:
Rita Hayworth,
Orson Welles,
Everett Sloane,
more...
:
Orson Welles
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: Not Rated
: Columbia TriStar
: Classics, Film Noir, Vintage Noir
: 87 min.
: English, Spanish, French, Portuguese
: English, Spanish, French, Portuguese, Korean, Thai
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The Lady From Shanghai, a complex, involving puzzle-within-a-puzzle mystery story, is a showcase for Orson Welles, showing his singular talents and sensibilities as few other films have. The story is superficially simple: a seaman Michael O'Hara (Welles) is hired as a crew member on the yacht of the wealthy Banister (Everett Sloane). His beautiful but mysterious wife Elsa (Rita Hayworth) has met O'Hara earlier, when he saved her from a mugging. What ensues is a complicated and bizarre pattern of deception, fraud and murder, with O'Hara finding himself implicated in a murder, despite his innocence. The film is best remembered for its final sequence when the plot comes to a literally smashing climax in the famous "hall of mirrors" sequence, with Elsa and Banister shooting it out amidst shards of shattering glass. Orson Welles, who produced, directed, wrote and starred in the film, is sometimes self-indulgent in his use of visual tricks and techniques, which at times sacrifice plot for visual brilliance, but he pulls it together in the end to produce a stunning, difficult film. Rita Hayworth gives one of her best performances as the deceptive, seductive temptress, hard-edged and cynical. The film confounds, unsettles and disorients the viewer, very much as Welles intended to do. While not an easy film, it is well worth the attention required to follow it, and Welles offers no easy solutions or any false happy endings to his tour-de-force mystery. ~ Linda Rasmussen, All Movie Guide
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| Welles at his Best
by notrust
September 28, 2006 - 10:05 PM PDT
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1 out of 2 members found this review helpful
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I had been warned by people that this movie was really bad. So not expecting much, I sat down and watched it, but was really quite impressed. I don't know why this film gets so little recognition. I thought it was a lot more enjoyable and entertaining to watch than Citizen Kane, but apparently there are lots of people who just don't "get" this movie.
Like the 1940's test audiences whose reactions caused the movie to be shortened by about an hour. The 90 minute version we see is not what quite Welles intended. But even so, it's a fun movie to watch. I really don't understand why a sizable minority of people think so poorly of it. Oh, that's right, it's because they dyed Rita Hayworth's hair. What a crime!
The acting is good, but not really what the movie is about. The characters and the plot are not meant to be taken all that seriously, I don't think. Rita Hayworth is great to look at, and Orson Welles' Irish brogue is believable enough. Most of the other characters are sort of comic book villain types, so really intense method acting is not really appropriate.
Visually, it reminds me a lot of Night of the Hunter. Lots of creative camera angles and lighting, as well as great close up reaction shots of character's faces. The aquarium scene, shot at Steinhart Aquarium in SF, with grotesquely magnified sea creatures swimming past in the background is a was very memorable. There is a funhouse scene with mirrors that was imitated in lots of other films and TV but never done quite as well.
The plot is a little convoluted toward the end, but that can be forgiven in a movie this good. If I were to be critical of anything, it would probably be that.
If you appreciate great film noir, this is a must-see. And if you were not all that impressed with Citizen Kane, this may change your mind about Welles. And as you might guess, I thought the review below was "not helpful". |
| Bad hair, bad plot, and bad acting
by carolynsearches
October 20, 2003 - 8:17 PM PDT
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5 out of 16 members found this review helpful
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Say it isn't so. Orson Welles is generally a fav of mine. But, this was so disappointing. Rita Hayworth with blonde hair - ickk. A plot that was bizarro -- not in an appreciable, David Lynch or French movie kind of sense - just in a "you must've failed connect-the-dots" as a child, sense. And, dare I say it, just plain poor acting.
There is a Dali-made-in-to-film feel to the scene shot in an amusement park (what is it with Orson and these things?), but, not even the wardrobe can redeem this movie.
If you are trying to complete your Welles repertoire, just sign this one off as one to miss. |
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GreenCine Member Rating
(Average 7.56)
251 Votes
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