Let's be realistic.

Instant Favorite.

I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.

A clunky actioner with a handful of cool moments.

The one who survives in the end is no fool, Michael O'Hara. And don't you forget that.For me, this film is a visual feast, a cinematic adventure that is totally unpredictable in its roller coaster ride of deadly twists and turns. While the plot may seem confusing at first, it really isn't when the viewer considers that nutty Grisby's original plan went awry not once but at least twice. The adventure begins with an attack on a buggy in the middle of Central Park and then wanders down the sweltering coast of Mexico to Acapulco, up to the Sausalito waterfront, to an aquarium rendezvous where the size of wild sea life is notably exaggerated, to the unexpected destruction of a judicial chamber, through San Francisco's Chinatown including an escapade during a live production at the Mandarin Chinese Theatre, and a finale in the "crazy house" of an abandoned amusement park. So, what can be boring?Added to these high value visuals is the most appealing image of none other than Rita Hayworth sans her lustrous red hair, which has been drastically shorn and dyed platinum blonde. Anyone coming to the theatre in 1948 expecting Gilda of 1946 to appear was in for a shock, as I surely was decades later. And what exactly was Elsa Banister's connection to Shanghai? I had completely forgotten about the intriguing title until she suddenly erupts into Cantonese with the local population while fleeing through the streets of Chinatown. I very clearly understood Dietrich's and Wong's relationship to Shanghai in another movie, but Elsa's totally evaded me. I decided that it was just one more deliberate distraction to prevent us from closely following the plotted sequence of events, as if that would make any difference.Columbia executive Harry Cohn has been frequently criticized for reducing the length of the film from its original 155 minutes (that's over 2 1/2 hours, folks!) to its present 97 minutes, but I blame Welles more than Cohn for a film that had become unwieldy and excessively long. I was just fine with the final duration. I didn't feel that I needed any more exposure to sleeziness, duplicity, depravity, and degeneracy that what had already been offered. The human race is despicable and disgusting to its core. Got it, Orson!As to Welles' forced Irish brogue, as long as Cohn was rearranging the furniture, couldn't Mike O'Hara be just a regular guy from Kenosha, Wisconsin, which happens to be located on a very large lake that would lend itself to Mike's credibility as a skilled sailor. Did we really need Mike's superimposed Irish accent or was that just another deliberate idiosyncrasy among so many others here? Run, Mike, run, but, alas, there is no freedom from trouble, at least not for you, buddy. Trouble seems to follow you where ever you happen to find yourself. Nevertheless, you may pretend to be a fool, but you're truly a survivor, dude. You're like a cat with nine lives.

Boxer Mohammed Ali's reputation and super-confident show-boating in the ring used to over-awe opponents before a punch was thrown. And any appearance of Orson Welles seems to have a similar effect on reviewers - a page full of his oeuvre and comparisons therein. I've always taken Orson Welles as I found him without necessarily assuming he is the worlds greatest actor and or director.Here his acting is not especially good, not for the first time he has difficulty fitting his dramatic girth into a lesser figure, this time the Irishman - or rather Hoirishman - Mike, the well travelled drifter who knew danger when he saw it yet couldn't do a damned thing to stop himself. Yet perhaps Welles was stepping aside as an actor and giving the stage to the others. It is not the plot as such that grips, its the chemistry of the trio. It takes a certain worldliness and imagination to connect great beauty with great danger. It's the things that great beauty can make men do -the jealousy, competition to a murderous degree or to take self-annihilating risks.It is that same elemental male instinct which has animal rivals fight to the death over a female. Welles clearly knows first hand and it shows - Rita Hayworth never smouldered more. Everet Sloane, the crippled rich husband, manages to put such an edge on his term of endearment, "Love-er" for and to his wife as to constantly provoke doubts if he really is the easy cuckold or rather a cynical arch-manipulator. The oddball Grisby with his seemingly insane scheme. There is a constant pervasive discordant edginess perfectly evoked causing alarm bells to constantly ring in the audiences ears.It's this rather than any standard film criticism judgements which deeply impresses A 7.5

This classic film opens with sailor Michael O'Hara rescuing beautiful blonde Elsa 'Rosalie' Bannister from a group of muggers in Central Park. Afterwards as he takes her home he tells her that he is a sailor and she offers him a job crewing her husband's yacht which the couple plan to sail from New York to San Francisco by way of the Caribbean and the Panama Canal. Initially he isn't keen to take the job but eventually he takes in and joins the Bannisters and their friend George Grisby on their voyage. As time passes it is clear that Michael is developing feelings for Elsa; something George has clearly noticed. Then George approaches him with a very strange proposition; he wants to pay Michael $5,000 to murder him! Actually he wants Michael to tell the police that he killed him so he can start a new life on the insurance money, he assures Michael that without a body he can't be prosecuted. Of course it doesn't go as Michael hoped and he finds himself on trial for his life with Rosalie's husband, a renowned defence attorney, representing him.Fans of film noir are sure to like this as is has all the hallmarks of the genre; murder, a twisting plot and most importantly a beautiful femme fatale. Orson Welles does a solid job as Michael, the ordinary man caught up in a deadly scheme, even if his Irish accent seems a bit off. Rita Hayworth is impressive as Rosalie, a woman more dangerous than she appears, Everett Sloane is good as her husband Arthur as is Glenn Anders as George. The story starts relatively slowly, giving us time to get to know the characters then quickly picks up the pace as the plot emerges and the danger becomes apparent. This all leads up to an inventive finale in the hall of mirrors in an out of season funfair. There are moments of comedy; most notably the court room scene where Arthur is called as a witness and ends up cross examining himself! Overall I'd say that this is an impressive film that fans of the genre should watch.

I just saw this movie in Yugoslav Film Archive. It's really great to watch classics on big screen. I recommend that to all Welles' fans. There is not much to be said about ''The Lady from Shangai''. During the '40s and '50s a lot of film-noir (mystery, detectives...) movies were made. Although film-noir crime movies rarely have 'deeper' philosophical meaning/intellectual importance, some of them are very good. ''The Lady from Shangai'' is certainly one of those. An interesting, original, maybe even unique plot; beautiful Rita Hayworth (I heard that this is her only movie where she was blonde) and magnificent Orson Welles (it is unbelievable how easily this man can change his voice); great visual beauty of the movie; some good dialogues - those are the good sides of ''The Lady from Shangai''. On the other side, as I already mentioned, movie is not an intellectual master-piece. I must also admit that some things are maybe missing (e.g. the movie is named ''The Lady from Shangai'' and I believe that not enough is said about lady's experiences in this Chinese city). However, my vote is still 10/10 for two reasons:1) Good sides made me really enjoy this movie2) I like WellesMy top 30 for now.