A notorious woman rides a train through a dangerous situation with a British captain she loved.A notorious woman rides a train through a dangerous situation with a British captain she loved.A notorious woman rides a train through a dangerous situation with a British captain she loved.
- Won 1 Oscar
- 1 win & 2 nominations total
George Blagoi
- Minor Role
- (uncredited)
Leonard Carey
- Carey
- (uncredited)
George Chung
- Chinese Soldier
- (uncredited)
Wong Chung
- Chinese Officer Checking Passports
- (uncredited)
Jack Deery
- British Officer at Shanghai
- (uncredited)
Herbert Evans
- British Railway Officer
- (uncredited)
Bess Flowers
- Undetermined Secondary Role
- (uncredited)
Willie Fung
- Train Engineer
- (uncredited)
Tom Gubbins
- Chinese Officer
- (uncredited)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThe extras in the film mostly speak Cantonese - a Chinese dialect used mainly in southern China. If the film were to be more accurate, the extras would speak Mandarin, but most Chinese residents in the Los Angeles area (who worked as film extras) spoke Cantonese, necessitating Josef von Sternberg use Cantonese.
- GoofsThe film is set in northern China (Peking to Shanghai). The government and warlord soldiers are speaking Taishanese, which is a southern Chinese dialect not generally spoken in northern China. The northern dialects of Mandarin Chinese (a Beijing dialect) and/or Shanghainese would be spoken instead.
- Quotes
Reverend Mr. Carmichael: Can you tell me what's wrong now?
Mr. Henry Chang: You're in China now, sir, where time and life have no value.
- Alternate versionsComments in the AFI Catalogue suggest the credits were changed when re-released in 1935. According to the Catalogue, the original print referred to Harry Herveys work as a novel. In the viewed print on TCM, the onscreen credit was "story." The print was clearly a re-released print because of the PCA certificate number listed onscreen; such numbers were not issued until 1934. It is not known what other changes were made, if any, but the print ran only 82 minutes, suggesting some additional editing had been done.
- ConnectionsFeatured in Without Regret (1935)
Featured review
When I needed your faith, you withheld it; and now, when I don't need it, and don't deserve it, you give it to me.
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
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
helpful•121
- hitchcockthelegend
- May 4, 2012
- How long is Shanghai Express?Powered by Alexa
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Languages
- Also known as
- Ekspres za Šangaj
- Filming locations
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
- Runtime1 hour 22 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.37 : 1
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