The Lady from Shanghai

Orson Welles (director, screenwriter, starring)
Jean Louis (designer)
Robert Coburn, William Edward Cronenweth (still photographers)
Rita Hayworth, (starring)

Culver City, CA: Columbia Pictures, 1947. Three vintage photographs of director Orson Welles from the 1947 film. Photographer's stamp on the versos, and two with mimeo snipes on the versos.

Welles promised to write, produce, and direct a film for Columbia Pictures president Harry Cohn in exchange for an emergency $55,000 to help finance costuming for his 1946 Broadway musical "Around the World." The resultant film, based on Raymond Sherwood King's 1938 novel "If I Die Before I Wake," courted controversy, not least due to Welles' decision to have Hayes cut and bleach her iconic red hair for her performance. Although the film was a commercial failure in the US upon release, it is now considered a touchstone of the noir genre.

Shot on location in Mexico.

8 x 10 inches. Near Fine.

National Film Registry. Rosenbaum 1000. Selby US. Selby US Canon. Selby US Masterwork. Silver and Ward Classic Noir. Spicer US.


[Book #140757]