The Lady From Shanghai (1947) Review
The Lady From Shanghai opens up with a shaky narration from the protagonist Michael O’Hara (played by the director, writer, and producer, Orson Welles). He describes the femme fatale of this tale Elsa Bannister (played by the incredible and then wife of Orson, Rita Hayworth). Welle’s narration and direction capture the beauty of Hayworth’s character and paint a more untrustworthy feeling around her. The initial scenes for these character introductions are incredibly messy between the delivered dialogue and staging of the whole thing, but that does not detract from the giant hook that digs into your chest and propels you forward through the rest of the film.
Being one of the first films to be filmed almost entirely on location, Welles and his crew of Charles Lawton Jr, Rudolph Mate, and Joseph Walker bring incredible shots of the world around this mystery and the tone that it sets brings the audience further into the world. O’Hara needs to be incredibly charming & seemingly indifferent to the actions around him. This is Welle’s strength as an actor. In his young age, he effortlessly can charm an audience, bringing their defenses down. I think it was smart of them to cast Everett Sloane, Glenn Anders, and Ted de Corsia as the other main players to turn up the charm of Hayworth and Welles. None of these men are ugly, but they are not the ideal heartthrobs either. Also knowing Hayworth and Welles were married, even though it was near the end of that marriage, again helps their chemistry and the sexual tension on the screen. Welles stated at one point that Hayworth was “one of the dearest & sweetest women that ever lived”.
The mystery within the film is a slow burn. It does not really even start until about two-thirds of the way through, but the first two-thirds of the film develop incredible tension. The classic noir setup of who knows what about who seeps through the entire first two-thirds of the film. Once the hammer falls and the setup is executed. Welles slams his foot on the gas and lets the audience catch up on their own time. This leads to the climactic and famous scene within a hall of mirrors. One of the best scenes in any noir in my honest opinion. It’s tense, hard to parse, and beautiful which all leads to a classic noir conclusion.
The script by Welles, William Castle, Charles Lederer, and Fletcher Markle is tight and strong after the first few scenes. O’Hara gets most of the good lines as usual for the noir genre, but Elsa is not a slouch in the film. I have not read the original novel by Raymond Sherwood King, but it seems that they are quite similar. The way every moment is framed within The Lady from Shanghai, it wouldn’t surprise me if Robert Altman did not use it as the main inspiration for his adaptation of “The Long Goodbye” (which might be my favorite noir film).
There is no denying the legacy of this film. Although, in my reading of it, it seemed ill-received at the time, this is a film that was game-changing for filmmaking in the future just like Welle’s Citizen Kane before it and Touch of Evil, The Trail, & F for Fake after it. The Lady of Shanghai is essential noir homework (but loads more fun than actual homework). -8.5/10
