Shanghai Express
Starring: Marlene Dietrich, Anna May Wong, Clive Brook
Director: Josef von Sternberg
Writer: Jules Furthman, Harry Hervey
Producer: Adolph Zukor
Shanghai Express is a 1932 American pre-Code film about a group of train passengers held hostage by a warlord during the Chinese Civil War. It was directed by Josef von Sternberg and stars Marlene Dietrich, Clive Brook, Anna May Wong and Warner Oland. The screenplay was written by Jules Furthman based on a 1931 short story by Harry Hervey.
Trivia
- Won the Academy Award for Best Cinematography.
- Also nominated for: Academy Award for Best Director; Academy Award for Best Picture.
- All of the hostages were successfully ransomed.
- The story also echoes elements of Guy de Maupassant's short story "Boule de Suif" in that it consists of travelers stopped in a country at war and a woman is forced into intimate relations with the commander in charge.
- Paramount studio heads were concerned that the Hays Office kept a close watch on the film for its portrayal of Reverend Carmichael and the depiction of the 1911 Revolution.
Previous Showings
11 Runs • 8 Festivals
7,670 tickets sold
Original Billings: 1 run (March 27, 1932)
Original Run: March 27, 1932 (Sunday - Tuesday)
All runs on record (11):
- March 27, 1932 (Sunday - Tuesday)Marlene Dietrich, Clive Brook
- February 12 - 16, 1988 · 0 ticketsw/ The Scarlet Empress, Morocco, The Devil Is a Woman
- January 4 - 6, 2002 · 539 ticketsw/ Dishonored
- February 10 - 11, 2007 · 1,261 ticketsFilm Noir, Val Lewton, 1930s musicals and more!w/ Love Me Tonight
- April 4 - 6, 2009 · 1,255 ticketsWinter 2009w/ Witness for the Prosecution
- March 12 - 14, 2011 · 1,023 ticketsWinter 2011 Early Bette Davis, Val Lewton and morew/ Cleopatra
- July 10 - 12, 2013 · 728 ticketsSummer 2013w/ Morocco
- July 13 - 15, 2016 · 736 ticketsSummer 2016w/ Morocco
- February 24 - 25, 2018 · 695 ticketsParamount Pictures That played at the Stanford Theatre From 1930 to 1935w/ Daughter of the Dragon
- August 25 - 26, 2022 · 700 ticketsSummer 2022w/ Laura
- March 8 - 9, 2025 · 733 ticketsLubitsch, Mamoulian, Sternberg Three Great Directorsw/ The Shanghai Gesture