The Lady From Shanghai. 1947. USA. Directed by Orson Welles. Screenplay by Welles, based on the novel by Sherwood King. With Rita Hayworth, Orson Welles, Everett Sloane, Glenn Anders. 87 min.
Before Orson Welles got his hands on it, this project belonged to William Castle---then a B director at Columbia -- who bought Sherwood King's novel and planned to shoot it himself. When Welles showed interest in it as a vehicle for his then-wife, Rita Hayworth, Castle recognized a rare opportunity and willingly stepped aside, remaining as associate producer.
What emerged instead was that rare beast: a noir comedy. Welles infused the material with his theatrical sensibility and perverse humor, starting with his own performance as Michael O'Hara, an Irish sailor with an accent that wanders across the Atlantic with wild abandon. The deliberate dislocations continue with Rita Hayworth's transformation from red-headed glamour queen to ice-blonde temptress, and Glenn Anders's unforgettable spin on the line, "Just tell 'em you're taking a little tarrrr-get practice." The wonders build toward the legendary finale in an abandoned funhouse, where the characters confront each other through some of the most striking visual compositions in American cinema.