Shanghai Express
Artist
Hans Hillmann
Germany, 1925 - 2014
Date1972
Dimensions33 x 23 in. (83.8 x 58.4 cm)
ClassificationsPoster
Credit LinePoster House Permanent Collection
Object numberPH.907
DescriptionThis poster by Hans Hillmann for the Walter Kirchner film-distribution company promotes the Marlene Dietrich film, Shanghai Express of 1932, the fourth in her legendary collaboration with the director Josef von Sternberg. After he had directed the little-known actress in the German film Der blaue Engel (The Blue Angel) in 1930, Dietrich became a star overnight. She followed the director to Hollywood where they made six more films together for Paramount Studios between 1930 and 1935. Shanghai Express was characteristic of many of these movies; it was a somewhat salacious showcase for Dietrich’s sultry glamour, set in an exotic location fraught with danger. Dietrich plays Shanghai Lily, a prostitute enveloped in furs and cigarette smoke, one among a group of foreigners (including an old flame) held hostage on a train by a warlord during the Chinese Civil War. “It took more than one man to change my name to Shanghai Lily.” The moody poster here, showing the shadowy head of the star emerging at the lower edge of the image while a clock above, marked with Chinese characters, ominously marks the passing of time, reflects the cinematography of Lee Garmes; he won an Academy Award for his work on the film, not least the chiaroscuro lighting that emphasized the star’s allure and the story’s sinister theme.On View
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