Plot: What’s it about?
Michael O’Hara (Orson Welles) had some mixed feelings about taking the job, but in the end, he decided to take work on board the yacht of one Arthur Bannister (Everett Sloane). Bannister is a wealthy man, but he is disabled and that means he needs a lot of extra support while out on his boating treks. This specific time, the yacht will travel to San Francisco, but first a stop has to made in order to pick up Bannister’s lawyer, Grisby (Glenn Anders), who plans to come along for the ride. Soon, Michael finds himself locked into a bond with Bannister’s beautiful wife, Rosalie (Rita Hayworth), who seems to react well to his charms. After a docking session, Michael is offered five thousand dollars to help Grisby fake his own death, so he can disappear with no one looking for him afterwards. Since he needs the cash, Michael agrees and soon enough, he realizes what a mistake he has made. Grisby is found dead for real, thanks to a murderer and all eyes have been cast upon Michael. He knows he is innocent, but can he prove it to a court of law, with Bannister as his defender?
This film has been released as part of the Columbia Classics line, which is a series it certainly belongs in. This series has had some real shining titles like Lost Horizon and His Girl Friday, but it has been criticized at times as well. This disc falls in with the good section thankfully, which means it looks good, sounds good, and has some nice bonus features tacked on also. This movie is one of the better films from this time and deserves to be a classic, but it is driven by a few sequences, which pull the others along for the ride. But those sequences are so good, the level of the entire movie is raised by leaps and bounds. Orson Welles stars here, wrote the screenplay, and directed and to be honest, it seems like the studio had a heavy hand here. Much like films such as Touch of Evil and The Magnificent Ambersons, it seems like the film should be so much better than it is. But this still turns out to be an excellent film and I one I have been awaiting on this format for some time. This is a must see for classic film buffs and movie fans of all sorts, this disc is very highly recommended as well.
Perhaps the greatest film director of all time, Orson Welles had more than his fair share of problems with the movie studios. Whether they didn’t like his running time or style, the studios would often stick their hands into the machine and change the outcome of the film. Sometimes small touches, other times rather large ones, it all depended. Now I am unsure of how much tampering was done in regard to The Lady From Shanghai, but it just seems too mixed up at times to have come from Welles. I know he had his flaws, but I simply don’t believe this version of the film was Welles’ final choice and true vision. But it still turns out well in the end, so we can be pleased with that, but I would still love to see a Welles’ edition, like Universal has done with Touch of Evil. Other Welles films include The Magnificent Ambersons, Journey Into Fear, The Deep, Macbeth, Touch of Evil, and Citizen Kane. The cast of The Lady From Shanghai includes Welles, Glenn Anders (By Your Leave, M), Gus Schilling (Wedding Belle, Bride For Sale), Everett Sloane (Brushfire, Citizen Kane), Ted de Corsia (The Killing, 5 Card Stud), and Rita Hayworth (Gilda, The Loves of Carmen).
Video: How does it look?
The Lady From Shanghai is presented in a full frame transfer, which preserves the film’s intended aspect ratio. This is the best I’ve ever seen this movie look, but some problems still surface in the presentation. I saw a lot of grain and frequent debris on the source print, which I had hoped Columbia would have cleaned up. I suppose restoration work is expensive to be sure, but I think this film deserves the finest visual presentation possible. The black & image is solid though, with only a few instances of distortion within the contrast levels. Some problems emerge, but this is still a fine presentation of this film noir classic.
Audio: How does it sound?
This disc uses the original mono soundtrack, which is adequate though it doesn’t have much in terms of range. But this is to be expected from any mono track and as far as the format goes, this is a terrific sounding mix. This film was made over fifty years ago, so I was very pleased to discover how sharp and well rounded this track was. I heard minimal distortion and the usual mono hiss was nowhere to be heard, thankfully. The vocals shine through in crisp form here, no volume or clarity issues at all to contend with. This track is about as good as a fifty year old mono track can sound, so I am giving it an above average score here. This disc also contains mono tracks in Spanish, French, and Portuguese, as well as subtitles in English, Spanish, French, Portuguese, Chinese, Korean, and Thai.
Supplements: What are the extras?
This disc isn’t loaded with supplements, but it does house some terrific bonus materials. An audio commentary with a filmmaker and friend of Welles’, Peter Bogdanovich offers a lot of insight into the film which is welcome to be sure. Bogdanovich seems relaxed here and that adds some personal flair to the track, as well as a wealth of information. If you’re a fan of Welles’ films, then you will want to give this track a spin, I assure you. You can also see Bogdanovich on this disc, as he hosts a twenty minute featurette on the production of the film, which opens some doors on the challenges Welles faced while shooting the movie. Again, very enlightening and well worth a look. The disc also contains the film’s theatrical trailer, some cast bios, and a gallery of promotional tools used to market the film.
