Shanghai Express (1932)

Shanghai Express (1932)

starring Marlene Dietrich, Clive Brook, Anna May Wong

directed by Josef bon Sternberg

82 minutes

A group of passengers travel by train from Peking (Beijing) to Shanghai. Shanghai Lily (Marlene Dietrich) and Captain Donald Harvey (Clive Brook), former lovers who find themselves in proximity to one another for the first time in five years, are two of the passengers. Chang, one of the other passengers and the leader of a rebel army who hopes to overthrow the Chinese government. Chang takes the train hostage. 

Chang expresses an interest in Lily but she rebuffs his advances. Harvey lets his fist do the talking when he sees Change lay hands on his former lover. Chang decides to hold Harvey hostage once he learns that Harvey, an officer in the British Army, is a surgeon and on his way to Shanghai to operate on an important leader of the government that he seeks to overthrow. 

Lily, still in love with Harvey, offers herself as a substitute for Harvey without telling him. 

Thoughts

There are very few moments in this movie where the dialogue seemed to rise to the occasion for more than a brief moment. It is as if the director was used to making silent movies and had yet to grasp the importance of the spoken word in the relatively new era of talking films.

There is a definite lack of chemistry between Lily and Harvey.

Warner Oland played the part of Chang. He was a Swedish actor who spent a good part of his career playing Chinese characters. He is best known for having played the part of Charlie Chan in 15 films.  

Anna May Wong played the part of Hui Fei, who shares a compartment with Lily on the train. She also attracts the attention of Chang. It is implied that he rapes her before Lily offers herself to Chang in exchange for Harvey's freedom.  

I have seen Marlene Dietrich in a number of other movies but this is probably the first one that she has been in that I have seen in over 20 years. It is also the earliest of her movies that I have seen.

This movie was nominated for three Academy Awards. Cinematographer Lee Garmes won the Academy Award for Best Cinematography. The movie was nominated for Best Pictures but the award went to Grand Hotel. Josef von Sternberg was nominated for Best Director but that award went to Frank Borzage for Bad Girl (1932). 

There was nothing in the way of extras on the DVD of Shanghai Express that I borrowed from the library.

I stuck with it to the end even thought this movie was very little to keep my interest. It was, thankfully, fairly short.