Set during the time of the Chinese Civil War, we are introduced to a host of passengers of diverse backgrounds on this train ride. Dietrich is front and center as an infamous courtesan known as Shanghai Lily who also carries a reputation as the "White Flower of the Chinese Coast." She is dressed with the feathers and fringes of exotic birds that cover her head and her whole body - she is only missing a pair of wings. It is one of her first scenes as she enters the train station with many bystanders taking notice. She shares a compartment with an Asian courtesan, Hiu Fei (Anna May Wong) who is far more restrained in her mood and style yet just as exotic (even for a Pre-Code 1930's flick, the word "prostitute" is not uttered to describe either woman though it is as clear as day what their occupations are). Also on board the Shanghai Express (though it makes a few unscheduled stops) are an amoral half-white, half-Chinese Rebel leader named Chang (Warner Oland, in one of his umpteenth Asian roles); thickly-British-accented military doctor (Clive Brook) who once had a romantic fling with Lily, and for comic relief there is Louise Closser Hale as Mrs. Haggerty who is always looking after her dog and has a boarding house that would be occupied only by "respectable people." Shanghai Lily and other passengers would hardly qualify as respectable.The film has a sweaty, tension-filled atmosphere to it, often complemented by silhouettes (Chinese soldiers sneaking into the train during an ambush) or characters hiding in the dark corners of a room (Wong's knife attack is truly startling). Even for a Pre-Code film there are some tough scenes such as an unseen rape and the aforementioned stabbing involving Wong's Hiu Fei who practically saves the train from sadistic evil. If I have any issues, it is with the stifling and uneven relationship between Lily and the military doctor - the actors don't exactly emit fireworks between each other and I grew impatient with their on-again, off-again romance built on betrayal and perhaps lust. Also odd is the relationship between Hiu Fei and Lily - one assumes they know each other well yet Lily tells the good doctor that she is no friend of hers. Huh? Depth is missing and some sense of history between the two - any implication, as other critics have alluded to, of some deeper, physical relationship between them is not even remotely suggested.
"Shanghai Express" still packs a wallop overall and manages to keep us intrigued with its stylish, chiaroscuro lighting (some of the most famous shots of Marlene Dietrich are in this film) and a suspenseful finish. Oh, and those less than respectable characters.
