Mon 10 Aug 2009
A Movie Review by Walter Albert: THE SHANGHAI GESTURE (1941).
Posted by Steve under Films: Drama/Romance , Reviews[11] Comments
THE SHANGHAI GESTURE. United Artists, 1941. Gene Tierney, Walter Huston, Victor Mature, Ona Munson, Phyllis Brooks, Albert Bassermann, Maria Ouspenskaya, Eric Blore, Marcel Dalia. Screenplay (by von Sternberg and three other writers) from a play of the same name by John Colton (produced in New York in 1926). Cinematography by Paul Ivana. Mural in Mother Gin Sling’s apartment by Keye Luke. Director: Josef von Sternberg. Shown at Cinevent 41, Columbus OH, May 2009.
If Dante’s Inferno [reviewed here ] literally takes the viewer into the various levels of Hell where damned souls writhe in eternal agony, von Sternberg’s mesmerizing drama set in a gambling casino in Shanghai’s Red Light district takes a metaphorical spin on the nether region that is infinitely more terrifying than the silent film’s version.
Colton, author of the play on which the film was based, was also the author of Miss Sadie Thompson, which first made it to the screen in 1928 as Rain.
If the earlier play posed problems for the Hollywood censors in the pre-code era, The Shanghai Gesture was even more problematic, with a central character (Mother Goddam) the proprietor of a notorious establishment, who introduces her daughter (Poppy) to drugs and prostitution as revenge on her English father.
The result was considered unfilmable in a more lenient Hollywood, and only made it to the screen with a much watered down but still pungent screenplay years after the installation of the restrictive Production Code.
Ona Munson, who memorably played Belle Watley, an Atlanta madam, in Gone with the Wind, was persuaded with great difficulty by the director to take on a part that, even with the prostitution element eliminated, could not help but remind audiences of her celebrated role.
Von Sternberg surrounded the newly christened Mother Gin Sling with a first-rate cast, with her daughter played by the young, promising Gene Tierney, her ex-husband by the notable Walter Huston, and a supporting cast of seasoned character actors, some playing against type (as in the case of Eric Blore), others (like Victor Mature, early in his career) etching indelible portraits of the employees and habitues of the gambling house.
The movie has languished in obscurity in recent years, but with a fair amount of notoriety connected to it. The overhead shots of the gambling den that spirals down like steps toward Hell are brilliantly realized, while the great scene at Mother Gin Sling’s climactic dinner party beginning as an elegantly orchestrated party of revenge, quickly unravels as the revelation of old truths, long buried, leads to the violent, tragic conclusion of this disturbing film.
August 10th, 2009 at 1:21 am
A throwback to silent melodrama and pre code Hollywood this film sometimes squeaks by as film noir, though I don’t think anyone involved had that in mind. Only the quality of the direction, sets, photography, and acting keep this one from going over the top, and even then it comes awfully close.
Victor Mature is very good here as he would be in a number of films throughout his career when he could escape the stereotype he fell into. Lovely as she is though I’ve always felt Tierney was a bit overwhelmed here by the rest of the cast, despite her talent she feels out of her element in this actorish film. Her role of the ingenue gone bad would have been hard for anyone to play in her defense.
I’m not sure I really consider this a good movie, so much as a really interesting one. It is certainly one that film lovers should see, but that said there are some unintentional laughs among all the high drama. In the right mood though it’s a pleasure to watch, and you can always enjoy pros like Huston and Munson chewing scenery as only they could.
Frankly, I suspect this one seems much better seen with a like minded group at three in the morning at a Con, than seen at home by yourself with full critical faculties in full gear. In the latter setting it creaks and heaves and sputters like the old barn storming melodrama it is at heart.
August 10th, 2009 at 6:18 am
An excellent part for Walter Huston, an actor who reminds me more and more of Walter Albert.
August 10th, 2009 at 9:20 am
David
It’s not a movie I’ve seen, but I’ve added it to my to-be-purchased list. As you say the movie came along too early to be a true noir film, from the description, it certainly sounds like one. And as a matter of fact, that’s one of the two categories that IMDB puts it in — the other being “drama.”
Dan
Walter Huston reminds you Walter Albert? I’ll have to think about that. You’re putting pictures into people’s minds who do not know him!
— Steve
August 10th, 2009 at 9:23 am
PS. Looking at IMDB more thoroughly, I found the following keywords they think apply to the movie. It’s quite a list!
* Chinese New Year
* Gambling
* Casino
* Revenge
* Dinner Party
* Moral Corruption
* Nightclub
* Seduction
* Chorus Girl
* Long Lost Relative
* Mother Daughter Relationship
* Fireworks
* Suicide Attempt
* Drunkenness
* Melodrama
* Love Affair
* American Abroad
* Roulette
* Police
* Real Estate
* Murder
* Parentage
* Decadence
* Necklace
* Parade
* Gunfire
* Shanghai China
* Beautiful Woman
* Poker Game
* Alcoholic
* Father Daughter Relationship
* Englishman Abroad
* Depravity
* Eviction
* Miscegenation
* Based On Play
* Plot Twist
August 10th, 2009 at 8:08 pm
There are aspects of this film that are noir, but it is far closer to silent melodrama or some early pre code films at heart.
Certainly Von Sternberg was one of the directors who influenced noir, so many of his films have noirish elements, and some clearly are noir.
Broken Blossoms is as much noir as this, and it is clearly not noir. This fits much better among silent melodrama and films like Von Sternberg’s Shanghai Express, Milestone’s The General Died at Dawn, or Capra’s The Bitter Tea of General Yin than true film noir. If this film had been made even five years earlier I don’t think anyone would even suggest it is noir.
This is a film that movie lovers should see, but it’s more an interesting failure than a really good movie. Huston and Munson give full bodied over the top performances, but they aren’t really good acting, certainly not compared to either actors best work. Oddly the best performance in the film may be a fairly subtle bit by Victor Mature.
This film is closer to Tod Slaughter than The Big Sleep. Watch it for what it is and you will probably enjoy it the way you might some of Von Sternberg’s early films like Morocco or Blonde Venus. It is much closer to them than anything in the film noir catalog.
August 20th, 2010 at 1:04 am
I’ve just now seen the movie, and I think Walter’s review and David, your comments, are all right on target.
Walter’s last paragraph, commenting on the climactic dinner party, is particularly apt, and I agree with David that Gene Tierney, as an actress, seems to have been overwhelmed.
Too early in her career, for a movie such as this one.
Victor Mature stood out for me as well, in a part in which he nearly disappears into the role.
And Dan, you’re right, too. John Huston and Walter Albert resemble each other more than I realized!
September 23rd, 2010 at 7:52 pm
[…] and producer (probably best known on this blog as the producer of The Shanghai Gesture). [Reviewed here. […]
March 1st, 2012 at 9:06 pm
Just saw it last night on TCM. Clearly, it is a racist portrayal of Chinese and their culture. The opium-filled casino is a metaphor for all things Chinese. The girls in cages and the lusting coolies make an awful picture. The plot twist does not redeem the film. The bottomline is that there is no moral compass. Fakery, falsehoods, addiction, revenge and evil are all rolled into one big mess. Mother Gin Sling and Jade Fox from Crouching Tiger have something in common-Chinese women out to destroy. The only lesson here is that all this negativity leads to DEATH. I just wish that the backdrop of decadent Shanghai was not used as it further reinforced the West’s anti-Chinese prejudice.
March 18th, 2015 at 8:18 pm
I think the casino is directly modeled on an illustration of hell in one of the earliest illustrated editions. Pictures by Botticelli??
March 18th, 2015 at 8:18 pm
Editions of Dante, that is!
May 14th, 2023 at 5:46 am
Nice overview of a true oddity Walter!
Shanghai Gesture – Out Of the Fog and Smoke
What a surprise this turned out to be. Von Sternberg literally paints his images onto the screen with his ever-moving camera, as he glides and weaves through his remarkably maze-like sets. With French born Cinematographer Paul Ivano, we are treated to dazzling images and a screen adaption that belies the stage origins of John Colton’s interesting and rather complex play. Strong dialogue plays a key role in cementing the rhythm and flow of the fascinating sequences as they build to an unexpected finale.
Walter Huston is compelling as ever as the powerbroker hiding a mysterious past, with a very young Gene Tierney playing more believably than I’ve ever seen before as the newcomer – taking the fast lane towards a dead end, alongside an equally youthful Victor Mature as an opportunistic casino gigolo. A string of assorted colorful characters are brought to life under Josef Von Sternberg’s skillful direction. As rarely played as it is now, it should be seen by all students & lovers of solid vintage cinema.
Some good DVDs available.