Shanghai
Cast & Crew
James Flood
Loretta Young
Charles Boyer
Warner Oland
Alison Skipworth
Fred Keating
Film Details
Technical Specs
Synopsis
American society beauty Barbara Howard arrives in Shanghai to visit her Aunt J. B., whom she thinks is very ill. At the docks, Barbara sees rickshaw driver Dmitri Koslov, a half Chinese who was once a Russian officer, beaten by the police at her feet and retrieves his cross pendant. When Barbara realizes J. B. is perfectly healthy and sent for Barbara so she would marry her suitor, Tommy Sherwood, she buys her ticket home by pawning J. B.'s mink coat. Meanwhile, Dmitri visits His Excellency, Lun Sing, an old friend of his recently deceased father. In order to repay a debt owed to Dmitri's father, Lun Sing gets Dmitri a job at a bank. Barbara and Dmitri meet again when he delivers a draft of $50,000 to Tommy from his father in New York, who has advised him to invest it instead of gambling. Barbara, who is immediately struck by the handsome Dmitri, suggests he handle Tommy's investments. After an evening at the stock exchange, Dmitri takes Barbara to see the real Shanghai, and she returns his cross, then burns her ticket home. Soon Dmitri makes a fortune in munitions stock and has built his own investment company, through which he buys controlling stock in the Shanghai Properties Company, which has been stalling the construction of new buildings. Lun Sing warns Dmitri against getting romantically involved with Barbara because he is sure her social set will reject Dmitri once they learn he is half Chinese. Not wanting to jeopardize Barbara's future, Dmitri refuses to see her. The property company, meanwhile, offers Dmitri a good price on his stock, but he declines their bribe, insisting the company begin building immediately. When Dmitri cancels a dinner date with Barbara, she arrives at his house furious and accuses him of making power his goddess. He kisses her through her angry tears and they swear their love. At a costume party, Dmitri announces to his guests that his mother was a Manchurian princess, hoping his ancestry won't matter to Barbara. She is shocked, however, and leaves immediately, along with all of Dmitri's European guests. Despondent, Dmitri leaves the city, missing a decisive vote at the company. Barbara, filled with regret, determinedly tracks Dmitri to his remote hideaway, and they later return to Shanghai together. There, Lun Sing finally tells Dmitri that his mother killed herself to free her husband and child from the prejudice that had left them humiliated and impoverished. Realizing for the first time that his parents' love could not conquer bigotry, Dmitri says good-bye to Barbara. She says she will always love him, and they look forward to a day when races can inter-marry without persecution.
Director
James Flood
Cast
Loretta Young
Charles Boyer
Warner Oland
Alison Skipworth
Fred Keating
Walter Kingsford
Josephine Whittell
Olive Tell
Libby Taylor
Keye Luke
Willie Fung
Boothe Howard
Arnold Korff
Crew
Tom Andre
Graham Baker
Hugo Grenzbach
Henry Herzbrun
Frederick Hollander
Otho Lovering
Joseph L. Moody
Lynn Starling
Alexander Toluboff
Gene Towne
James Van Trees
Walter Wanger
S. K. Wineland
Adolph Zukor
Film Details
Technical Specs
Quotes
Trivia
Notes
Actor Willie Fung's first name is spelled "Willy" in the onscreen credits. Motion Picture Herald's "In the Cutting Room" says the film is based on a "play of the same title," although the film credits Gene Towne, Graham Baker and Lynn Starling with an original screenplay and a Hollywood Reporter ad credits Towne and Baker with an original story. Screen Achievements Bulletin says the film was developed from an idea proposed by Walter Wanger, while a pre-production news item states that the script was by Louis Stevens, who receives no credit for the film in reviews. The "In the Cutting Room" also lists Hedda Hopper in the cast, although she was not in the viewed print and her name was not mentioned in reviews, and her participation in the film is unclear. As announced in Daily Variety on July 26, 1935, this film was currently in its London run, although many had predicted it "would never be shown in England or her colonies because of race angle." According to a news item in Daily Variety, Carole Lombard had been set to star in this film but had already been engaged for a Universal film.
