Beanbioca As Good As It Gets

Comwayon A Disappointing Continuation

CrawlerChunky In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

AshUnow This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

edwagreen Dreadful film best summarizes this 1941 movie.Businessman Walter Huston buys up land and wants to evict gambling house owner Ona Munson. Was Ms. Munson always cast as the gambling house dame? Remember her as Belle Watling, owner of the brothel and gambling in the memorable "Gone With the Wind?" By the way, what did Munson have on top of her head, a bird cage? Just like the rest of the film, it is absolutely ridiculous.Gin-sling, or whatever her name is, recognizes Huston and in a memorable Chinese New Year celebration reveals herself to him. Gene Tierney did some pretty good acting here. In a way, she reminded me of her part in 1946's "The Razor Edge," but the latter film was so far superior to this junk.The film seems to drag at the tables. You know the voice of the Frenchman who calls the numbers-Vingt-neuf rouge (29-red, etc.)

oOgiandujaOo_and_Eddy_Merckx When watching this movie I felt that Sternberg had my emotions on marionette strings, he also wired his box of tricks up to my nervous system.The (loose) story involves a casino in Shanghai, run by the inscrutable Madame Gin Sling. An Englishman wants to demolish it for a new development, and so the games begin. The casino is Sternberg's chocolate box reverie, full of strange confections, such as Dr Omar, the improbably clear-browed Omar Khayyam-quoting gigolo weighed down under a heavy yellow cloak, fez and full tuxedo in what would have been a sweltering casino.I've a feel for a saucy movie, and I like plenty of the variety of condiment that the restraints of Hays produced. There's many a moment in this movie where my sofa softly absorbed my muttered blasphemies, for example getting an eyeful of Gene Tierney ("Poppy Smith") for the first time, and a "did they just really do that?!" query, when well-named opium-woman Poppy Smith says, "I wonder, does he sleep in his fez" as she cops a load of Victor Mature's Doctor Omar. Phyllis Brooks as Dixie has her own prefigurement of the famous Basic Instinct shot.It's got the smarts as well, whipcrack dialogue and lots of warnings about existential folly, making it clear that hate is always based on misunderstanding.The ending sequence is pretty much hysterical, symbolic, and profound all over. Sternberg brings life back to two Omar Khayyam quotes for the finale: "I sent my soul through the invisible, / some letters of that after-life to spell, / and by and by my soul did return, and answered, / 'I myself am Heaven and Hell'.""The Moving Finger writes; and, having writ, / Moves on: nor all thy Piety nor Wit / Shall lure it back to cancel half a Line, / Nor all thy Tears wash out a Word of it."The first quote to me suggests that one's perception of events, the way you respond, and one's attitude to life is the primary determinant of happiness.The point of fatalism and the burden of the past is conveyed by the second quote is visually echoed by both of Sir Guy and Madame Gin Sling being shadowed by rather chilling anonymous presences (played by Mike Mazurki and Maria Ouspenskaya).

madmonkmcghee Josef von Sternberg ( in truth just plain Joe Sternberg, which speaks volumes about the man) was a director who went for style over substance in all of his movies. In this case it's all style and barely any substance. You're expected to be so engrossed with all the exotic characters he has assembled and the sheer decadence of an oriental gambling den to overlook the fact that there is hardly any storyline to hang on to. The only direction he seems to have given to his actors is "Look outlandish and say your lines as if they were pure poetry". Victor Mature just hangs around the casino looking handsome, as does Gene Tierney, never a great actress but in this case it's not entirely her fault. Some witty dialog could have helped, but the script is downright dull and predictable. The camera-work is indifferent and consists mostly of sweeping shots of gambling tables and people sitting at the bar. What there is of story and intrigue is packed into the last ten minutes of the movie but by that time no revelation however shocking could have turned this into even a halfway decent movie. A visit to your local Chinese takeaway is a true exotic adventure compared to this half-baked chop suey of a movie.

MartinHafer "The Shanghai Gesture" is one of those weird Hollywood films that is set in China--yet practically no one in the film appears to be Asian--at least when it comes to the major characters! And, in the few cases where there are Asian main characters, they are clearly played by American actors--such as Ona Munson (in completely ridiculous garb) and Mike Mazurki! This WAS the norm for the 1930s and 40s--and even continued into the 50s and 60s (with Tony Randall and 6'^7" Christopher Lee, of all people, playing Chinese men)...how this sort of casting was never a major issue is beyond me--it certainly would not be acceptable to have white actors playing black characters. Plus, there were some fine Asian actors that would have loved the work! In addition to this bizarro casting wasn't enough, Victor Mature plays a guy who sports a fez and cape--and is called 'Omar'! Wow--only in Hollywood!It's pretty obvious that this film was originally a play, as just about everything occurs in a gambling den in Shanghai. The way scenes are presented has this stagy feel. But, the original play was MUCH more racy and tons of the plot needed to be changed to meet the demands of the Production Code. For instance, in the play, the setting was a brothel! So, they had to sanitize the script in order to get approval to show this movie in American theaters.If you think about it, this setting is very much like 1942's "Casablanca"--it,too, is set in a gambling den and bar. Its patrons are very multinational and there is a strong undercurrent of vice. But, there is a style, dialog and a great ensemble cast in "Casablanca" that puts it in a completely different league than "The Shanghai Gesture". The film finds Tierney in the gambling den and the seemingly nice Mature prods her to try her hand at gambling. At first, she wins big and wants to cash in her chips and leave, but he convinces her to continue. Not only does she lose all her money and jewelry, but has been extended lots of credit--and there appears to be no way she can ever repay the loans. Obviously Mature has pushed her into this situation so that she will owe her soul (and body) to the proprietress, 'Mother Gin Sling' (Munson). And yet, oddly, Tierney throws herself at Mature! What a dummy!Later, after throwing a ridiculous temper-tantrum, Tierney goes to see her father--the man who thinks he's going to shut down the 'gambling house' and deport its owner. Now, however, Tierney's debt makes this seem doubtful. How all this is worked out at a kooky dinner party is something you can find out for yourself...if you really care! Frankly, I stopped caring only about halfway through this silly film.Now let's talk about Mother Gin Sling. I probably am not allowed to use the name the play originally used for her--IMDb doesn't allow swearing in the reviews. You really have to see her to believe it--she looks like something out of a sci-fi film--like the original "Flash Gordon" or "The Fifth Element"! Her hair and silly makeup just have to be seen to believed. And, she looks laughable...and about as Asian as a taco! As for Tierney, this film is early in her career so I guess we can't blame her too much for her bad acting (particulary at around the 60 minute mark)--really, really bad acting. She goes from a cool and sexy lady to a totally annoying child who makes you want to backhand her--she was THAT annoying and her performance that shallow! Frankly, it was embarrassing to watch her and I am amazed that I was able to keep watching...though I am a glutton for punishment!To put it bluntly, a pretty stupid film without a lot to recommend it. Perhaps the big confrontation scene between Munson and Walter Huston might provide some decent entertainment...but I doubt it.