''West of Shanghai'' is a 1937 American adventure film directed by

John Farrow John Villiers Farrow, KGCHS (10 February 190427 January 1963) was an Australian film director, producer, and screenwriter. Spending a considerable amount of his career in the United States, in 1942 he was nominated for the Academy Award for B ...

and starring

Boris Karloff William Henry Pratt (23 November 1887 – 2 February 1969), better known by his stage name Boris Karloff (), was an English actor. His portrayal of Frankenstein's monster in the horror film '' Frankenstein'' (1931) (his 82nd film) established ...

as a Chinese warlord. It is based on the 1920 Porter Emerson Browne play '' The Bad Man''. Three other films, all titled ''The Bad Man'', are also based on the same play: * in

1923 Events January–February * January 9 – Lithuania begins the Klaipėda Revolt to annex the Klaipėda Region (Memel Territory). * January 11 – Despite strong British protests, troops from France and Belgium occupy the Ruhr area, t ...

, directed by Edwin Carewe and starring

Holbrook Blinn Holbrook Blinn was an American stage and film actor. Early years Blinn was the son of Civil War veteran Col. Charles Blinn and actress Nellie Holbrook-Blinn. He was born in San Francisco and attended Stanford University before he began a career ...

* in

1930 Events January * January 15 – The Moon moves into its nearest point to Earth, called perigee, at the same time as its fullest phase of the Lunar Cycle. This is the closest moon distance at in recent history, and the next one will b ...

, directed by

Clarence Badger Clarence G. Badger (June 9, 1880 – June 17, 1964) was an American film director of feature films in the 1910s, 1920s and 1930s. His films include '' It'' and ''Red Hair'', more than a dozen features and shorts starring Will Rogers, and two feat ...

and starring

Walter Huston Walter Thomas Huston ( ;According to the Province of Ontario. ''Ontario, C ...

* in 1941, starring

Wallace Beery Wallace Fitzgerald Beery (April 1, 1885 – April 15, 1949) was an American film and stage actor. He is best known for his portrayal of Bill in '' Min and Bill'' (1930) opposite Marie Dressler, as General Director Preysing in '' Grand Hotel'' ( ...

and Ronald Reagan and directed by Richard Thorpe.

Plot

On a train bound for lawless northern China, businessman Gordon Creed ( Ricardo Cortez) encounters acquaintance Myron Galt ( Douglas Wood) and his attractive daughter Lola (

Sheila Bromley Sheila Bromley (born Sheila LeGay; October 31, 1911 – July 23, 2003), (The reference work ''Obituaries in the Performing Arts, 2003'' gave her birth date as October 31, 1907). sometimes billed as Sheila LeGay, Sheila Manners, Sheila Manno ...

). Galt is on his way to foreclose on a very promising oilfield built up by Jim Hallet (

Gordon Oliver Gordon Oliver (April 27, 1910 – January 26, 1995) was an American actor and film producer. He appeared in more than 40 films and television shows between 1933 and 1972. Biography Oliver began working in films in 1936, eventually working ...

). Creed, on the other hand, wants to offer Hallet enough money to pay off his loan from Galt (for a tidy share of the oilfield). Creed is annoyed when his reserved compartment is appropriated by General Chow Fu-Shan (

Vladimir Sokoloff Vladimir Aleksandrovich Sokoloff (russian: Влади́мир Алекса́ндрович Соколо́в; December 26, 1889 – February 15, 1962) was a Russian-American character actor of stage and screen. After studying theatre in Moscow, ...

). The general is on his way to deal with self-styled General Wu Yen Fang (

), a

warlord A warlord is a person who exercises military, economic, and political control over a region in a country without a strong national government; largely because of coercive control over the armed forces. Warlords have existed throughout much of h ...

who has taken control of a province. However, Chow Fu-Shan is assassinated on the train by one of Fang's men. After being questioned by military governor General Ma (

Tetsu Komai (23 April 1894 – 10 August 1970), also known as Tetsuo Komai, was a Japanese-American actor, known for his minor roles in Hollywood films. Biography Born in Kumamoto, Kyushu, Komai had small parts in over 50 films from the 1920s until the ...

), the three travel by horse to a remote town, where they find not only Hallet (

), but Creed's estranged wife Jane (

Beverly Roberts Beverly Louise Roberts (May 19, 1914 – July 13, 2009) was an American film and stage actress of the 1930s, as well as a singer and painter. She worked as business executive in the entertainment industry through the 1970s. Career Born in Bro ...

), who is working for missionary Dr. Abernathy (Gordon Hart). Then, Fang's subordinate, Captain Kung Nui (

Chester Gan Chester Gan (1908-1959) was an American character actor of Chinese descent who worked in Hollywood from the 1930s through the 1950s. Biography Chester Gan was born in Grass Valley, California, to Wing Hong Gan and Wong Shee. He went to China ...

) and his men take over the town. When Kung Nui casts his eyes on Jane, Hallet impulsively punches him. Jane and Hallet have fallen in love, though she does not believe in divorce and has kept their relationship strictly platonic. Hallet is knocked out and imprisoned. When Fang arrives, he tries to persuade Jane to go with him, promising she would enjoy it (blithely explaining "I am Fang"). Hallet escapes with the help of an associate disguised as one of Fang's soldiers, and sends him to notify General Ma of Fang's whereabouts. Hallet then breaks in on Fang and Jane's private discussion. Fang remembers Hallet, who once hid a

coolie A coolie (also spelled koelie, kuli, khuli, khulie, cooli, cooly, or quli) is a term for a low-wage labourer, typically of South Asian or East Asian descent. The word ''coolie'' was first popularized in the 16th century by European traders acros ...

and dug three bullets out of his shoulder; that was Fang before his meteoric rise. The warlord decides to help his benefactor. Fang robs Creed of $50,000, uses it to pay Galt what Hallet owes, then takes the money and offers it to Dr. Abernathy. Creed bribes Captain Kung Nui to rebel against Fang. Kung Nui wants to regain

face The face is the front of an animal's head that features the eyes, nose and mouth, and through which animals express many of their emotions. The face is crucial for human identity, and damage such as scarring or developmental deformities may aff ...

by having Hallet executed. Fang pretends to give in, but just before a firing squad shoots the oilman, Fang has his right-hand man, Mr. Cheng (

Richard Loo Richard Loo (October 1, 1903 – November 20, 1983) was an American film actor who was one of the most familiar Asian character actors in American films of the 1930s and 1940s. He appeared in more than 120 films between 1931 and 1982. Early lif ...

), kill Kung Nui. Afterward, Fang personally shoots Creed to fix Hallet's romantic problem, but only manages to wound him. Government troops arrive and force their way into the town. In the confusion, Jane, accompanied by Hallet, goes to attend to her husband's wound. Creed produces a gun and announces that Hallet is going to have a fatal accident, but is killed by Fang. With the battle lost, Fang decides to surrender rather than risk the lives of his captives by fighting to the end. He is taken out and shot.

Cast

as General Wu Yen Fang *

as Mrs. Jane Creed * Ricardo Cortez as Gordon Creed *

as Jim Hallet *

as Lola Galt * Douglas Wood as Myron Galt *

as General Chow Fu-Shan * Gordon Hart as Dr. Abernathy *

as Mr. Cheng *

as Captain Kung Nui *

as General Ma

Production

This was the second film John Farrow directed for Warner Bros. Karloff was to make ''Black Widow'' for Warner Bros. But the studio pushed forward the film in their schedule to take advantage of the

Second Sino-Japanese War The Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945) or War of Resistance (Chinese term) was a military conflict that was primarily waged between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan. The war made up the Chinese theater of the wider Pacific Th ...

. It was known during production as ''China Bandit'', then ''War Lord'', then ''The Adventures of Fang''.Stephen Jacobs, ''Boris Karloff: More Than a Monster'', Tomahawk Press 2011, p. 213 Filming took place in February 1937.

Willard Parker Willard Parker (born Worster Van Eps; February 5, 1912 – December 4, 1996) was an American film and television actor. He was a leading man under contract to Columbia Pictures in the 1940s and starred in the TV series '' Tales of the Texas Ran ...

was to have made his debut in the film. Karloff's makeup required three hours of work per day; this was less time than was required for his non-human roles.

Reception

The ''New York Times'' wrote Karloff "admirably acquits himself as a comedian" in the film which nonetheless had "atmospheric validity" due to "numerous Chinese extras and an imaginative treatment of sets."

References

External links