IMDb > The Lady from Shanghai (1947)
The Lady from Shanghai
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The Lady from Shanghai (1947) More at IMDbPro »

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The Lady from Shanghai (1947) -- Trailer for this murder mystery starring Rita Hayworth

Overview

User Rating:
7.8/10   7,250 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Down 8% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Writers:
Sherwood King (story)
Orson Welles (screenplay)
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Contact:
View company contact information for The Lady from Shanghai on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
9 June 1948 (USA) more
Tagline:
One who keeps his nature keeps his original nature in the end. more
Plot:
Fascinated by gorgeous Mrs. Bannister, seaman Michael O'Hara joins a bizarre yachting cruise, and ends up mired in a complex murder plot. full summary | add synopsis
Plot Keywords:
NewsDesk:
(5 articles)
Monologue - Femme Fatale.
 (From FilmExperience. 7 December 2009, 9:00 AM, PST)

What's On Tonight: House, Good Eats, One Tree Hill, Rita Rocks
 (From AOL - TVSquad. 30 November 2009, 9:14 AM, PST)

User Reviews:
A Noir Experience more (104 total)

Cast

  (Complete credited cast)

Rita Hayworth ... Elsa Bannister

Orson Welles ... Michael O'Hara
Everett Sloane ... Arthur Bannister
Glenn Anders ... George Grisby
Ted de Corsia ... Sidney Broome (as Ted De Corsia)
Erskine Sanford ... Judge
Gus Schilling ... 'Goldie' Goldfish

Carl Frank ... District Attorney Galloway
Louis Merrill ... Jake
Evelyn Ellis ... Bessie (Bannister maid)
Harry Shannon ... Cab Driver
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Additional Details

Also Known As:
Black Irish (USA) (working title)
Take This Woman (USA) (working title)
The Girl from Shanghai (USA) (working title)
more
Runtime:
87 min | Germany:79 min | UK:92 min (original release)
Country:
Language:
Aspect Ratio:
1.37 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Mono (Western Electric Recording)
Certification:
UK:A (original rating) (1948) | Argentina:13 | Australia:PG | Chile:14 | Finland:K-16 | Germany:12 | Sweden:15 | UK:PG | USA:Approved (certificate #12111)

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
According to Orson Welles, this film grew out of an act of pure desperation. Welles, whose Mercury Theatre company produced a musical version of "Around the World in 80 Days," was in desperate need of money just before the Boston Preview. Mere hours before the show was due to open, the costumes had been impounded and unless Welles could come up with $55,000 to pay outstanding debts, the performance would have to be canceled. Stumbling upon a copy of "The Man I Killed," the novel upon which this film is based, Welles phoned Harry Cohn, instructing him to buy the rights to the novel and offering to write, direct and star in the film so long as Cohn would send $55,000 to Boston within two hours. The money arrived, and the production went on as planned. more
Goofs:
Continuity: The break on the driver's side of the windshield of Grisby's car vanishes. more
Quotes:
Mrs. Elsa 'Rosalie' Bannister: You need more than luck in Shanghai. more
Movie Connections:
Featured in Eat a Bowl of Tea (1989) more
Soundtrack:
Amado Mio more

FAQ

How much sex, violence, and profanity are in this movie?
A Note Regarding Spoilers
Is "The Lady from Shanghai" based on a book?
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11 out of 12 people found the following review useful.
A Noir Experience, 23 March 2003
8/10
Author: Nathan Lorenz (objxs) from Oklahoma City USA

Made in 1946 and released in 1948, The Lady and Shanghai was one of the big films made by Welles after returning from relative exile for making Citizen Kane. Dark, brooding and expressing some early Cold War paranoia, this film stands tall as a Film-Noir crime film. The cinematography of this film is filled with Welles' characteristic quirks of odd angles, quick cuts, long pans and sinister lighting. The use of ambient street music is a precursor to the incredible long opening shot in Touch of Evil, and the mysterious Chinese characters and the sequences in Chinatown can only be considered as the inspiration, in many ways, to Roman Polanski's Chinatown. Unfortunately, it is Welles' obsession with technical filmmaking that hurts this film in its entirety. The plot of this story is often lost behind a sometimes incomprehensible clutter of film techniques.

However, despite this criticism, the story combined with wonderful performances by Welles, Hayworth and especially Glenn Anders (Laughter) make this film a joy to watch. Orson Welles pulls off not only the Irish brogue, but the torn identities as the honest but dangerous sailor. Rita Hayworth, who was married to Welles at the time, breaks with her usual roles as a sex goddess and takes on a role of real depth and contradictions. Finally, Glenn Anders strange and bizarre portrayal or Elsa's husbands' law partner is nothing short of classic!

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Message Boards

Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for The Lady from Shanghai (1947)
Recent Posts (updated daily)User
What, exactly, was the plot Grisby was trying to hatch? stills-6
Was Welles Separated at Birth from... Gluck-3
What a complete and utter mess morrowmmm
Scene in Chinese puppet theater svengali12
It's so bad it's GREAT! Plot, accents, etc... Felonious-Punk
TRIVIA: What ethnicity is Orson Welle's CHARACTER in this movie??? weirdal_27-1
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