The Shanghai Gesture (1941)

Director:

Josef von Sternberg

Writers:

John Colton (play)
Josef von Sternberg (adaptation)

Release Date:

15 January 1942 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Film-Noir

Tagline:

"POPPY"...the Victim of Vengeance! Her love of life and laughter led her to a most amazing doom!

Plot:

A young woman, Poppy, out for excitement in Shanghai, enters a gambling house owned by "Mother" Gin Sling...

Plot Keywords:

Chinese New Year | Gambling | Casino | Revenge | Dinner Party

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Oscars.

Cast

Gene Tierney	...	Victoria Charteris
Walter Huston	...	Sir Guy Charteris
Victor Mature	...	Doctor Omar
Ona Munson	...	'Mother' Gin Sling
Phyllis Brooks	...	Dixie Pomeroy
Albert Bassermann	...	Van Elst
Maria Ouspenskaya	...	The Amah
Eric Blore	...	Caesar Hawkins
Ivan Lebedeff	...	Boris
Mike Mazurki	...	The Coolie
Clyde Fillmore	...	Percival Montgomery Hower
Grayce Hampton	...	Lady Blessington
Rex Evans	...	Mr. Jackson
Mikhail Rasumny	...	Mischa Vaginisky (as Mikhail Rasumni)
Michael Dalmatoff	...	The Bartender (as Michael Delmatoff)

Runtime:

99 min (copyright length) | USA:98 min (restored version) (1981)

Country:

USA

Language:

English | French

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Mirrophonic Recording)

Certification:

Finland:K-16 | USA:Approved (PCA #7972)

Filming Locations:

Chinatown, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Arnold Pressburger Films

Trivia:

In the play, the setting was a brothel run by "Mother Goddam", who was once sold into prostitution, and it dealt with drug addition and nymphomania as well. Many initial adaptations of the original play were rejected by the Hays office, and they discouraged studios from making the film. The Chinese consulate also voiced objections to the portrayal of the Chinese in the play.

Quotes:

'Mother' Gin Sling: [on being a sex slave] My soles cut open and pebbles sewn inside to keep me from running away!

Movie Connections:

Featured in La société du spectacle (1973)

Soundtrack:

I'm Always Chasing Rainbows

Much better than some reviewers would have you think.

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.