FAQ

In the book This Is Orson Welles, Orson Welles shares to Peter Bogdanovich that the music was his biggest problem with the finished cut.

The studio, in Welles' opinion, was trying to push a hit song along with the movie, and they had the main theme be a variation of that song (that Rita sings in the movie).

Also, he didn't like the music that literally mimics each step of the movie, which is called "Mickey Mousing" but Welles called it "Disney," especially noticeable in the famous hall of mirrors scene... which, also according to Welles, was originally intended to be a lot longer: he stayed awake all night working on the fun house interior. Mostly what was left was the mirrors sequence, and hardly any of the surreal stuff leading up.

He did say, however, that most of what you SEE in the movie was the way it was intended to be seen.

Yes. The Lady from Shanghai is based on the novel If I Die Before I Wake by Sherwood King. The novel was adapted for the movie by Orson Welles, who also produced, directed, and starred in the movie, along with his then wife, Rita Hayworth.

According to the book This Is Orson Welles, Welles was in the middle of reading the book when he signed on to make the adaptation because of his excitement over what he was reading.

The title reference refers to Rita Hayworth's character, Elsa Bannister, who once worked in Shanghai. Beyond that, Shanghai plays no part in the movie.