Fresh
The finished product is an example of what can be done with a personality and photogenic face such as Marlene Dietrich possesses to circumvent a trashy story.
Variety Staff, Variety
Shanghai Express
Many Men Had Loved Her -- but only one had been loved in return!
1932 · 1h 22m · Approved
Drama, Romance, War
Directed by
Josef von Sternberg
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Shanghai Express
Overview
A beautiful temptress re-kindles an old romance while trying to escape her past during a tension-packed train journey.
Director and cast
- Josef von Sternberg Director
- Marlene Dietrich as Shanghai Lily
- Clive Brook as Captain Donald 'Doc' Harvey
- Anna May Wong as Hui Fei
- Warner Oland as Mr. Henry Chang
- Eugene Pallette as Sam Salt
- Lawrence Grant as Reverend Mr. Carmichael
- Louise Closser Hale as Mrs. Haggerty
- Gustav von Seyffertitz as Eric Baum
- Émile Chautard as Major Lenard
- George Blagoi Cast
Critics on Rotten Tomatoes
Top critics, in their words
96%
Tomatometer
Fresh
It is by all odds the best picture Josef von Sternberg has directed.
Mordaunt Hall, New York Times
Fresh
More action oriented than the other Dietrich-Sternberg films, this 1932 production is nevertheless one of the most elegantly styled.
Dave Kehr, Chicago Reader
Fresh
Shanghai Express is a picture of the new school, and when Marlene Dietrich promises Warner Oland to visit him at his castle if he will refrain from destroying Clive Brook's eyesight with a red hot poker, you will not find the situation banal.
TIME Magazine
Fresh
The bizarre stop-go cadences of the dialogue delivery are the most blatantly non-naturalistic element, but the overall design and dramatic pacing are equally extraordinary.
Time Out
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