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The Shanghai Gesture is a 1941 American film noir thriller directed by Josef von Sternberg, starring Gene Tierney, Walter Huston, Victor Mature, and Ona Munson. It is based on a Broadway play of the same name by John Colton, which was adapted for the screen by Sternberg and produced by Arnold Pressburger for United Artists.
It is best known as the first film to use elements that later defined the film noir genre.
Von Sternberg's famous use of lighting is on full display, particularly its subjects, namely, the femme fatale, and, perhaps, for the first time, the homme fatale, played with sardonic wit by a game Victor Mature.
Munson, known for her performance in Gone With The Wind, is unrecognizable as Mother Gin Sling in this pastiche of the exotic. She lords over her victims with controlled zeal at a casino reminiscent of Dante's Inferno.
In the stage play by John Colton, Munson's character was Chinese. Countless drafts later (to appease the censors), she is a magnificent alien regaled in shimmering couture and extravagant hairstyles. There are moments in the film that verge on sci-fi, reminiscent of the cityscapes in 1982's Blade Runner.
Gene Tierney as Poppy, fresh out of finishing school, with an appetite for danger, is captivating in this early role. Von Sternberg captures the luminous quality that made her such a huge box office draw. Walter Huston, a masculine foil to Munson's regal matriarch, has a natural chemistry with Tierney, who plays his daughter.
Phyllis Brooks appears in a supporting role as down on her luck chorus girl Dixie Pomeroy. An adept scene stealer with over 25 films under her belt by the time of filming, her down to earth charm amid the Machiavellian intrigue makes her the perfect audience surrogate - as stunned by international espionage as the viewer.
Boris Leven received an Academy Award nomination for Best Art Direction, while Richard Hageman was nominated for Best Original Music Score.
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