The Shanghai Gesture
"Mystery-lure of the Far East!"
Released19411h 39minNR
The Shanghai Gesture
"Mystery-lure of the Far East!"
Expecting the usual loss, a boxing manager takes bribes from a betting gangster without telling his fighter.
An aging gambler on a losing streak attempts to rob a casino in Monte Carlo. But someone's already tipped off the cops before he even makes a move.
When an employee at an illegal gambling den dies suspiciously, her sister, Nancy, looks into the situation and falls for Johnny O'Clock, a suave partner in the underground casino. Selfish and non-committal by nature, Johnny slowly begins to return Nancy's affection and decides to run away with her, but conflict within his business threatens their plans. As Johnny tries to distance himself from the casino, his shady past comes back to haunt him.
Childhood chums Rocky Sullivan and Jerry Connelly grow up on opposite sides of the fence: Rocky matures into a prominent gangster, while Jerry becomes a priest, tending to the needs of his old tenement neighborhood.
One unlucky evening, Louis Cropa, a part-time bookmaker, discovers that his restaurant has become a hotbed of conflicting characters. In addition to having to please a whiny food critic, Louis must fend off a hostile takeover from a pair of gangsters, to whom his sous-chef is in debt. Further, Louis has an argument with his son, the star chef, whose culinary creativity has brought success to the business.
Police Lt. Leonard Diamond vies to bring a clever, well connected, and sadistic gangster to justice all the while obsessing over the gangster's girlfriend.
A roustabout joins a traveling carny and schemes to figure out the mind-reading act of Mademoiselle Zeena and her alcoholic husband.
An examination of the machinations behind the scenes at a real estate office. Unscrupulous salesmen try to hawk dubious real estate to suckers.
Former war-time Army buddies now students in college decide to rip off a Reno casino.
A hard-working mother inches towards disaster as she divorces her husband and starts a successful restaurant business to support her spoiled daughter.
An up-and-coming poker player tries to prove himself in a high-stakes match against a long-time master of the game.
A dark personal secret drives a young woman to use every man she encounters.
Movie star Charlie Castle draws the ire of Hollywood producer Stanley Hoff when he refuses to sign a new seven-year contract. Castle is sick of the low quality of the studio's films and wants to start a new life. While his estranged wife supports him in the decision, Castle's talent agent urges him to reconsider. When Castle continues to be uncooperative, Hoff resorts to blackmail in order to get his way.
A troubled young woman becomes obsessed with her mysterious new neighbor, who bears a striking resemblance to the girl's dead mother.
A venal, spoiled stockbroker's wife impulsively embezzles $10,000 from the charity she chairs and desperately turns to a Burmese ivory trader to replace the stolen money.
In a time when pro wrestling for women was illegal all over the country, a small town single mother embraces the danger to change culture as she dominates America's most masculine sport to become the first million dollar female athlete in history.
A street smart runner develops an intense rivalry with an equally ambitious wealthy young athlete.
A rich man learns about a guru who can see without using his eyes. He sets out to master the skill in order to cheat at gambling.
An insurance man wishing for a more exciting life becomes wrapped up in the affairs of an imprisoned embezzler, his model girlfriend, and a violent private investigator.
An upper-crust family dinner is interrupted by a police inspector who brings news that a girl known to everyone present has died in suspicious circumstances. It seems that any or all of them could have had a hand in her death. But who is the mysterious Inspector and what can he want of them?
Victor Mature
Doctor Omar
Ona Munson
'Mother' Gin Sling
Gene Tierney
Victoria Charteris (aka "Poppy Smith")
Walter Huston
Sir Guy Charteris
Phyllis Brooks
Dixie Pomeroy
Albert Bassermann
Van Elst
Maria Ouspenskaya
The Amah
Eric Blore
Caesar Hawkins
Ivan Lebedeff
Boris
Mike Mazurki
The Coolie
Clyde Fillmore
Percival Montgomery Howe
Grayce Hampton
Lady Blessington