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Rita Hayworth, Orson Welles, Everett Sloane, Ted de Corsia, Glenn Anders ... see more see more... , Erskine Sanford , Gus Schilling , Carl Frank , Lou Merrill , Evelyn Ellis , Harry Shannon , Sam Nelson , Jessie Arnold , Jack Baxley , Steve Benton , Wong Show Chong , Eddie Coke , Peter Cusanelli , Al Eben , Edythe Elliott , Joseph Granby , Alvin Hammer , Maynard Holmes , Tiny Jones , Byron Kane , Milt Kibbee , Grace Lem , Philip Morris , Mary Newton , Edward Peil Sr. , Harry Strang , Norman Thomson , Philip Van Zandt , Dorothy Vaughan , William Alland , Richard Wilson , Charles Meakin , Joe Palma , Gerald Pierce , Joe Recht , Mabel Smaney , Jean Wong , Vernon Cansino , George "Shorty" Chirello , Billy Louie , Artarne Wong , John Elliott , Robert Gray , Louis Merrill

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 ... read more read more...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, Rovi

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80% liked it

30 critics

Unrated, 1 hr. 27 min.

Directed by: Orson Welles

Release Date: June 9, 1948

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DVD Release Date: October 3, 2000

Stats: 534 reviews

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'The Lady from Shanghai' - French poster Glenn Anders as George Grisby Orson Welles as Michael O'Hara Orson Welles and Glenn Anders Rita Hayworth and Orson Welles Orson Welles and Rita Hayworth Everett Sloane as Arthur Bannister Orson Welles as Michael O'Hara The Lady from Shanghai Rita Hayworth and Orson Welles Glenn Anders and Orson Welles Orson Welles and Rita Hayworth Orson Welles as Michael O'Hara Orson Welles and Rita Hayworth Orson Welles and Rita Hayworth Orson Welles and Rita Hayworth 'The Lady from Shanghai' - Italian poster Orson Welles and Rita Hayworth
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Flixster Reviews (534)

  • bottcorecords1
    May 16, 2012
    bottcorecords1
    Orson Welles stars in and directs this tale of sharks in the water, cannibalizing one another in a bloody frenzy. Actually, the sharks are human in nature and Michael (Welles) or "Black Irish" as he is also known, is stuck observing them in all their horrific glory. When Michae... read morel defends a beautiful blonde (Rita Hayworth) from being mugged in the park, she gets her wealthy husband, famed lawyer Arthur Bannister (Everett Sloane) to hire him to work on their yacht. While Bannister at first glance appears to be a bit of a milquetoast, as things progress, we see he's more conniving than he appears. "You're quite a tough guy" he says of Black Irish, who's pretty good with his fists, but as we find out, Bannister's bank role makes him a "tough guy" too. Things are very convenient for Michael on this yacht, the husband seemingly turns a blind eye to the flirtations of his wife with the new ships hand. When Bannister's partner arrives to join the vacationers, he propositions Michael with some sort of "foolproof" insurance scam that seems anything but. Director Orson Welles develops a taught little noir here, but it's nothing extraordinary to get worked up about. Everett Sloane gives a great performance, but the whole thing doesn't make a whole lot of sense.
  • cosmo313
    May 6, 2012
    cosmo313
    Even thoug hthis film came out several decades before it, I can't help but compare this movie to Fargo to an extent. This might be a more pure film noir than that one, but they both are very similar in their dealings with an average guy caught up in a scheme that can't possibly g... read moreo in any direction but a bad one. They're both complex twisty turny mystery films made by great directors with great sense of style and visuals, but for me, as solid of a film as this is, I think that Fargo is my winner.

    This is still a top notch film though. It's not as legendary or brilliant as Citizen Kane or Touch of Evil, but this is definitely the bronze medal winner among those two, and, considering those two films, being in 3rd isn't too shabby at all.

    Michael O'Hara is a guy with a tainted background and has experience with nautical related thigns, He goes to work for a guy and his wife, and, not only does he fall for the lady, he gets caught up in a shady murder plot involving the husband. Plot twists abound, and this was easier to follow than most similar type of films, but I feel like the script could have been more clear and polished.

    And, being Welles, this film looks fantastic and has some brilliant images and cinematography, with the absolute highlight being the surreal climactic shooutout in a hall of mirrors maze at an amusement park. That sequence alone is the main elling point for why this movie should be seen. However, for the scene to have the most impact you do need to watch the rest of it.

    Doing that last bit isn't a problem, but if you've seen Welles before ,you know that you really have to be in the right mindset to enjoy his work, since he, like LKubrick, was one of those brilliant, but very polarizing filmmakers who might have been perhaps a bit too headtrong in their vision.

    The performances are fine though, and it cracks me up that this film caused controversy since Welles convinced Rita Hayworth to not only cut her fiery red hair short, but to dye it blonde as well.

    All in all, a decent, though not perfect film noir mystery thriller.
  • bbcfloridabound
    April 11, 2012
    bbcfloridabound
    .This is an excellent Orson Wells film with a beautiful Rita Hayworth, actress of the by gone era will never be matched by the female movie starts of today. They are just candles in the wind. This movie has so many twist and turns which will keep you guessing throughout the film,... read more Orson plays the rich mans aid who falls in love with the rich mans wife, is she in love with him or leading him to a death trap, only you watching the film will the answer be found. Nothing short of 5 stars. 4-5-12
  • bookmunki
    August 1, 2011
    bookmunki
    Welles can do no wrong!
  • ajv2688
    October 24, 2010
    ajv2688
    A good movie about a guy who gets involved with another man's wife, and finds out the husband wants him to be part of some crazy scheme. See it for yourself, it's good.
  • flixsterman
    November 15, 2009
    flixsterman
    Citizen Kane may have been Orson Welles' biggest blessing but it was also his biggest curse. Having such a masterpiece as your very first film is a hard thing to follow-up. It's understandable that everything Welles did post-Kane was a step down. The problem is, at leas... read moret in my estimation, that Welles sometimes tried too hard. He wanted all his characters to be interesting and what resulted was often surreal. Here, his narrated and self-portrayed main character was supposed to be a sap, a sucker, but he's so insightful and introspective that I have a hard time understanding how he falls for such an obvious set-up. Without giving too much away, the Welles character is framed for murder in a plot that has about as much subtlety as an oncoming freight train. Strangely, watching Welles play the patsy for a beautiful woman made me appreciate Fred MacMurray (Double Indemnity) even more.

    Having said all that, I still feel that The Lady from Shanghai is a work of art and a landmark in classic noir cinema. The climatic final scene in the deserted fun house is pure Wellesian genius, even if it is a bit of style-over-substance.
  • MissMorganLeee
    October 17, 2009
    MissMorganLeee
    great twist at the end! Orson Welles with a Irish accent is HOT!! sooo sexy! ;)
  • sanjurosamurai
    February 10, 2009
    sanjurosamurai
    ultimately this film doesnt really hold up under the closest scrutiny, but it is still very well done. rita hayworth was never more beautiful and the plot was formulated to provide great intrigue until the end. a solid addition to the wells filmography.
  • pier007
    June 26, 2007
    pier007
    with this low budget noir gem Welles shows his guts once more, by giving it his essential expresionistic style, and also because he cut and dyed the hair or the gorgeous Rita Hayworth. marvelous.
  • DrZeek
    May 2, 2007
    DrZeek
    Michael O'Hara: Maybe I'll live so long that I'll forget her. Maybe I'll die trying.

    A film noir from director and star Orson Welles, playing an Irish man of questionable background.

    An normaly long red haired, but very blonde and short haired Rita Hayworth also stars as the e... read moressential female of desire.

    The plot is needlessly complicated, but suffice it to say Welles gets a job aboard a ship, and some people want others dead and he is involved.

    The fun of this movie comes from the rapid fire dialogue, that is a lot of fun, as is the whole movie.

    It's short, entertaining, with some good performances.

    Mrs. Elsa 'Rosalie' Bannister: I don't know how to shoot?
    Michael O'Hara: It's easy, you just pull the trigger.

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Critic Reviews

William Brogdon
February 11, 2009
William Brogdon, Variety

Script is wordy and full of holes which need the plug of taut story telling and more forthright action. Full Review

Dave Kehr
April 6, 2007
Dave Kehr, Chicago Reader

The weirdest great movie ever made. Full Review

Bosley Crowther
March 25, 2006
Bosley Crowther, New York Times

For a fellow who has as much talent with a camera as Orson Welles and whose powers of pictorial invention are as fluid and as forcible as his, this gentleman certainly has a strange way of marring his... Full Review

February 29, 2012
Film4

Given Welles's reputation as an embattled genius and the fact that much of Shanghai is superb, this is a film you really want to like. And one might, were Welles's performance not so wretched. Full Review

Colin Kennedy
February 29, 2012
Colin Kennedy, Empire Magazine

Though the plot is impossible to follow, there are many glimpses of Welles' signature atmosphere-making. Full Review

Richard T. Jameson
February 20, 2011
Richard T. Jameson, Parallax View

... looms as the pivotal work of Welles's career, one of the greatest glories of the American cinema, and undoubtedly the trashiest masterpiece in motion picture history. Full Review

Emanuel Levy
February 14, 2007
Emanuel Levy, EmanuelLevy.Com

One of Orson Welles' best films, this highlight of 1940s film noir stars Rita Hayworth at her most desirable. French director Francois Truffaut said it best: The raison d'etre for this work is "cinema... Full Review

Thomas Delapa
March 23, 2006
Thomas Delapa, Boulder Weekly

Like most of Welles' Hollywood efforts, Shanghai was shanghaied by studio tampering ... but it also contains some of his greatest set pieces, topped by the delirious shootout in the funhouse hall of m... Full Review

Geoff Andrew
February 9, 2006
Geoff Andrew, Time Out

Complex, courageous, and utterly compelling. Full Review

Michael E. Grost
January 21, 2005
Michael E. Grost, Classic Film and Television

Visually brilliant, complex thriller, from the master of the baroque crime film. Full Review

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    • Michael O'Hara: One who follows his nature, keeps his original nature in the end.
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The Lady from Shanghai Trivia

  • Orson Welles attempted an Irish accent with questionable results in which movie?  Answer »
  • Orson Welles co-starred alongside his wife, Rita Hayworth, in which of the following films?  Answer »
  • What colour was Rita Hayworth's hair in The Lady from Shanghai?  Answer »
  • She starred in: The Strawberry Blonde (1941) Cover Girl (1944) The Lady from Shanghai (1947) Poppies Are Also Flowers (1966)   Answer »
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