Shanghai Express

Shanghai Express Photos

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Cast & Crew

Marlene Dietrich

Shanghai Lily

Clive Brook

Capt. "Doc" Harvey

Anna May Wong

Hui Fei

Warner Oland

Mr. Henry Chang

Eugene Pallette

Sam Salt

Lawrence Grant

Rev. Mr. Carmichael

Louise Closser Hale

Mrs. Haggerty

Gustave von Seyffertitz

Eric Baum

Emile Chautard

Major Lenard

Josef von Sternberg

Director

Jules Furthman

Screenwriter

Lee Garmes

Cinematographer

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Critic Reviews for Shanghai Express

Audience Reviews for Shanghai Express

• Apr 06, 2019

  Filled with iconic imagery and the narrative is surprisingly even handed for the 1930s. It throws a bunch of different people with various conflicting ideologies together but never really picks a side. There's also no moral center to the story, even the male lead is mostly just sarcastic.
  

  Super Reviewer
• Feb 15, 2018

  Marlene Dietrich is an absolute goddess in this film, let's just start with that. My god, there are just so many wonderful shots of her that it's hard to mention them all. Obviously the one where she waits in a darkened room, her face upturned to the light, fingers trembling as she wonders if Clive Brook's character will want to be with her again is beyond special. The one with her concerned face through a window, with open palm flat against the pane, is fantastic too. I also loved the scene where she stops Anna May Wong's character from committing suicide with a knife after she's been raped. And how about when she's talking with Brook over what happened to their relationship five years before, and while flicking his hat (which she's wearing) with her forefinger, playfully says "There's only one thing I wouldn't have done....I wouldn't have bobbed my hair." Dietrich plays both cool woman of the world, and broken-hearted/vulnerable very well. Her eyes dance around in many of her scenes, and director Josef von Sternberg wisely gets everything he can out of her, with interesting fashion and tight shots. Her character is expressed so perfectly early on when she tells an old lady (Louise Closser Hale) "Don't you find respectable people terribly ... dull?" In light of that, it's a bit ironic that the love of her life, Clive Brook, is so respectable and restrained. Brook's performance gets a fair bit of criticism, but to me, he turned in a strong performance. I loved how he expresses his anger and disdain in that eminently British way of his. An example is when he rebukes the missionary for questioning the morals of Dietrich and Wong by saying "You interest me, Mr. Carmichael. I'm not exactly irreligious, but being a physician, I sometimes wonder how a man like you can locate a soul, and having located it, diagnose its condition as rotten." Later he gives a thinly veiled threat to Mr. Chang, after Chang says the Governor General will be benefitted by his skill, by saying "I hope someday to have the pleasure of demonstrating my skill upon you." Brook has been thinking of Dietrich for five years and four weeks, ever since they parted, their "smash-up" as he calls it, but he talks about it stoically, and with dignity. Of course, the stoicism of both of them is taken to an extreme, and we wonder a bit why Dietrich doesn't just tell Brook why she acted as she did with Mr. Chang, in the present. There is something wonderfully old-fashioned about it, just doing the right thing, and having faith that the other person will either recognized it or just believe in you. There is so much feeling in these simple lines: Dietrich: "What makes you think I'm nervous?" Brook: "One thing, your hands are trembling." Dietrich: "That's because you touched me, Doc." The supporting cast is also strong, led by Anna May Wong, who I adore. She has less to work with here, but is riveting nonetheless. I loved every languid yet fierce look. I also loved how her character isn't a stereotype, speaking perfect English with that same touch of class and sophistication that Dietrich's does. She first shows this when she says "I must confess, I don't quite know the standard of respectability that you demand in your boarding house, Mrs. Haggerty," in polished tones. There is an international flair to the cast, with French and German mixed in with the Chinese of the locals, though the latter is incorrectly a southern dialect. I wasn't wild about Waner Oland playing Mr. Chang, the half-Chinese, half-European passenger who turns out to be the leader of the insurgents, but it's not an offensive portrayal. Hale's character is the funniest, as she fusses over her dog Waffles, hmmph's indignantly at a fellow-traveler, and says "I've never been so shocked in my life. The Chinese girl deserves all she's getting. But as for the other lady, well, I'm not going to say anything. Of all the brazen creatures, playing the gramophone. She's the most terrible woman I've ever met." That really cracked me up, the nerve, playing the gramophone. Aside from all of these wonderful characters, Josef von Sternberg's story-telling is tight, and the film is highly atmospheric. This one is a must-see from the pre-Code era.
  

  Super Reviewer
• Mar 18, 2014

  Marlene Dietrich makes this film go. Very stylish and the action is compelling.
  

  Super Reviewer
• Feb 17, 2012

  Marlene Dietrich stars as "Shanghai Lily", a woman of some ill repute traveling across China in a passenger train. The other passengers have nothing but contempt for her and her female companion (Anna May Wong). Well, everyone but Captain Harvey (Clive Brook). He and Marlene had a relationship years ago, but the Captain didn't trust her and threw her over. Since then, she's been wandering the Chinese countryside, destroying men's lives wherever she goes. When Mr. Chang (Warner Oland, known for his role as Charlie Chan) turns out to be the leader of a rebel force, we learn to what extent Marlene still loves the captain and to what extent she will go to protect him. Despite exotic locales and characters, it's Dietrich who is the sole reason for watching "Shanghai Express". She's incredibly beautiful, emotive, and her costumes are a movie unto themselves. Director Josef von Sternberg knows how to shoot his leading lady, and there are moments when Dietrich's face is as beautiful as a framed work of art.
  

  Super Reviewer