiece of high camp, exquisite kitsch and one of the summits of exotic cinema. 31/2 stars

Paramount's SHANGHAI EXPRESS is an adventure story and above all a love story about Shanghai Lily (Marlene Dietrich) and Captain Harvey (Clive Brook) who used to be her lover. Most of the action takes place on a train which is held up by Chinese bandits.

SHANGHAI EXPRESS stands as one of the best of Marlene Dietrich's performances with Josef von Sternberg as director. What I also find especially intriguing about this classic gem are the appearances of Warner Oland and Anna May Wong in important supporting roles.

Although he is best remembered as Charlie Chan, the Swedish actor Warner Oland had in addition a distinguished film career playing a variety of heavies. He was Colonel von Hindau in DISHONORED with Marlene Dietrich in 1931. This movie was also directed by Josef von Sternberg.

Anna May Wong had an equally illustrious career. One early success before sound was her role as a Mongol slave in THE THIEF OF BAGDAD with Douglas Fairbanks in 1924.

This DVD is a region 2 Pal release from Universal in Spain, as advertised, and has Spanish subtitles, as advertised, but what they don't tell you is that you CAN'T TURN THE SUBTITLES OFF. Thus, for English speaking audiences, this destroys the pictorial beauty of the film.

And, to make matters worse, although this is an official Universal release, it has splices, the picture quality is dark and grainy, and it is, in every sense of the word, a terrible transfer. Sadly, stick to the VHS until someone at Universal has the sense to release this, perhaps Sternberg's most beautiful film, on DVD in a Region One release with decent picture quality, and OPTIONAL subtitles.

Fine, enjoyable piece of Hollywood glitter that features the fantastic Marlene Deitrich as Shanghai Lil, a woman who has known hardknocks and ended up in sleazy pre-war China. The story is engaging and fun (I don't want to give too much away), but one should really watch this film for the beautiful Marlene's performance, which is classic 1930's Hollywood style.

The story is based (loosely) on Maupassant's short story "Boule de Suif," but viewers may be interested to know it also reflects the vague unease felt in the West in 1920's - 30's over the fate of many thousand Western woman (chiefly White Russians fleeing defeat in Bolshevik Russia) who ended up in the pre-war sin city of Shanghai (along with, of course, thousands of Chinese women), and found themselves down on their luck (see Harriet Sargeant's book *Shanghai* for a wealth of details). When I lived in Hong Kong in the mid 90's this kind of film could still cause unease among long-term residents (Western and Eastern) because of the presence in that city of girlie bars the size of aircraft hangers, where Chinese and Western ladies performed Marlene-like shows for groups of Mainland businessmen (who liked to be driven to their seats in golf carts with plastic Rolls-Royce grilles attached!)

This is a fine Hollywood film, a pleasure to watch for Dietrich's performance, and an interesting comment on the times.

SHANGHAI EXPRESS is, like much of Josef von Sternberg's early Hollywood work, technically stunning, and this is definitely one of his very best films. This is not a film to watch so much as one to be savored, and the more effort you expend marveling over his care and mastery of his craft by studying what he does with each shot and scene, the more you will enjoy it. Perhaps because English was not his first language, or perhaps because he honed his cinemagraphic skills in the silent era, Sternberg's focus is primarily visual rather than verbal. There is virtually no shot in SHANGHAI EXPRESS that he has labored over to make perfect, and there is no shot in the film that is one-dimensional and simplistic. Sternberg tends to layer his shots with a variety of elements. He rarely just photographs Dietrich in straightforward fashion, instead enveloping her in shadow, or wreathed in cigarette smoke, or framing her face in extreme close up. In fact, most of the delight of the film consists in observing what Sternberg does with the camera in each scene, in the way he positions his actors to produce a fine portrait, in watching the way he makes transitions from one scene to another. If one makes the mistake of assuming that the primary point of this film is the story it tells, one hasn't watched the movie properly. SHANGAI EXPRESS is a masterpiece, but it is one primarily because of what Sternberg does with his camera, and not because of the story he has to tell.

The story, in fact, is rather lackluster. And for my taste, many of the actors are rather stiff and wooden in a way that one finds in many films of the early thirties. Clive Brook is so ramrod straight that one might imagine his spine were fused from top to bottom. Indeed, his character is such a prig that one has trouble imagining that Dietrich's character could ever had been interested in him, or is interested still. The other principal character I had trouble with was Warner Oland, a Swedish actor who made a career portraying Asians. Today, many viewers are bothered by the almost constant string of Europeans and Americans who portrayed Asians and Native Americans in Hollywood films. I am one of them. The problem is that Oland is just not convincing as an Asian. Even as Charlie Chan, he always comes across as a European portraying an Asian. On the other hand, while two of the main actors are weak, there are several excellent or even superb performances to balance the cast. This is truly one of Marlene Dietrich's great film. She shines as Shanghai Lily, and while one has trouble accepting that such a riveting woman could be in love with such a hunk of wood as Clive Brook, one has no difficulty believing in the attention she is able to create as she walks through the film. Interestingly, she did not sing in this film as in her previous von Sternberg films. Anna May Wong was one of the very rare exceptions to the practice of Europeans playing Asians in films. She was, with only one or two exceptions, one of the few Asians to ever have a significant career in Hollywood. Eugene Pallette is one of my favorite character actors, and enlivens nearly every scene he is in as Sam Salt, who, as he puts it, is willing to gamble on anything. One of the most interesting characters in the film is Lawrence Grant as Mr. Carmichael, who appears initially to be a Victorian clergyman, but who turns out to be one of the most human and sympathetic characters in the film.

The plot is not terribly interesting. The primary purpose, as with most von Sternberg films, is to provide a background for him to construct one exquisite shot after another. It is the visual dimension of this film that makes it a masterpiece, and one of the must-see films of the first few years of the talking film.

NOTE: VON STERNBERG WAS AMERICAN...

Sternberg's films make no sense to most movie fans, who skim a film for its story or for its stars or its "realism". Sternberg's stories are usually slow, the stories trite or perverse, his inattention to casting and acting can be almost shocking, and realism is nowhere to be found.

But his ultra-stylized mises en scene are unique, his feeling for exotic, poetic, and sensual visual effects is without equal. He is a visual stylist, more of a painter than a filmmaker, but on top of that he touches on subtle emotions rarely expressed in other films... Like very, very few other directors, Sternberg was truly a poet.

This film is probably the most famous of the Sternberg/Dietrich collaborations in the U.S. It shows both of them working at the top of their game...

Marlene Dietrich and her longtime director Josef von Sternberg really hit the jackpot with SHANGHAI EXPRESS (1932), arguably the best of their collaborations. Dietrich plays another woman with a shady past, but the all-star supporting cast and evocative photography combine in making it a must-see for Marlene admirers.

The setting is a train en route from Peking to Shanghai; it's occupants include Chinese prostitute Hui Fei (Anna May Wong), American millionaire Sam Salt (Eugene Pallette), physician Captain Donald Harvey (Clive Brook) and notorious 'coaster' Shanghai Lily (Marlene Dietrich). When the journey is interrupted by a deadly Chinese uprising led by Chang (Warner Oland), the past romance enjoyed between Lily and 'Doc' Harvey comes back into the light when she saves him from Chang's henchmen.

SHANGHAI EXPRESS, boldly and vividly shot using Josef von Sternberg's unique combination of elaborate lighting and slow camera dissolves, comes alive with lots of drama, action and bittersweet romance. Marlene Dietrich's performance as Shanghai Lily is full of dignity and poise, never once do we get the impression of Lily being a fallen woman. She's very much in control of her destiny, as opposed to Hui Fei (played by talented Anna May Wong) whose life is dictated by the path she has chosen.

Dietrich is costumed by her longtime fashion designer Travis Banton, highlighted by the gorgeous black feather ensemble she wears at the beginning and end of the movie. SHANGHAI EXPRESS tapped into movie audiences' fascination for all things Oriental in the 1930s'. That, coupled with the sleek Art Deco style of the sets, gives SHANGHAI EXPRESS it's almost insanely-glamorous look and feel.

It's a must-own for serious Marlene devotees and classic movie collectors.