Film Noir February: The Lady From Shanghai (1947)

This month we examine film noir featuring a variety of leading ladies known for the genre.

RODNEY BOWCOCK: Here is a movie that you’ve probably seen if you’re reading this blog, but if not, here goes. Michael O’ Hara (Orson Welles) is an Irish sailor who meets a woman named Elsa (Rita Hayworth) and saves her from a gang that attempts to rob the coach that she is riding in.

SAMANTHA GLASSER: This scene reminded me of The Strawberry Blonde when people would go trolling for members of the opposite sex, the women showing themselves off in carriages and the men attempting to catch their attention without being too forward. It was an old fashioned and quaint way to start a film that is not even the slightest bit old fashioned or quaint. 

RB: To show her appreciation, Elsa invites Michael to work on the yacht of her husband, Arthur (Everett Sloan), as they sail to San Francisco via the Panama Canal.

After a short time, they are joined by George Grisby (Glenn Anders), who proposes to O’Hara a ludicrous plan to fake his own death pinning the blame on O’Shea, but since there would be no body, it wouldn’t be possible for O’Shea to be convicted. Hoping to use his payment from this ruse for him and Elsa, Michael signs a confession, only to learn that he has not been informed of the entire plan and things are about to go kablooey.

SG: Elsa is shown to be suspicious from the start. In her carriage she claims she doesn't smoke, but we see her puffing away soon enough. She is beautiful but dangerous.

RB: Welles loved to claim that he had pitched the story to Harry Cohn, then head of Columbia, based purely on the title of a book that he saw backstage during an adaptation of Around the World in Eighty Days that he was producing on Broadway. However, it’s more likely that the story was actually discovered by William Castle who had asked Welles to pitch the project to Cohn and suggest that Castle direct it. Instead, Welles pitched the story and accepted the directorial assignment himself, relegating Castle to assistant director.

SG: I could see William Castle making this movie. It wouldn't have the same style, of course. This movie has a languid, steamy quality that indicates sexual tension and uncomfortable circumstances. Though these people are traveling on a yacht and attempting to enjoy themselves, no one seems relaxed or happy. 

RB: Welles shot the film without closeups as a stylistic choice for his (then) 155 minute film. Cohn was incensed over this choice (as was he about Rita’s new short blonde hair, which he claimed to have been unaware of) and had the film severely recut and edited. Most of the closeups of Rita, which an unaware viewer would see as a love letter from Welles to his then wife, were ordered without his involvement. Orson had grown bored with Rita and the two would divorce shortly after the release of the film.

SG: We met them at the beginning of their marriage when we covered Cover Girl and now here we are at the end. Unfortunately for many glamorous Hollywood actresses, they jumped into marriages with men who didn't understand the difference between their screen persona and the woman inside. Welles was disappointed that Hayworth was a person, and not an ideal.

I can't say they have superior chemistry in the film. I believe there is an attraction there, but it isn't more potent than other film infatuations. 

The close-ups are impressive, and the film looks like Citizen Kane in many ways. He gets so close sometimes it is unnerving, which adds to the general ickiness of the plot. In one shot on the yacht, the camera is so close on Welles he isn't in focus, but after a few seconds we see that we are meant to be watching a small speedboat approaching, which is crystal clear. 

RB: Something that really sets this film apart is how much of it is shot on location (something else that the notoriously budget minded Harry Cohn didn’t care for). In addition to dozens of real locations in San Francisco, the production also rented Errol Flynn’s yacht and filmed in Sausalito, which gives the film a lush, expensive look. And of course there is also the famous fun house climax scene, which runs a compact and exciting three minutes (cut from the 20+ minutes that Welles had intended).

SG: When I was in college, we watched only the fun house ending. I hate when teachers and documentaries spoil endings. I don't care how incredible they are. For that reason, I have avoided this movie for years. I'm glad the blog forced me to sit down and watch it.

In spite of Welles' reputation for meticulously crafted films, I was surprised by how much of the dialogue was dubbed in later. The actors' lips often don't match what they're saying. Additionally, the scene in the aquarium made me laugh not because it was funny, but because the tanks were actually projections of footage of sea animals, and they were often outrageously out of proportion with the actors in front of them. 

RB: The film was maligned in its day. “This was a box office flop. Didn't take at all,” stated Harald Rankin of the Erie Theatre in Wheatley, Ontario. “This didn't do business although it was well advertised. It didn't go over,” noted Harland again over at the Beau Theatre in Belle River, Ontario. Reviewing the film in the Cincinnati Enquirer, it was noted that the film contains “Fantastic intrigue, nightmarish violence, incredible corn and yackety commentary.”

However, it may have been ahead of its’ time. These days it's considered one of the best movies ever made, maybe more due to how stylish it is instead of the actual plot. It’s also influenced films by other directors and scenes from it were used in Woody Allen’s very good 1993 effort Manhattan Murder Mystery.

RB: For my part, Welles’ Irish brogue is so absurd that I simply can’t call it a five-star film, but besides that, it’s awfully close. Four and a half stars.

SG: Not only is this a visually appealing movie, the story is exciting and full of twists. Ultimately, that's why I enjoyed the movie. Even if you don't care about the bells and whistles, you will be entertained. Four stars.