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The Lady from Shanghai

The Lady from Shanghai

Mystery · Crime · Thriller · 1947

A romantic drifter gets caught between a corrupt tycoon and his voluptuous wife.

Movie details

The Lady from Shanghai

“I told you... you know nothing about wickedness”

1947 Mystery · Crime · Thriller 1h 27m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

7.3 / 10

Community rating

A romantic drifter gets caught between a corrupt tycoon and his voluptuous wife.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over The Lady from Shanghai?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

Obsession

Obsession

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Where the Sidewalk Ends

Where the Sidewalk Ends

Crime · 1950

A police detective's violent nature keeps him from being a good cop.

Nightmare Alley

Nightmare Alley

Drama · 1947

A roustabout joins a traveling carny and schemes to figure out the mind-reading act of Mademoiselle Zeena and her alcoholic husband.

Brute Force

Brute Force

Crime · 1947

Timeworn Joe Collins and his fellow inmates live under the heavy thumb of the sadistic, power-tripping guard Captain Munsey. Only Collins' dreams of escape keep him going, but how can he possibly bust out of Munsey's chains?

Pushover

Pushover

Crime · 1954

A police detective falls for the bank robber's girlfriend he is supposed to be tailing.

The Rainmaker

The Rainmaker

Drama · 1997

Fresh out of law school and desperate for work, idealistic rookie Rudy Baylor takes on a powerful insurance company accused of denying a dying boy’s claim. Teaming up with a scrappy, unlicensed paralegal, he finds himself in a David-versus-Goliath courtroom battle that tests his ethics, courage, and belief in justice.

Stillwater

Stillwater

Drama · 2021

Bill Baker, an American oil-rig roughneck from Oklahoma, travels to Marseille to visit his estranged daughter, Allison, who is in prison for a murder she claims she did not commit. Confronted with language barriers, cultural differences, and a complicated legal system, Bill builds a new life for himself in France as he makes it his personal mission to exonerate his daughter.

The Mask of Dimitrios

The Mask of Dimitrios

Crime · 1944

A mystery writer is intrigued by the tale of notorious criminal Dimitrios Makropolous, whose dead body was found washed up on the shore in Istanbul. He decides to follow the career of Dimitrios around Europe, in order to learn more about the man. Along the way he is joined by the mysterious Mr. Peters, who has his own motivation.

The Maltese Falcon

The Maltese Falcon

Mystery · 1941

A private detective takes on a case that involves him with three eccentric criminals, a beautiful liar, and their quest for a priceless statuette.

Killer's Kiss

Killer's Kiss

Thriller · 1955

Davey Gordon, a New York City boxer at the end of his career, falls for dancer Gloria Price. However, their budding relationship is interrupted by Gloria's violent boss, Vincent Rapallo, who has eyes for Gloria. The two decide to skip town, but before they can, Vincent and his thugs abduct Gloria, and Davey is forced to search for her among the most squalid corners of the city, with his enemy hiding in the shadows.

Where it lives

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Orson Welles

Written by

Orson Welles

Rita Hayworth

Rita Hayworth

Elsa Bannister

Orson Welles

Orson Welles

Michael O'Hara

Everett Sloane

Everett Sloane

Arthur Bannister

Glenn Anders

Glenn Anders

George Grisby

Ted de Corsia

Ted de Corsia

Sidney Broome

Erskine Sanford

Erskine Sanford

Judge

Gus Schilling

Gus Schilling

Goldfish

Court is in session

Put The Lady from Shanghai on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Auteur Devotee

“Form is the argument.”

Every composed frame and deliberate cut is evidence that control can be thrilling in its own right.

The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist

“Technique in search of a pulse.”

Immaculate construction is still construction. The film may be too busy proving its craft to feel alive.