Rent The Lady from Shanghai (1947)

Chaotic & Brilliant Noir Gem - The Lady from Shanghai review by griggs

The Lady from Shanghai is a noir gem, not because it's flawless but because its flaws are fascinating. The plot? A messy, chaotic tangle that stumbles more than it strides—never entirely taking off.

Despite their off-screen history, Orson Welles and Rita Hayworth share zero on-screen chemistry, perhaps due to the butchering Welles was forced to do in the edit suite to please the producers, making their romance as icy as Hayworth's platinum blonde hair.

But that finale! The hall-of-mirrors sequence is one of noir's coolest, most stylised endings and leaves a lasting impression, a testament to the film's enduring legacy. This dazzling, breath-stealing masterpiece almost redeems the preceding narrative chaos. It's Welles at his most chaotic and brilliant.

A spider's web for all - The Lady from Shanghai review by MM

Brilliant performances from all the lead actors. Rita Hayworth is a true natural as the femme fatale. A clever and captivating film from a bygone era.

Classic noir. - The Lady from Shanghai review by Steve

Another Orson Welles production that ran into problems because the studio didn't know what the hell he was doing. It's hard to understand their concerns. He transforms unremarkable pulp fiction with his wit and sensational visual imagination. And he contributes as the loquacious fall guy, calamitously beguiled by Rita Hayworth's luminous femme fatale.

The only real lull is the period when the film runs through the twisty plot of the source novel. Hayworth had her trademark red hair cut and bleached,  also to the studio's dismay. She is breathtaking in close up, particularly singing Please Don't Kiss Me, and is subdued and enigmatic to great effect.

The dizzy, disorientating expressionist finale in an amusement park, including the shoot out in the Hall of Mirrors is cinema legend, peaking with its brilliant, sardonic last line: 'Killing you is like killing myself. It's the same thing. But, you know, I'm pretty tired of both of us'. 

The script is darkly poetic, full of contrary philosophy, and often very funny. The curiously grotesque support performances are fascinating. Its location shoot in Acapulco, New York and San Francisco brings local colour. Welles and Hayworth had just divorced, but share a powerful on screen chemistry. The critics didn't think much of it, but now this looks like classic noir.