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* WhyWouldAnyoneTakeHimBack: A few feel that Donald is forgiven far too easily for his SlutShaming ways (although the movie calls him out for it repeatedly).
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* WhyWouldAnyoneTakeHimBack: A few feel that Donald is forgiven far too easily for his SlutShaming ways (although the movie calls him out for it repeatedly).repeatedly).
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Changed line(s) 28 (click to see context) from:
* SeinfeldIsUnfunny: The lighting might look nice to a modern audience but it was a seminal bit of film lighting at the time. It helped cement Marlene Dietrich's iconic status, and has been reproduced by {{Music/Queen}} and {{Music/Madonna}}. On the other hand, the film itself has held up very well and looks like it could have been made ten or twenty years later.
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* SeinfeldIsUnfunny: OnceOriginalNowCommon: The lighting might look nice to a modern audience but it was a seminal bit of film lighting at the time. It helped cement Marlene Dietrich's iconic status, and has been reproduced by {{Music/Queen}} and {{Music/Madonna}}. On the other hand, the film itself has held up very well and looks like it could have been made ten or twenty years later.
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*** Though at the same time, the character uttering these lines is consistently portrayed as an obnoxious lout who nobody seems to like, so this could be more his opinion than the film's.
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* RelationshipWritingFumble: Reviews at the time accused Clive Brook and Marlene Dietrich for not having enough chemistry. Indeed she shares a lot more with Hui Fei and even the French passenger she translates for.
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* BaseBreakingCharacter: Donald is either a boring misogynist who's far too judgmental and not interesting enough for Madeleine/Shanghai Lily to be so desperately in love with, or else a StoicWoobie whose hurt understandably suppresses his passion and it still comes out full force.
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* FansPreferTheNewHer:
** The lead character's given name is Madeleine, and she was very happy in that identity; only becoming the prostitute Shanghai Lily to survive after Donald broke her heart and left her. However, the Shanghai Lily persona allows her to wear glamorous, dramatic clothes and be a cool GoodBadGirl.
** The only times we get to see Hui Fei with her hair down are when Chang makes unwanted advances on her in the night, and [[spoiler: after he's raped her]]. Anna May Wong however looks stunning with her hair down, giving her an UnkemptBeauty.
** The lead character's given name is Madeleine, and she was very happy in that identity; only becoming the prostitute Shanghai Lily to survive after Donald broke her heart and left her. However, the Shanghai Lily persona allows her to wear glamorous, dramatic clothes and be a cool GoodBadGirl.
** The only times we get to see Hui Fei with her hair down are when Chang makes unwanted advances on her in the night, and [[spoiler: after he's raped her]]. Anna May Wong however looks stunning with her hair down, giving her an UnkemptBeauty.
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Changed line(s) 39 (click to see context) from:
** Shanghai Lily and Hui Fei having records playing in their compartment is actually meant to show them as being extravagant - as most people couldn't afford recorded music during the Great Depression. Mrs Haggarty complaining about the music later in the film is also because she sees them as wasting money that others don't have.
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** Shanghai Lily and Hui Fei having records playing in their compartment is actually meant to show them as being extravagant - as most people couldn't afford recorded music during the Great Depression.Depression (and they have a flashy portable phonograph). Mrs Haggarty complaining about the music later in the film is also because she sees them as wasting money that others don't have. Them playing hot jazz is likewise meant to show them as being rebellious.
** Mrs Haggerty has to hide her dog in her bag to avoid him being placed in the baggage car when she boards the train. He's then placed in the car when he's found out. These days, it's more appropriate to allow pets to travel via train, as long as the rail service is notified in advance. She looks rather irresponsible for not letting them know she was bringing an animal on board.
** Mrs Haggerty has to hide her dog in her bag to avoid him being placed in the baggage car when she boards the train. He's then placed in the car when he's found out. These days, it's more appropriate to allow pets to travel via train, as long as the rail service is notified in advance. She looks rather irresponsible for not letting them know she was bringing an animal on board.
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* HarsherInHindsight: It's somewhat prophetic that Mrs Haggerty is the one character to keep worrying that they'll all be killed when they're taken hostage. Her actress Louise Closser Hale would die only a year later.
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* LoveToHate: Sam Salt personifies the UglyAmericanStereotype, but damn if Eugene Pallette isn't enjoyable.
* {{Narm}}: One Anna May Wong biography referred to Marlene Dietrich's constant eyerolling in her scenes with Chang as being unintentionally hilarious.
* {{Narm}}: One Anna May Wong biography referred to Marlene Dietrich's constant eyerolling in her scenes with Chang as being unintentionally hilarious.
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* StoicWoobie:
** Madeleine/Shanghai Lily was left broken-hearted five years ago when Donald left her, and she's had to become a prostitute to survive. When she's reunited with him, she's looked down on by every other character on the train, and treated like a sex object by Chang. She has to face the possibility of the love of her life being blinded or else having to become TheMistress to a bloodthirsty rapist. [[spoiler: She also spends the last act of the film with everyone thinking she's a floozy that offered herself to Chang to secure her own comfort, none knowing she did so to save Donald's life]]. She does very little angsting about it however.
** Donald keeps his StiffUpperLip intact throughout the film, but it's obvious that Madeleine hurt him so badly he had to break it off with her - in spite of how much the separation also hurt. He avoided finding love again simply because he didn't want to be hurt that badly by another woman.
* UnintentionalPeriodPiece: The film's bleak and gloomy tone instantly mark it as a 1930s piece - where the themes of identity loss and displacement parallel those of the Great Depression. Madeleine's character is also a remnant of the "European mystique" that Hollywood held for the likes of Creator/MarleneDietrich and Creator/GretaGarbo before her - instantly marking the film as being made before the rise of Nazism in Germany. The fact that the film is so obvious about what Madeleine and Hui Fei [[HighClassCallGirl do for a living]] marks it as being made during UsefulNotes/ThePreCodeEra.
** Madeleine/Shanghai Lily was left broken-hearted five years ago when Donald left her, and she's had to become a prostitute to survive. When she's reunited with him, she's looked down on by every other character on the train, and treated like a sex object by Chang. She has to face the possibility of the love of her life being blinded or else having to become TheMistress to a bloodthirsty rapist. [[spoiler: She also spends the last act of the film with everyone thinking she's a floozy that offered herself to Chang to secure her own comfort, none knowing she did so to save Donald's life]]. She does very little angsting about it however.
** Donald keeps his StiffUpperLip intact throughout the film, but it's obvious that Madeleine hurt him so badly he had to break it off with her - in spite of how much the separation also hurt. He avoided finding love again simply because he didn't want to be hurt that badly by another woman.
* UnintentionalPeriodPiece: The film's bleak and gloomy tone instantly mark it as a 1930s piece - where the themes of identity loss and displacement parallel those of the Great Depression. Madeleine's character is also a remnant of the "European mystique" that Hollywood held for the likes of Creator/MarleneDietrich and Creator/GretaGarbo before her - instantly marking the film as being made before the rise of Nazism in Germany. The fact that the film is so obvious about what Madeleine and Hui Fei [[HighClassCallGirl do for a living]] marks it as being made during UsefulNotes/ThePreCodeEra.
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* DirectorDisplacement: Inverted. Although Lee Garmes won the Oscar for the cinematography, director Josef von Sternberg was responsible for most of it (if Marlene Dietrich is to be believed).
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* ValuesResonance: The statements the film makes about SlutShaming are still shockingly resonant with a modern audience.
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* ValuesResonance: The statements Pointed out [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_gtPieijRa8 here]], the film makes some strong statements about prejudice and SlutShaming - where the respectable white characters are still shockingly resonant with a modern audience.shown as flawed, hypocritical and ignorant. Hui Fei likewise averts any racial stereotyping and [[spoiler: is the one that ends up really saving the day]]. She's also played by an actual Asian actress.
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* WhatDoYouMeanItsNotSymbolic: [[spoiler: Chang - played by a white actor in {{Yellowface}} - is stabbed to death by Hui Fei, who is played by an actual Chinese actress.]] The former is shown as a ruthless misogynist and the latter as one of the most moral characters.
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* AlternateCharacterInterpretation: The screen fades to black before [[spoiler: Chang rapes Hui Fei. Was it a straightforward rape? Or did he proposition her the way he did Madeleine? Or was it some form of both? Did Hui Fei go along with it, planning to kill Chang for it later?]]
to:
* AlternateCharacterInterpretation: AlternateCharacterInterpretation:
** The screen fades to black before [[spoiler: Chang rapes Hui Fei. Was it a straightforward rape? Or did he proposition her the way he did Madeleine? Or was it some form of both? Did Hui Fei go along with it, planning to kill Chang for itlater?]]later?]]
** Also the brief scene where Hui Fei pulls the dagger out of her bag [[spoiler: after she's raped]]. Was she already planning to [[spoiler: stab Chang as revenge]]? Or was she going to use it on herself before Lily's "don't do anything stupid" pep talk?
** The screen fades to black before [[spoiler: Chang rapes Hui Fei. Was it a straightforward rape? Or did he proposition her the way he did Madeleine? Or was it some form of both? Did Hui Fei go along with it, planning to kill Chang for it
** Also the brief scene where Hui Fei pulls the dagger out of her bag [[spoiler: after she's raped]]. Was she already planning to [[spoiler: stab Chang as revenge]]? Or was she going to use it on herself before Lily's "don't do anything stupid" pep talk?
* RelationshipWritingFumble: Reviews at the time accused Clive Brook and Marlene Dietrich for not having enough chemistry. Indeed she shares a lot more with Hui Fei and even the French passenger she translates for.
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* ValuesDissonance: This line that could only be uttered completely straight in a film from the 1930s?
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* ValuesDissonance: ValuesDissonance:
** This line that could only be uttered completely straight in a film from the 1930s?
** This line that could only be uttered completely straight in a film from the 1930s?
** Shanghai Lily and Hui Fei having records playing in their compartment is actually meant to show them as being extravagant - as most people couldn't afford recorded music during the Great Depression. Mrs Haggarty complaining about the music later in the film is also because she sees them as wasting money that others don't have.
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* SugarWiki/VisualEffectsOfAwesome: The film's stunning lighting deserves a mention for just how seminal it was in filmmaking. Naturally it won an Oscar for Best Cinematography.
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* SugarWiki/VisualEffectsOfAwesome: The film's stunning lighting deserves a mention for just how seminal it was in filmmaking. Naturally it won an Oscar for Best Cinematography.Cinematography.
* WhyWouldAnyoneTakeHimBack: A few feel that Donald is forgiven far too easily for his SlutShaming ways (although the movie calls him out for it repeatedly).
* WhyWouldAnyoneTakeHimBack: A few feel that Donald is forgiven far too easily for his SlutShaming ways (although the movie calls him out for it repeatedly).
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* SugarWiki/AwesomeMoments: Hui Fei [[spoiler: stabbing Chang in the back and saving everyone]]. And afterwards she walks in and calmly announces the fact [[ButForMeItWasTuesday as if it was Tuesday to her]].
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* SugarWiki/AwesomeMoments: SugarWiki/AwesomeMoments:
** Hui Fei [[spoiler: stabbing Chang in the back and saving everyone]]. And afterwards she walks in and calmly announces the fact [[ButForMeItWasTuesday as if it was Tuesday toher]].her]].
** Dr Carmichael pretty much admitting that he was wrong about Lily, and telling Donald that he would be an idiot if he let her go. This is a heavily religious man admitting that a prostitute is a girl worth being in love with.
** Hui Fei [[spoiler: stabbing Chang in the back and saving everyone]]. And afterwards she walks in and calmly announces the fact [[ButForMeItWasTuesday as if it was Tuesday to
** Dr Carmichael pretty much admitting that he was wrong about Lily, and telling Donald that he would be an idiot if he let her go. This is a heavily religious man admitting that a prostitute is a girl worth being in love with.
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* SugarWiki/HeartwarmingMoments:
** Driven to absolute despair at not being able to do anything when her lover is a hostage and her friend has just been taken to be raped, all Lily can do is [[AintTooProudToBeg pray for their safety.]]
** Dr Carmichael sees the above and is convinced that Lily's offer of SexForServices to Chang was far more nuanced. He's the only one who believes this, gets the truth out of her and then tells Donald to essentially be with his girl.
** It turns out the French passenger is a disgraced soldier who wears his uniform so that his sister - who he's going to visit - won't know (Lily tells us this when interpreting for him to Chang). In the climax, we see him reuniting with his sister. He introduces her to Lily and thanks her for helping him.
** Driven to absolute despair at not being able to do anything when her lover is a hostage and her friend has just been taken to be raped, all Lily can do is [[AintTooProudToBeg pray for their safety.]]
** Dr Carmichael sees the above and is convinced that Lily's offer of SexForServices to Chang was far more nuanced. He's the only one who believes this, gets the truth out of her and then tells Donald to essentially be with his girl.
** It turns out the French passenger is a disgraced soldier who wears his uniform so that his sister - who he's going to visit - won't know (Lily tells us this when interpreting for him to Chang). In the climax, we see him reuniting with his sister. He introduces her to Lily and thanks her for helping him.
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* ValuesResonance: The statements the film makes about SlutShaming are still shockingly resonant with a modern audience.
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* VisualEffectsOfAwesome: The film's stunning lighting deserves a mention for just how seminal it was in filmmaking. Naturally it won an Oscar for Best Cinematography.
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* VisualEffectsOfAwesome: SugarWiki/VisualEffectsOfAwesome: The film's stunning lighting deserves a mention for just how seminal it was in filmmaking. Naturally it won an Oscar for Best Cinematography.
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* SugarWiki/AwesomeMoments: Hui Fei [[spoiler: stabbing Chang in the back and saving everyone]]. And afterwards she walks in and calmly announces the fact [[ButForMeItWasTuesday as if it was Tuesday to her]].
* AlternateCharacterInterpretation: The screen fades to black before [[spoiler: Chang rapes Hui Fei. Was it a straightforward rape? Or did he proposition her the way he did Madeleine? Or was it some form of both? Did Hui Fei go along with it, planning to kill Chang for it later?]]
* AngstWhatAngst: [[spoiler: Although Hui Fei stabs Chang as revenge for raping her, she doesn't display any angst about it afterwards]].
* AwardSnub: Neither Marlene Dietrich nor Anna May Wong got nominated at the Oscars that year. In the latter case, the Best Supporting Actress category didn't exist yet.
* AlternateCharacterInterpretation: The screen fades to black before [[spoiler: Chang rapes Hui Fei. Was it a straightforward rape? Or did he proposition her the way he did Madeleine? Or was it some form of both? Did Hui Fei go along with it, planning to kill Chang for it later?]]
* AngstWhatAngst: [[spoiler: Although Hui Fei stabs Chang as revenge for raping her, she doesn't display any angst about it afterwards]].
* AwardSnub: Neither Marlene Dietrich nor Anna May Wong got nominated at the Oscars that year. In the latter case, the Best Supporting Actress category didn't exist yet.
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* LesYay: Not as much as you'd think, as it's made clear that Shanghai Lily and Hui Fei are only acquaintances. But the chemistry between the two actresses led to rumours of an affair between them for years.
* UnintentionalPeriodPiece: The film's bleak and gloomy tone instantly mark it as a 1930s piece - where the themes of identity loss and displacement parallel those of the Great Depression. Madeleine's character is also a remnant of the "European mystique" that Hollywood held for the likes of Creator/MarleneDietrich and Creator/GretaGarbo before her - instantly marking the film as being made before the rise of Nazism in Germany.
* UnintentionalPeriodPiece: The film's bleak and gloomy tone instantly mark it as a 1930s piece - where the themes of identity loss and displacement parallel those of the Great Depression. Madeleine's character is also a remnant of the "European mystique" that Hollywood held for the likes of Creator/MarleneDietrich and Creator/GretaGarbo before her - instantly marking the film as being made before the rise of Nazism in Germany.
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* LesYay: Not as much as you'd think, as it's made clear that Shanghai Lily and Hui Fei are only acquaintances. But the chemistry between the two actresses led to rumours rumors of an affair between them for years.
*UnintentionalPeriodPiece: SeinfeldIsUnfunny: The film's bleak lighting might look nice to a modern audience but it was a seminal bit of film lighting at the time. It helped cement Marlene Dietrich's iconic status, and gloomy tone instantly mark has been reproduced by {{Music/Queen}} and {{Music/Madonna}}. On the other hand, the film itself has held up very well and looks like it as could have been made ten or twenty years later.
* SignatureScene:
** The reunion between Donald and Madeleine, with the windowsill dividing them is a1930s piece - memorable one. The use of light and shadow, Marlene Dietrich's outfit and of course the famous line.
--> "It took more than one man to change my name to 'Shanghai Lily'..."
** The other memorable scene is where thethemes of identity loss stuffy Mrs Haggerty tries to give Madeleine and displacement parallel those of Hui Fei the Great Depression. Madeleine's character is also a remnant address of the "European mystique" her boarding house, only to discover they're [[HighClassCallGirl that Hollywood held for type of girl]].
--> "Don't you find respectable people terribly dull?"
* SpecialEffectFailure: The rear projection effects as thelikes of Creator/MarleneDietrich and Creator/GretaGarbo before her - instantly marking the film as being made before the rise of Nazism train is moving. The backgrounds look way too big in Germany.some places.
*
* SignatureScene:
** The reunion between Donald and Madeleine, with the windowsill dividing them is a
--> "It took more than one man to change my name to 'Shanghai Lily'..."
** The other memorable scene is where the
--> "Don't you find respectable people terribly dull?"
* SpecialEffectFailure: The rear projection effects as the
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--> “What future is there in bein’ a Chinaman? You’re born, eat your way through a handful of rice, and you die. What a country! Let’s have a drink!”
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--> “What future is there in bein’ a Chinaman? You’re born, eat your way through a handful of rice, and you die. What a country! Let’s have a drink!”drink!”
* VisualEffectsOfAwesome: The film's stunning lighting deserves a mention for just how seminal it was in filmmaking. Naturally it won an Oscar for Best Cinematography.
* VisualEffectsOfAwesome: The film's stunning lighting deserves a mention for just how seminal it was in filmmaking. Naturally it won an Oscar for Best Cinematography.
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* ActorShipping: Marlene Dietrich and Anna May Wong were shipped for years by people who thought they had an affair. They were JustFriends.
* FairForItsDay: The film is pretty feminist. Notably it's Madeleine who saves Donald's life by offering herself as a SexSlave to Chang. Meanwhile it is [[spoiler: Hui Fei who ultimately disposes of Chang]]. Mr Carmichel also learns that prostitutes can have souls after all.
* HilariousInHindsight: If you remember that Marlene Dietrich was hyped as a SpiritualSuccessor to Greta Garbo, the line where she asks Donald "[[Film/GrandHotel do you want to be alone?"]] is quite amusing.
* JustHereForGodzilla:
** Some people watch the movie just to see Creator/AnnaMayWong in a big role that isn't a DragonLady.
** Others watch it just for the [[CostumePorn costumes]] worn by Marlene Dietrich.
* LesYay: Not as much as you'd think, as it's made clear that Shanghai Lily and Hui Fei are only acquaintances. But the chemistry between the two actresses led to rumours of an affair between them for years.
* UnintentionalPeriodPiece: The film's bleak and gloomy tone instantly mark it as a 1930s piece - where the themes of identity loss and displacement parallel those of the Great Depression. Madeleine's character is also a remnant of the "European mystique" that Hollywood held for the likes of Creator/MarleneDietrich and Creator/GretaGarbo before her - instantly marking the film as being made before the rise of Nazism in Germany.
* ValuesDissonance: This line that could only be uttered completely straight in a film from the 1930s?
--> “What future is there in bein’ a Chinaman? You’re born, eat your way through a handful of rice, and you die. What a country! Let’s have a drink!”
* FairForItsDay: The film is pretty feminist. Notably it's Madeleine who saves Donald's life by offering herself as a SexSlave to Chang. Meanwhile it is [[spoiler: Hui Fei who ultimately disposes of Chang]]. Mr Carmichel also learns that prostitutes can have souls after all.
* HilariousInHindsight: If you remember that Marlene Dietrich was hyped as a SpiritualSuccessor to Greta Garbo, the line where she asks Donald "[[Film/GrandHotel do you want to be alone?"]] is quite amusing.
* JustHereForGodzilla:
** Some people watch the movie just to see Creator/AnnaMayWong in a big role that isn't a DragonLady.
** Others watch it just for the [[CostumePorn costumes]] worn by Marlene Dietrich.
* LesYay: Not as much as you'd think, as it's made clear that Shanghai Lily and Hui Fei are only acquaintances. But the chemistry between the two actresses led to rumours of an affair between them for years.
* UnintentionalPeriodPiece: The film's bleak and gloomy tone instantly mark it as a 1930s piece - where the themes of identity loss and displacement parallel those of the Great Depression. Madeleine's character is also a remnant of the "European mystique" that Hollywood held for the likes of Creator/MarleneDietrich and Creator/GretaGarbo before her - instantly marking the film as being made before the rise of Nazism in Germany.
* ValuesDissonance: This line that could only be uttered completely straight in a film from the 1930s?
--> “What future is there in bein’ a Chinaman? You’re born, eat your way through a handful of rice, and you die. What a country! Let’s have a drink!”
