Shanghai

1935
1h 15m

IMDb RATING

YOUR RATING

Charles Boyer and Loretta Young in Shanghai (1935)

While she is in Shanghai visiting her sick aunt, young New York socialite Barbara Howard falls in love with Russian banker Dmitri Koslov. Everything would be for the best, if only Dmitri wer... Read allWhile she is in Shanghai visiting her sick aunt, young New York socialite Barbara Howard falls in love with Russian banker Dmitri Koslov. Everything would be for the best, if only Dmitri were not keeping a secret that could jeopardize their union: he is only half-Russian, and the... Read allWhile she is in Shanghai visiting her sick aunt, young New York socialite Barbara Howard falls in love with Russian banker Dmitri Koslov. Everything would be for the best, if only Dmitri were not keeping a secret that could jeopardize their union: he is only half-Russian, and the other half is Chinese.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

6.1/10

161

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

Photos15

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User reviews4

6.1161

Featured reviews

5kmbama

Rather dull and disjointed

A rather disjointed, dull film that Charles Boyer fans may like simply because it's another film with Charles Boyer. Nothing really remarkable in it other than an odd appearance of Warner Oland playing not Charlie Chan but a Chinese diplomat and Keye Luke playing his son (again). Scenes skip from the main characters poverty, wealth, poverty with no visible explanation, other than a succinct, "Well, I've lost everything."

I suppose the point of the film was a lame attempt at criticizing prejudice in a film complete with Libby Taylor as "Corona" the stereotypical black maid complete with campy attitude and down-home witticisms but who, unlike virtually anyone else in the picture, seems to speak Chinese. Warner Oland's appearance makes the ostensible point of the film even more comical.

10ja_kitty_71

Rare romantic treasure for Charles Boyer fans

Here's a rare Charles Boyer film I recently discovered on YouTube (through my smart TV), and I really love it. The story is about the relationship between Barbara Howard, an American society girl, and Dmitri Koslov, a half-bred man with a secret about his parentage that is threatening.

I love those love stories where prejudice often gets in the way of romance. Why "prejudice"? Watch this film, and you'll know why. I don't want to give out spoilers. You know, I thought Charles Boyer and Loretta Young's performances were spot on. So anyway, I thought this film was one of the best romance films ever made and a rare treasure for Charles Boyer fans.

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Trivia
One of over 700 Paramount Productions, filmed between 1929 and 1949, which were sold to MCA/Universal in 1958 for television distribution, and have been owned and controlled by Universal ever since. Its earliest documented telecasts took place in Milwaukee Wednesday 8 April 1959 on WITI (Channel 6), followed by Seattle 22 June 1959 on KIRO (Channel 7), and Omaha 23 November 1959 on KETV (Channel 7). Despite the names of two still very marketable stars above the title, it was otherwise only rarely taken off the shelf.

Quotes
Dimitri Koslov: Well?
Ambassador Lun Sing: It is a bold scheme, my son. Fraught with danger.
Dimitri Koslov: That is one reason why it appeals to me.
Ambassador Lun Sing: You are dealing with a group of men with greater experience than yourself. Rich, powerful...
Dimitri Koslov: Did I hear you say, 'scoundrels'?
Dimitri Koslov: Never!
Ambassador Lun Sing: If you did, please do not quote me. Truesdale, Hilton, Van Hoeffer and my countryman, Mr. Wang. They are not pleasant men to have as enemies.
Dimitri Koslov: When I get control of their interest, they will no longer be my enemy.
Ambassador Lun Sing: Then there is only one thing that can keep you from reaching your goal - a woman.
Ambassador Lun Sing: Shanghai is a city of opportunities. It is also a city of great temptation. I do not speak of the women one can buy in every street. Such women, like the cobra, carry their own warning. I speak of another woman. The good woman - who will be more fatal to you.
Ambassador Lun Sing: In Shanghai, one may defy all the conventions but one. It matters not how noble the strains, if they have been crossed - as yours have been - a man becomes an outcast. You are in grave danger, my son. Your features are those of your father. It would have been better for you had your saintly mother had predominated. Even I must sometimes remind myself that you came from her. Many women of your father's race will love you. That you cannot prevent. But you can, you must, keep yourself from loving them.
Ambassador Lun Sing: [he sips his tea] I often say, next to myself, no one in Shanghai serves such tea as Dimitri Koslov.
Dimitri Koslov: Clever tea makers - we Chinese.