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IMDbPro

North of Shanghai

  • 19391939
  • ApprovedApproved
  • 59m
IMDb RATING
5.7/10
27
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
360,844
47,408
James Craig and Honorable Wu in North of Shanghai (1939)
DramaWar
American reporters Helen Warnet and Jed Howard meet on a boat to Shangai unaware that Japan had just invade China and enemy spies are everywhere.American reporters Helen Warnet and Jed Howard meet on a boat to Shangai unaware that Japan had just invade China and enemy spies are everywhere.American reporters Helen Warnet and Jed Howard meet on a boat to Shangai unaware that Japan had just invade China and enemy spies are everywhere.
IMDb RATING
5.7/10
27
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
360,844
47,408
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Director
      • D. Ross Lederman
    • Writers
      • Harold Buchman(screenplay)
      • Maurice Rapf
    • Stars
      • James Craig
      • Betty Furness
      • Keye Luke
    Top credits
    • Director
      • D. Ross Lederman
    • Writers
      • Harold Buchman(screenplay)
      • Maurice Rapf
    • Stars
      • James Craig
      • Betty Furness
      • Keye Luke
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 2User reviews
  • See production, box office & company info
  • Photos

    James Craig and Keye Luke in North of Shanghai (1939)
    James Craig, Al Herman, and Keye Luke in North of Shanghai (1939)
    Stanley Brown, Morgan Conway, James Craig, Betty Furness, and Dorothy Gulliver in North of Shanghai (1939)
    Add photo

    Top cast

    Edit
    James Craig
    James Craig
    • Jed Howard
    Betty Furness
    Betty Furness
    • Helen Warner
    Keye Luke
    Keye Luke
    • Jimmy Riley
    Morgan Conway
    Morgan Conway
    • Bob Laird
    Joe Downing
    • Chandler
    • (as Joseph Downing)
    Russell Hicks
    Russell Hicks
    • Rowley
    Dorothy Gulliver
    Dorothy Gulliver
    • Sue
    Honorable Wu
    Honorable Wu
    • Ming
    Dick Curtis
    Dick Curtis
    • Creighton
    E. Alyn Warren
    E. Alyn Warren
    • Leader
    Richard Loo
    Richard Loo
    • Jed's Pilot
    Lotus Liu
    Lotus Liu
    • Mrs. Riley
    Chester Gan
    Chester Gan
    • Policeman 'C'
    Philip Ahn
    Philip Ahn
    • Chinese Doctor
    Eddie Laughton
    • Sam
    • (as Ed Laughton)
    Louis Vincenot
    • Colonel Chen
    James B. Leong
    • Police Sergeant
    Stanley Brown
    Stanley Brown
    • Desk Clerk
    • Director
      • D. Ross Lederman
    • Writers
      • Harold Buchman(screenplay) (story)
      • Maurice Rapf
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    Storyline

    Edit

    User reviews2

    Review
    Top review
    7/10
    The fifth column in the newspaper
    Helen Warner, a famous US newspaperwoman is send by her boss to Shanghai. Gangsters -angry about her exposing them in front page articles- have threatened the newspaper. So her boss thinks she deserves a break, a holiday far away, and expenses paid. Little did he know she would stumble across yet another scoop and… a sweetheart!

    Traveling by boat took quite some time in those days, and all sorts of people took the opportunity to get acquainted. Remember Bogart meeting Mary Astor in "Across the Pacific". Helen too meets her love interest-to-be, in the shape of Jed Howard, a somewhat noisy but sympathetic war reporter. During the same trip, a strange incident takes place: an intruder was waited in Helen's cabin, and insisted in getting the film from her camera. He explained he was upset about being recognizable on some of her pictures. Somewhat irritated but also rather puzzled, Helen hands over the film.

    When Helen and Jed arrive in Shangai,they hear about the Japanese invasion of the north of China. Jed decides to go there with his Chinese cameraman. Helen -who hasn't told Jed she's a famous reporter too- decides to drop her holiday. She gets in contact with the local antenna of her newspaper. Soon she finds out that quite strange things are happening in that office. To begin with, the man who took her film on board of the ocean liner pops up here of all places. Although he denies having left the country recently, she identifies him via a scar. Helen also quickly has complaints about the strangely unprofessional and clumsy behavior of her local boss. But there is something bigger going on... Jed's cameraman is murdered in the street. Soon, it becomes clear that a fifth column is very active in providing valuable military information to the invaders. (Although it's never clearly said they are working for Germany –the movie is from 1939-a decoration behind the main plotters throws a strange shadow, in which something that looks like a swastika can be identified)

    No impressive action scenes, no dialogs which are nice little verbal ping pong games, and the baddies don't have the charisma of let's say Sydney Greenstreet or Peter Lorre. A nice little B-spy movie though, not particularly brilliant but still quite enjoyable. Rather something for completists. 7.5/10
    helpful•2
    0
    • VanheesBenoit
    • Jan 1, 2010

    Details

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    • Release date
      • January 24, 1939 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Life Is Cheap
    • Production company
      • Columbia Pictures
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Technical specs

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    • Runtime
      59 minutes
    • Color
      • Black and White
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.37 : 1

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    James Craig and Honorable Wu in North of Shanghai (1939)
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