The Shanghai Gesture (1941)

The Shanghai Gesture (1941)

The holidays bring joy, laughter, and a touch of magic—but this year, Christmas faces a threat unlike any before, not from Scrooge or a grouchy mountain creature, but from something truly otherworldly.

In a gambling den modeled after Dante’s Inferno, danger spins with every bet. A young woman spirals into ruin, seduced by booze, jealousy, and the thrill of the wheel. And behind it all, a vengeful mother waits—plotting payback decades in the making. The Shanghai Gesture (1941) isn’t just Film Noir… it’s a descent into hell with silk gloves on.

Hello to all the classic people returning. I am glad you are back. I want to welcome any new visitors. Today on Classic Movie Review, we are taking on Film Noir, The Shanghai Gesture (1941). Directed by Josef von Sternberg, this little-known Film Noir is a bundle of tension. Walter Huston is at his prime in this film. This is one of the most complex roles I have ever seen Victor Mature undertake. Ona Munson plays the Chinese former prostitute and gambling hall owner to the hilt. But the most amazing part of this film is the transition of Gene Tierney’s character, Poppy, as she is destroyed by gambling, booze, and jealousy. The physical changes are marked, but the actress carries the changes excellently. This film was set in a gambling hall, rather than a brothel, as in the play. It would have worked a little better if opium were more involved. However, they had to work around the censors. The Hays Office had the director fix over 30 cuts in the movie.

This movie has a rating of 6.8 on IMDb.com.[1] However, I believe it should be significantly higher. The film has a 100 percent on the Tomatometer and has 71 percent audience approval on RottenTomatoes.com.[2] However, the film is listed as being released in 1942 on that site.

Variety said, “Victor Mature, as the matter-of-fact Arab despoiler of Tierney’s honor, provides a standout performance. Huston’s abilities are lost in the jumble, while Munson cannot penetrate the mask-like makeup arranged for her characterization.”[3]

Dennis Schwartz of Ozus’ World Movie Reviews said, “Josef von Sternberg’s (The Scarlet Empress/The Blue Angel/The Devil is a Woman) last great Hollywood film is based on a 1925 play by John Colton that required over 30 revisions ordered by the Breen Office censors before it was deemed acceptable. In one unreleased, censored version, attributed to writer Jules Furthman, the blemished noirish character, named Mother Gin Sling, is instead called Mother Goddamn and runs a brothel instead of a casino. What remains from all the cuts is the surreal baroque setting–a gesture to the descent of mankind into the bowels of the earth–a casino designed like Dante’s Inferno.”[4]

Actors – The Shanghai Gesture (1941)

Returning

Gene Tierney was amazing as Poppy/Victoria. Tierney was first covered in Film Noir Laura (1944) and is known for several other Film Noirs such as Leave Her to Heaven (1945), Whirlpool (1950), Where the Sidewalk Ends (1950) and Night in the City (1950), and other great films like The Razor’s Edge (1946), Dragonwyck (1946), and the amazing spectral romance The Ghost and Mrs. Muir (1947)

Maria Ouspenskaya played the old Amah. Of course, we remember her as Bela the werewolf’s mother in The Wolf Man (1941). Her silent slinking around worked very well in this film.

New

Walter Huston was cast in the role of Sir Guy Charteris, and I must say he is a tall drink of water. I am used to Walter Huston from Yankee Doodle Dandy (1943) and The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948).

Huston was born in 1883 in Canada. Huston originally studied engineering, but he loved theater work even though he suffered from stage fright. He married Rhea Gore, the mother of John Huston, in 1905 and then returned to engineering for a time. But the call of the stage was too much for him, and he returned to theater work in 1909. Huston made his debut on Broadway in 1924. He continued to work on Broadway until the late 1920s, when he began acting for the new talkies.

Some of his earliest films were The Virginian (1929) and D.W. Griffith’s Abraham Lincoln (1930). Other roles during this early period include The Beast of the City (1932), with Jean Harlow. Many people believe it was his greatest role. Other notable movies include Frank Capra’s American Madness (1932) and W. Somerset Maugham’s Rain (1932), which is essentially a remake of Sadie Thompson (1928) starring Joan Crawford. He was cast as the President who is taken over by an angel in Gabriel Over the White House (1933).

Huston was nominated for a Best Actor Oscar for his work in the William Wyler-directed Dodsworth (1936), a role he had played on Broadway in 1934. He continued to work in films and theater. He had a very small role as the ship captain that delivered the blackbird to Sam Spade’s (Humphrey Bogart) office before being killed off in the John Huston (his son) directed The Maltese Falcon (1941).

In what is clearly my second-favorite role of his, Huston played Mr. Scratch, AKA the Devil, in The Devil and Daniel Webster (1941). He was great as the smirking trickster, and the movie was great with Edward Arnold and Simone Simon. For this role, Huston received another Best Actor Oscar nomination.

Huston was nominated for a Best Supporting Actor Oscar in the Musical Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942). Of course, acting, singing, and dancing with James Cagney and Joan Leslie, it’s hard not to be in a supporting role.

Eventually, he made it to The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948), and again he was directed by his son, John Huston. I have to say he was amazing in this role as the elderly prospector with his happy gold dance and lifesaving skills. For this film, Walter Huston won the best supporting actor Oscar, and he richly deserved it. His acceptance speech is often quoted and goes as follows:

“Many years ago…. Many, MANY years ago, I brought up a boy, and I said to him, ‘Son, if you ever become a writer, try to write a good part for your old man sometime. Well, by cracky, that’s what he did!”[5]

Walter died at the age of 67 in 1950. Some relationship notes: he was the grandfather of Anjelica Huston, John’s daughter. Walter, John, and Anjelica all won Oscars. Walter was in three films directed by his son John: The Maltese Falcon (1941), In This Our Life (1942), and The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948).

Victor Mature played Doctor Omar, who was basically a seducer of women for profit. Mature was born in Kentucky in 1913. His father was an Italian tinker, and his mother was of Swiss descent. He worked as a butcher’s supply salesman and later attended the Kentucky Military Academy. Mature was 6’2”, pretty ripped, and had curly black hair. He decided to become an actor and began studying at the Pasadena Playhouse.

Mature’s first movie was The Housekeeper’s Daughter (1939). He made other films, such as No, No, Nanette (1940) and One Million B.C. (1940), before being called to serve in World War II as part of the Coast Guard. He regularly acted throughout the 1950s. His best category was sword and sandal, but he hit most genres. His other movies include I Wake Up Screaming (1941), The Shanghai Gesture (1941), My Darling Clementine (1946), Kiss of Death (1947), Cry of the City (1948), Fury at Furnace Creek (1948), Samson and Delilah (1949), classic, Androcles and the Lion (1952), Million Dollar Mermaid (1952), where he allegedly had an affair with swimmer Ester Williams, the very stiff Film Noir The Las Vegas Story (1952), the biblical epic, The Robe (1953), Film Noir Dangerous Mission (1954), set mostly in Glacier National Park, Demetrius and the Gladiators (1954), Chief Crazy Horse (1955), Pickup Alley (1957), and Hannibal (1959). Mature retired in the 1960s, but occasionally popped up in films like the LSD-inspired The Monkees’ movie Head (1968). His final film was Firepower (1979). Mature died in 1999.

Ona Munson played the bar and gambling den owner ‘Mother’ Gin Sling. Munson was born in Oregon in 1903. She worked in radio before switching to film in 1928. She appeared in numerous Broadway plays in the 1930s and 1940s. Within her 29 credits are two roles for which she is most known. In both of these roles, she played a brothel madam. These are Gone with the Wind (1939), where she played Belle Watling, and, of course, the other is our movie today, The Shanghai Gesture (1941), where she played Mother Gin Sling but was mostly disguised as a gambling hall owner. Plagued by poor health, Munson took her life using sleeping pills in 1955.

Mike Mazurki played an interesting role as the Coolie. Mazurki was born in 1907 in the Austro-Hungarian Empire in what is now Ukraine. He stood 6 feet 5 inches tall. He was a professional football player and a wrestler. Mazurki was a very intelligent man who spent almost 50 years playing hulking brutes.

Mazurki began making films in the 1930s, but his first credited film was the movie we are discussing today. He is perhaps best known for his role as Moose in the Film Noir Murder, My Sweet (1944). Other films include New Orleans Uncensored (1955), a bit in The Buccaneer (1958), Some Like it Hot (1959), Donovan’s Reef (1963) with John Wayne and Lee Marvin, It’s a Mad Mad Mad Mad World (1963), Cheyenne Autumn (1964), and tributes like Dick Tracy (1990). Mazurki died at the age of 83 in 1990.

Story – The Shanghai Gesture (1941)

The movie begins, and they actually give credit to the extras, who were numerous. The action begins in the town of Shanghai, and the text describes it as a Tower of Babel that will likely be consumed by war. The coolest and most relaxed Sikh ever is directing traffic, most of which is on foot. As an automobile comes down the road, the police are dragging a blonde woman, followed by some merchants.

In the car is Doctor Omar (Victor Mature), who is wearing a Fez and gives the impression of being from the Middle East. His companion is the Comprador/Montgomery Howe (Clyde Fillmore), who dresses in Chinese attire. Omar decides the woman is his as he saw her first. Montgomery goes to talk to the police, and Omar talks to the woman who is the Chorus Girl/Dixie Palmroy (Phyllis Brooks). She is being arrested for failing to pay her hotel bill. Montgomery pays everyone off, and Dixie leaves in the car with the two men.

They take her to Mother Gin Sling’s Casino, and Omar says the boss is cold-blooded and will devour her like a dragon. The Casino is modeled after Dante’s Inferno, with the largest gambling ring on the top and the smaller ring with the most intense gambling at the bottom. They have a jewel appraiser working the money cage. One of the men at the table tries to pawn a ring, but it is rejected. He then tries to sell his pistol. They refuse to take the gun. The loot is lifted by a basket to the counting room at the top.

A very beautiful woman, Poppy (Gene Tierney), comes to the bar with her escort (John Abbott). Omar spots her right away. Poppy is bored and looking for excitement. She even says the Casino is evil. She loves it and sees Omar across the floor.

Poppy orders a Planter’s Punch from the surly Russian ex-pat bartender. A Planter’s Punch is 2 ounces of rum, some tropical fruit, and other sweet stuff. Omar is pulled from the hunt as the Commissioner and several other European men arrive. They are seated, and Mother Gin Sling is sent for.

A shot is fired as the man who tried to pawn the gun tries to kill himself. A gong sounds, and Mother Gin Sling (Ona Munson) makes a bold entrance. She goes to the man, Boris, who tried to kill himself. She tells the dealer to give him 5,000 in credits and returns his gun. He kisses her hand. Mother slowly walks to the table where the Commissioner and Omar are playing cards. After playing a few rounds of cards, the Commissioner tells Mother that she will have to close down by the Chinese New Year because she is in the International District. They say she can set up again in the Chinese zone. Her landlord has already canceled the lease. The new owner is the Indochina Trading Company. She says she is going nowhere. After the messages are all delivered, the men’s attention turns to Poppy.

Mother goes to Poppy to introduce the Frenchman from the Commissioner’s group to her. Poppy and her escort offer Mother a drink, but she refuses. Then Poppy tries to insult Mother’s name, who rattles off prostitute names and says even sometimes it can be Poppy. Sting. Mother leaves. She tells her man to find out who Poppy really is. The Frenchman makes a fool of himself with Poppy. Poppy’s real name is Victoria. At this point, Poppy sends her escort away and asks the Frenchman to introduce her to Omar.

Dixie is shown sitting in a hallway, still waiting to be seen by Mother.

The Frenchman brings Montgomery and Omar over, and they are introduced to Poppy. Montgomery says he has five wives and is looking for a sixth. When she mentions her name is Poppy, he explains that this flower has caused a lot of trouble for his family. Omar interrupts for his introduction. Omar charms Poppy with his knowledge of poetry. Omar sets the hook pretty deep in Poppy’s gills as the other men leave. Omar is summoned to Mother.

Mother goes on the offensive. She quickly finds out the man behind the pushout is Sir Guy Charteris (Walter Huston). She sends her agents out to find the dirt on Sir Guy. She even asks for a picture so she can see her enemy. Just then, Omar comes in with Dixie, and she announces that she is an ex-lover of Sir Guy. Very convenient. Mother takes Dixie away for a private talk. Dixie tells Mother that Sir Guy gave her the heave-hoe when his grown daughter came back from finishing school in Switzerland. Dixie also says that he sometimes reaches for the ceiling with one hand for no reason. Mother snaps around. Mother asks if his eyes are blue, and Dixie confirms that they are. You tell that she is starting to scheme.

Sir Guy is in his office meeting with the Anglos who visited the Casino about the takeover and development. The phone continues to ring, despite repeated requests not to be disturbed. The caller is identified as Mother Gin Sling. Sir Guy pulls the telephone wire from the wall and says he’s sure he can break the local power while dangling the wire in the air.

Omar has gotten Poppy to start gambling, and she is a big winner. This is her first time gambling, and she says she can stop whenever she wants.

Mother waits outside Sir Guy’s office to get a look at him. His car and all the taxis are not available. He is forced to take a rickshaw pulled by a large Coolie (Mike Mazurki). He has a shaved head and doesn’t speak. Mother smiles with glee as she and Dixie look on.

Back at the gambling wheel, Poppy’s luck has turned bad. She loses all of the money she has won. Boris, the man with the gun, is always at the table when Poppy plays. He bets the opposite of her every time and wins most of the time. Omar convinces her to pawn her diamond necklace to keep gambling. Dixie comes in, showing off her newly acquired wealth, which she has earned from working for Mother.

Mother begins scheming, I mean planning, a Chinese New Year’s party. She makes a prestigious list of guests, including Sir Guy. A note is brought in, and Poppy is 50,000 maces in debt, which is about 1,000 pounds sterling. Mother goes down to interview Poppy for her references. Poppy refuses to give out any information, but Mother gives her 5,000 maces anyway. Boris is definitely working with Mother. Poppy loses that and borrows 200 more to tip the croupier.

Mother has wax dolls made of all the party guests. She plans to have Sir Guy sit at the opposite end of the table. Mother authorizes unlimited advances to Poppy. Montgomery says that Mother’s battle plan may not work out as expected. Mother snaps the head off of one of the dolls.

Poppy is still gambling and drinking. She looks rough. Omar is courting Dixie, which makes Poppy crazy with jealousy.

Sir Guy and his secretary are going through the day’s mail, and he has received the invitation to the party that Mother is hosting. He has no intention of going. A rock breaks the window and lands on the floor. Sir Guy goes outside and sees the Coolie holding another rock. Sir Guy has the Coolie brought up. He still won’t speak. Sir Guy tells his secretary to have him locked up, but the Coolie says something in Russian, and the secretary translates that its meaning – no Chinese jail could hold him. Sir Guy is intrigued and decides to go to the party.

Poppy has turned into a sot. She is a complete mess and is making scenes in the Casino. Mother tells her that so far, she has only lost paper, not real money. Poppy gets ready to leave the Casino and says she will not be back. She goes to Omar’s and beats on the door. He sits inside calmly reading the paper. She tries every trick to get inside. Finally, with her caterwauling in the hallway, he opens the door and takes her inside. Omar crushes her with his lack of interest.

The next morning, Poppy is called to see her father, Sir Guy. He calls her Victoria. He says she is all he has, and he has tried to protect her. Sir Guy tries to get her to admit to what has been going on with her, but she refuses to confess anything. He informs her that he has chartered a plane to take her to Singapore and will meet her there as soon as he finishes up the business in Shanghai. Poppy argues with him about leaving, but he shows her a necklace that a man sold to him that morning. It is the one she sold in the Casino. She relents, and we see a plane leave.

On the evening of the Chinese New Year, there are parades and fireworks. As Sir Guy arrives at the Casino, he asks the Coolie if he likes the Chinese New Year, and the Coolie answers yes. All of the best people in Shanghai are at the party, including the lady who really owns the building. Sir Guy comes in, and the party comes to a halt. Sir Guy realizes that Omar works at the Casino, as he is the man who sold him the necklace. He is happy to see Dixie. The Commissioner is there as well. A gong rings, and Mother comes in a hairdo that could be mistaken for Medusa.

At Mother’s side is a very old Amah (Maria Ouspenskaya). An Amah is a nursemaid. They are told to take the seat where their wax figure is located. Sir Guy wonders why he is at the head of the table. Mother has the windows opened by the Coolie. Women are being hoisted up in what Mother says is a mock representation of kidnapping girls to be sold into prostitution. The expressions on the girls’ faces seem to indicate that this is for real.

The Coolie has taken the host position behind Sir Guy. Mother recounts how young girls were sold in that manner not so many years ago to “flower boats.” She says the Chinese New Year is a time to repay debts. Mother asks Sir Guy if he had been to China before. He says he has been in the north and asks Mother if she is from the north of China also. She says she washed up on the shore of Shanghai, and Montgomery helped her. Montgomery replies that her debt has been more than fully repaid.

The two royals at the table get offended and start to leave. Mother orders them to sit, or she will reveal what happened in Rio five years prior. The landlady starts braying like a jackass. The landlady then tries to leave, and Mother orders her to sit. The doll with the broken head is for a young woman who is being sobered up.

Sir Guy gets up and says, unlike the rest of the guests, she has nothing that can make him stay. She calls him Mr. Dawson and says the dinner was given in his honor. He asks who she is, and Mother says, “Don’t you recognize me?” Mother claps her hands, and all of the servants leave except the old Amah. Finally, Sir Guy has a look of recognition and says he can’t know her because that girl is dead.

Mother says yes, that girl is dead, and that Mother Gin Sling stands in her place. She says Dawson stole silver from her. Sir Guy explains to the group that when he was in the north, he did not use his family name so that he could make his own way. He said he married a Chinese girl. Mother then says she gave Dawson her father’s wealth, and they had a child together. But Dawson left her. She says that after Dawson was gone, his friends came, and eventually, she was sold to the flower boat. She tells how they were beaten and taken to new ports every week. They even sewed pebbles into the soles of her feet to keep her from running away.

A gong sounds, and the drunken Poppy/Victoria is brought out. For some reason, she is mad at her father. Mother is grinning like a possum eating a sweet tater. She calls out Omar and says she will kill him one day. In a snit, Poppy announces to all that she owes Mother 20,000 pounds.

Sir Guy tries to take Poppy home. She is being a jackass. The maids come back with towels and coats. Sir Guy and Poppy head out. But they stop, and Sir Guy tells the Commissioner to come by in the morning for a £ 20,000 check, stating that the alleged stolen funds are and have been in the North China Bank in Mother’s real name.

Poppy is having a meltdown and wants to go back inside. Sir Guy manages to finally get her out of the Casino. Out on the street, Poppy slips away from her father. He goes back inside to look for her. The Coolie is waiting by the door. Mother confronts Sir Guy when he arrives and says Poppy’s blood is no good, which makes her evil. Sir Guy tells her that Poppy is their daughter and that anything wrong with Poppy comes from her. He then tells her that after Mother went missing, their child was saved. Sir Guy came and took her, raising their daughter without ever telling her about China. The old Amah nods that the story is true. Mother then says that she should be the one to deal with Poppy.

Poppy has Dixie and Omar in a room, shouting at the two about their alleged love affair. Poppy then pulls a small gun from her purse and aims at Dixie. Omar jumps her and gets the gun away. He slides it to the end of the table, where Mother has just walked in. She tells Poppy that she is her mother. Mother sends Dixie and Omar away. Poppy starts raging at Mother, and Mother shoots her down. Omar leaves, and Mother tells Montgomery that this time they will not be able to bribe the police.

Outside, the Coolie asks Sir Guy if he likes the Chinese New Year. The movie ends with an overhead shot of the casino hall in full swing.

Thanks

Conclusion – The Shanghai Gesture (1941)

Based on a John Colton play, this script struggled to get produced on stage and faced similar challenges when being made into a film. It appears that there were over 30 attempts to adapt this story into a film, including one by Cecil B. DeMille.

The story made it to Broadway in February 1926 and ran for 206 performances. Set in a brothel run by “Mother Goddam,” this story deals with sex trafficking, drug addiction, and nymphomania. Both the Hays office and the Chinese consulate resisted the filming.

This was the last major film finished by director Josef von Sternberg, as he was fired from his next two films, Film Noir Macao (1952) and Jet Pilot (1957). von Sternberg made some interesting casting choices, first offering the role of “Mother Gin Sling” to Gloria Swanson and Anna May Wong. Oh, what could have been!

When Swanson and Wong passed on the role, von Sternberg convinced Ona Munson that she could handle the role despite being an American. Werewolf mother, Maria Ouspenskaya, was cast as a Chinese associate of “Mother.” Test audiences reacted with laughter at Ouspenskaya’s thick Russian accent, attempting in English to imitate a Chinese person speaking English. All her dialogue was removed.

Finally, the Hays Office ordered over 30 cuts before they would approve the movie.

World-Famous Short Summary – If Mother ain’t happy, ain’t nobody happy

I ain’t saying it’s right, but I know why she shot her.

Beware the moors

---

[1] https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0034175/

[2] https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_shanghai_gesture

[3] https://variety.com/1941/film/reviews/the-shanghai-gesture-1200413770/

[4] http://homepages.sover.net/~ozus/shanghaigesture.htm Dead link March 25, 2022

[5] https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0034175/