Rumbo a Shangai

I found "Exiled to Shanghai" hiding on a book shelf among my collection of old B&W films on DVD so I thought I would watch it. I found it an interesting movie because it delves into the early days of television broadcasting way back in 1937. There are a number of character actors in the movie who were popular back in the day including Wallace Ford, Dean Jagger, Arthur Lake, and Jonathan Hale. And the very pretty June Travis is there for as the spirited Nancy Jones that Wallace Ford,as Ted Young, falls completely for. One of the highlights of the movie is when Ted Young has to tell a client how a TV signal will be able to travel from Los Angeles to New York City. The curvature of the Earth and mountains pose a big problem. However, Ted comes up with a fascinating spur of the moment solution that the network decides to use. Even though the movie is not rated, I say it is worthy of a "PG" theatrical rating. I am giving the movie 9 out of 10 stars which is thumbs way up!

This a is a sprightly little Republic second feature about how newsreel photographer Wallace Ford mistakes June Travis for a celebrity -- a fine 'meet cute' -- loses his job and goes into a speculative television deal. A good script with a couple of nice plot twists, fast direction and a very good cast, including Arthur Lake and his future 'Blondie' boss, Jonathan Hale, as well as future Oscar-winner Dean Jagger, and ex-silent comics Johnny Arthur and Sid Saylor keep this moving along through to a good closing gag.

Nick Grinde, a director from the teens, and Armand Schaefer, who spent most of his career in B and television westerns, co-direct surprisingly well. Definitely worth a look.