Shanghai Express

Shanghai Express is another von Sternberg masterpiece, probably not appreciated in his day (no academy awards) and lesser known that it should be in this day. Film theory says this film was an attempt to shade degrees of blackness. At one point, Marlene Dietrich's face blooms like a white flower out of the shadows, then closes again.

Beautiful is not a big enough word enough to describe the cinematography in Shanghai Express. The plot is dreamlike and unrealistic (Sternberg hated realism), the costumes are excessive (impossible to contain in Dietrich's supposed luggage), the atmosphere is deliciously layered with decadence, exoticism (good part for Anna Mae Wong) and deterioration (broken walls, slats and fantasies), punctuated by von Sternberg's caprice (chickens wandering in front of the train -- a symbol of Dietrich's husband's profession as a chicken farmer?).

The storyline is basically a broken romance seeking to be healed between Clive Brook and Dietrich or "Shanghai Lily," the naughty lady who has sold her body the past few years to keep herself in glittery costumes and furs.

The real "story" is "Dietrich and von Sternberg visit China" on some movie lot, on their way from or to Russia (The Scarlet Empress), Spain (The Devil is a Woman), North Africa (Morocco), or somewhere in the U.S. (Blonde Venus).

Gorgeous and lots of fun!

Fourth out of seven Dietrich-von Sternberg's collaborations, SHANGHAI EXPRESS confirms with Hollywood's habitually insensitive appropriation of exotic stories, this time, the victim is a civil war-ridden China, the entire film sets during the treacherous journey of the titular express, chugging from Beijing to Shanghai, but apparently, von Sternberg cannot lay his hands on finding enough Mandarin-speaking extras, so all the Chinese bit players are sporting Cantonese with a weird accent that even confounds this reviewer's Chinese ears, and some of them are occasionally being manhandled unceremoniously, notably in an earlier scene by a miffed Charlie Chan, no, actually it is Henry Chang (Oland), an Eurasian warlord of Chinese rebellions with a costly price tag on his head.

Essentially, the movie is Ms. Dietrich's star vehicle, kit up with astounding sartorial creations from Travis Banton, and looks gorgeously photogenic under von Sternberg's meticulous coordination, she plays a courtesan named Shanghai Lily, of all people, she chances upon her ex-lover, British Captain Donald "Doc" Harvey (a stiff upper-lipped Brook) on the express, while the pair's romance duly begins to rekindle, Chang and his rebellious rabble hijacks the train and detains Doc as a valuable hostage, soon, it falls to two women's hands to take the situation out of jeopardy, one is Shanghai Lily, who acquiesces to Chang's commander for the sake of Doc's safety, another is her companion, a Chinese working girl Hui Fei (a piercing-looking Wong, the first Chinese-American star in Hollywood), who successfully lands on her feet after a vengeful assassination.

Sardonically, the rest western passengers are more or less one-note laughing-stocks, casual scorn is cast upon an opium merchant and self-professed "invalid" Eric Baum (von Seyffertitz), a priggish Reverend Carmichael (Grant) and a congenital bettor Sam Salt (Pallette), whereas Henry Chang is accountable for all the contempt, conversely it is the gamble of love and faith that transpires after its torpid escape hubbub, and it is Shanghai Lily's clandestine repentance finally softens the film's cynical temperament and veers into the usual trajectory of a cheesy romance, but what an extravaganza is on show, von Sternberg's expressionistic idiom would totally normalize the standards we view movies even today, whether it concerns narrative cohesion, the marshaling of a huge set, or spectacular montage arrangements, no wonder audience at that time could rapturously fall under his spell, SHANGHAI EXPRESS is the highest grossing movie of 1932, even today, it demands our collective gaze.

I have a soft spot in my heart for movies about trains and about other modes of transportation as well, but there's something very special about a train when it is properly handled for the cinema. I could go through a very long list of films featuring trains that I love and that were produced over a long span of time, but I won't, and you'll thank me for that. I've added this gem to the top of that list, or at least near the top.

Despite the fact that the entire film is produced in either a Hollywood lot or a train depot in San Bernardino, I feel that I am in China during very turbulent and dangerous times. Thanks to the special skills of director Josef von Sternberg, the prevailing sense of impending peril is very strong. Warner Oland, although not even half Chinese, is very convincing as the menacing rebel leader. The rest of the cast is excellent as well. Both Dietrich and Brook project an outward appearance of stiffness and toughness to the dangerous world around them, but we learn along the hazardous and uncertain journey that their exterior façade is nothing but a thin disguise, and there lies a very vulnerable humanity deep within both of them. Dietrich gives another one of her many fascinating performances, full of psychological complexity. I love her.

I don't understand all of the harsh criticism of Clive Brook among the user reviews here that he is too wooden and mechanical. That is exactly the way he was supposed to play the role of a military doctor living in a world full of danger and of extreme hostility that is specifically aimed at him and his uniform. If we watch him closely, we will observe the decent, compassionate man behind the uniform. I thought that Dietrich and Brook make a smashing couple, especially when their outward and superficial veneer crumbles before our very eyes. This is good stuff!

The beautiful and mysterious Ana May Wong also provides complexity and depth to her deceiving, outward impression as Lily's courtesan companion, Hui Fei. Again, we must not judge Hui Fei based on her exterior demeanor alone because deep within her lies a very brave and determined dedication to her country and to her society. Her exchanges with Mrs. Hegarty (Louise Closser Hale), the prim and proper boarding house owner, are most entertaining. I'm usually not focused on hairdos, but check these out, especially Hegarty's. Holy mackerel.

As you will see, none of the characters are what they seem to be at first glance. That is only part of what intrigues me about this movie. Please don't miss this extraordinary train, which only leaves the station on rare occasions. If you don't appreciate the ride as much as I do, you can always get off when the next cow decides to wander into its path but, considering the danger lurking in every direction, you will probably be safer on it than off it. Be forewarned and sit tight until the end. You won't be disappointed.

I saw this movie a long time ago and parts of it really stuck with me, but I couldn't even remember the name until I came across it recently. I think, part of the effect of the movie was the sultry Marlene Dietrich, but what I didn't realize is that this movie is so full of atmosphere and rich in texture that it stays with you no matter who is in it. To be honest, most of the acting in this film is pretty wooden. Dietrich rises above all others with her ability to convey her feelings through the camera. More than anything, this film's look and feel are what really make this film work; and to some degree the lighting and directing aid Dietrich's acting. Joseph Von Sternberg directed this film about a group of passengers traveling via train during a Chinese civil war. The passengers all have their own stories, but none is as interesting as the story of Shanghai Lilly (Dietrich) and her romance with the British officer Captain "Doc" Harvey (Clive Brook). Von Sternberg uses light and shadow to highlight different characters and the character's feelings long before anyone else used this technique to such a large degree. There are marvelous images of Dietrich, Anna May Wong and Warner Oland as a rather mysterious and possibly sinister train passenger that really make this movie click. Film students should be required to see this movie for the simplicity of the story and the complexity of the filming. I'd like to say no scene is wasted, but there are a couple scenes that seemed extraneous. Overall though, this is a classic movie that was way ahead of it's time. I wasn't really familiar with Von Sternberg until I went back and watched this movie again. Now I own the DVD and I watch it periodically to remind myself of Dietrich's allure and Von Sternberg's masterful direction.

Shanghai Express is directed by Josef von Sternberg and written by Jules Furthman (adaptation) & Harry Hervey (story). It stars Marlene Dietrich, Clive Brooks, Anna May Wong, Warner Oland, Eugene Palette and Lawrence Grant. Music is by W. Franke Harling & Rudoplh G. Kopp and cinematography by Lee Garmes.

Plot finds Shanghai Lily (Dietrich) meeting up with old flame Donald Harvey (Brooks) aboard the Shanghai Express during the Chinese Civil War in 1931. However, this train has many passengers with secrets to hide, so when some rebels ambush the train, such things as loyalties, friendships, hidden motives and the birthing of legends come to the fore.

Stylishly crafted by Sternberg and brisker than the other collaborations with Dietrich, Shanghai Express thrives on atmospheric visuals, strong scripting and a sultry turn from the leading lady. The cramped confines of the train allow Sternberg to dally with trademark shadows, smoke and shafts of light for maximum effect, garnering Garmes an Oscar in the process, while there is deft deadpannery amongst the myriad of intriguing characters.

Quality film making on both sides of the camera and also off of the writers desk. 8/10