The Lady From Shanghai

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The Lady From Shanghai

1948

1h 27m

Mystery & Thriller

Crime

Drama

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

86%

Tomatometer

56 Reviews

84%

Popcornmeter

5,000+ Ratings

A seaman becomes involved in a complex murder plot when he is hired to work on a yacht. He soon finds himself implicated in the murder, despite his innocence. The film is best remembered for it's climax "hall of mirrors" scene with a shoot out amidst shards of shattering glass.

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Critics Consensus

Energetic and inventive, The Lady from Shanghai overcomes its script deficiencies with some of Orson Welles' brilliantly conceived set pieces.

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Geoffrey Macnab

Independent (UK)

Jul 24, 2014

5/5

The film is as tangled and ingenious as any of Welles's conjuring tricks. The shoot-out in the hall of mirrors is the most famous sequence, but there are other moments just as memorable.

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Peter Bradshaw

Guardian

Jul 24, 2014

5/5

It has an irresistible energy.

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David Parkinson

Empire Magazine

Jul 24, 2014

4/5

The plot's pleasingly convoluted, the performances amusingly varied, the mood sinisterly sustained. But the set-pieces are the work of a genius.

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Danielle Solzman

Solzy at the Movies

Aug 25, 2025

3.5/5

The Lady from Shanghai isn’t a typical film noir; it’s weirder and more bizarre than most, even with all the murders, plot twists, and remarkable camerawork.

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Calum Baker

Radio Times

May 2, 2025

4/5

The climactic hall-of-mirrors scene is the film's most famous, but Welles - still all of 32 at the time - contrives a mesmeric atmosphere throughout that makes this among the most striking examples of American film noir.

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Sean Axmaker

Stream on Demand

Sep 22, 2024

It’s a strange portrait in a career of corrupt figures, shady charlatans, and tragic fools, yet this unlikely Welles project is a wonderfully Wellesian film, a nightmare world of labyrinthine danger culminating in a dazzling hall of mirrors.

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bruce F

@bruce999 Aug 14, 2026

hard to resist. Well done movie.

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Johnathon W

@Hoppynsc May 31, 2026

Superb crime noir that ranks as one of Orson Welles's best, at least on the directorial side. The cast is solid, though Orson Welles lead performance is rather subdued, and he forgets he is supposed to have an Irish accent half the time. Thankfully, the rest are superb, with Rita Hayworth at her femme fatale best as the title character while Everett Sloane compelling as her lawyer husband. Behind the camera, Welles does deliver a twisty plot, with his O'Hara admitting to finding himself in a middle of a bunch of sharks, with all the double-crosses and murders. It culminates in a classic scene at a funhouse that remains one of the best ever shot. Overall, a classic film noir by any measure.

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Jarrod R

@RT27243469 May 20, 2026

Filmmaking par excellence. Amazing locales, gut-punching performances, and delightful attention to detail throughout. Rita Hayworth is pitch-perfect in this role. Only wish I could have watched this on the big screen.

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Leaburn O

@RT35452347 Nov 23, 2025

There’s so much I enjoyed in this noir but so much I was confused by. The plot is thick with big characters and an interesting premise but in the end I couldn’t adequately remember which character was which and definitely lost track of everyone’s motivations in the convoluted plot. It all ended in ludicrous fashion where it becomes clear that Welles had already decided he wanted to have a final scene in a hall of mirrors and made a ridiculous way of shoehorning it into the plot even though it made absolutely zero sense that the scene could ever have materialised. Unfortunately it was just all very silly in the end after a good opening hour. Watched on DVD.

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Kyle M

@RT77296778 Jul 5, 2025

Orson Welles has a sharp voice to upend his woodenly executed screenplay and grow confidence in direction as it cleverly unfolds to slowly establish engagement upon the clarifying climax whereas the entertainment value truly lies when culminating in full circle. (B)

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Jason C

@RT90084543 Nov 17, 2024

Some cool camera angles. Turned into a courthouse drama in the middle. But Rita Hayworth you could imagine getting in too deep for.

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Orson Welles

Director

Rita Hayworth

Elsa "Rosalie" Bannister

Orson Welles

Michael O'Hara

Everett Sloane

Arthur Bannister

Glenn Anders

George Grisby

Ted de Corsia

Sidney Broome

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Synopsis

A seaman becomes involved in a complex murder plot when he is hired to work on a yacht. He soon finds himself implicated in the murder, despite his innocence. The film is best remembered for it's climax "hall of mirrors" scene with a shoot out amidst shards of shattering glass.

Director: Orson Welles
Producer: Orson Welles
Screenwriter: Orson Welles
Production Co: Columbia Pictures
Genre: Mystery & Thriller, Crime, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Jun 9, 1948, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Jan 1, 2013
Runtime: 1h 27m
Sound Mix: Mono
Aspect Ratio: Flat (1.37:1)

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