The Shanghai Gesture

"Mystery-lure of the Far East!"

1941 1h 39m EN

😐

6.3

MID

★6.3TMDB · 77

DramaCrimeMysteryRomance

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

A gambling queen uses blackmail to stop a British financier from closing her Chinese clip joint.

“Mystery-lure of the Far East!”

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Cast

Victor Mature
Doctor Omar
Ona Munson
'Mother' Gin Sling
Gene Tierney
Victoria Charteris (aka "Poppy Smith")
Walter Huston
Sir Guy Charteris
Phyllis Brooks
Dixie Pomeroy
Albert Bassermann
Van Elst
Maria Ouspenskaya
The Amah
Eric Blore
Caesar Hawkins

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Josef von Sternberg
Writers: Josef von Sternberg, Geza Herczeg, Jules Furthman
Languages: Mandarin, English, French, Russian, Spanish
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

ERA

Did you know

85 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 5 languages: Mandarin, English, French, Russian, Spanish.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Josef von Sternberg, shot by Paul Ivano. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Richard Hageman. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

AWARDS

Did you know

Editor Sam Winston shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Victor Mature and Ona Munson and Gene Tierney carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "Mystery-lure of the Far East!".

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0034175 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Josef von Sternberg directs. Paul Ivano behind the camera. Richard Hageman scores. Sam Winston cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in Mandarin, English, French, Russian, Spanish.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

185 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
2Dialogue crosses 5 languages: Mandarin, English, French, Russian, Spanish.
3Directed by Josef von Sternberg, shot by Paul Ivano. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by Richard Hageman. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor Sam Winston shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Victor Mature and Ona Munson and Gene Tierney carry the top of the cast.
7Marketing tagline: "Mystery-lure of the Far East!".
8IMDB entry: tt0034175 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
9Only 77 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

The technical file

Cinematography: Paul Ivano
Original score: Richard Hageman
Editing: Sam Winston
Runtime: 99 min · 1h 39m
Status: Released
Original language: EN
Certification (US): NR
IMDB: The Shanghai Gesture (1941)

Also by

Josef von Sternberg

Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2023-01-08
★ 6/10
"Sir Guy Charteris" (Walter Huston) is an entrepreneurial British developer who has his eyes on the gin-palace of "Mother Gin Sling" (Ona Munson). The latter woman is running her successful den of iniquity and has no intention of acquiescing to the venal aspirations of her new nemesis. Determined to fight back, she enlists the help of the rather unscrupulous "Dr. Omar" (a rather mis-cast Victor Mature) to ensure that "Poppy" (Gene Tierney) - the daughter of "Charteris" - is introduced to the delightful effects of opium! The story becomes further complicated when it transpires that there is a personal history between the millionaire and the casino owner - and soon a plan is afoot to bring down retribution on his head. This has the look of an older "Charlie Chan" film to it, one without the charisma of Warner Oland or Sydney Toler. The scenarios are all very predictable and there is far too much dialogue as the tale meanders along for an over-long ninety minutes before a rather underwhelming, melodramatic, conclusion. Despite her relatively lowly billing, the films belongs to Munson when she appears, otherwise it's all pretty procedural daytime fayre.

Production companies