Shanghai Express

Marlene Dietrich, the movie. Shanghai Express is a rather short film, without a clear genre or story. Things are happening alright, but there seems to be very little intrigue, nor a real goal the film is working towards. It almost felt like a slice-of-life drama, only within the crime/romance genre. The only constant here is Dietrich.

Shanghai Lily is infamous, a lady with a mysterious reputation. She boards a train to Shanghai, together with a bunch of other people, among which an old friend and lover. They're all intrigued by Lily, though not everyone is charmed by her. Halfway there, the train is held up by a group of rebels.

The plot seems solid enough, but Lily's character isn't all that interesting, and the robbery feels almost like a secondary event. The finale is also bland, but at least the runtime is short and the pacing decent. And von Sternberg definitely had a thing for Dietrich, he simply couldn't keep his camera off of her. I'd almost forget Anny May Wong was in this too, though her role is almost negligible.