Runtime: 82 minutes
Directed by: Josef von Sternberg
Starring: Marlene Dietrich, Clive Brook, Anna May Wong, Warner Oland, Eugene Pallette
From: Paramount
As a change of pace, it seemed like the right time to see something featuring both Marlene Dietrich-who I have seen precious little of-and my first-ever Josef von Sternberg movie. They were frequent collaborators and this was selected as arguably it was their most famous work together.
By description the plot sounds simple: several people interact with each other on a train to Shanghai, China in 1931. Of course the majority are white but that is Hollywood for you. The Chinese Civil War is a critical plot point; to be clear, except for 1937-1945 when World War II happened, this conflict lasted from 1927 all the way to 1949, when Red China started . In actuality, it is more complicated: Dietrich is Shanghai Lily; her and Anna May Wong are “ladies of the night”, a detail that naturally is strongly hinted at without being explicitly stated. Also naturally, the other characters typically look at them wary... this includes a half-Chinese man who of course is played by the all-white Warner Oland-later to portray Charlie Chan-a German who claims to be an invalid, and an old woman obsessed with her little dog WAFFLES.
It was fascinating to see all those different personalities and how each combination was different, keeping it interesting; yes there are romantic entanglements. Of course, the salacious Pre-Code moments also perform that function. Specific plot details I'd rather not reveal, nor all the subtext that is present; instead I'll mention that Dietrich was framed perfectly throughout and it was clear why for a few years she was a huge star. Then again, Wong was also great in her role; as others have noted, it does help make up for male lead Clive Brook being charisma deficient. Sometime in the future-as in a long ways away-I'll see more of this star/director combo, as they did six other pictures together.
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