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Shanghai Madness (1933);
The Painted Woman (1932)

Shanghai Madness (1933)
February 5, 2012 - 7:00 pm

Shanghai Madness (1933)

Directed by John G. Blystone

Tracy plays a Naval officer dishonorably discharged after firing on a marauding Communist ship in the China seas against orders. Only as a mate on a scurrilous merchant ship does he find a second shot at heroism. Handed a role with limited emotional range, Tracy etches the depths of humiliation with sensitivity, and is enlivened by later action scenes, not to mention an opportune meeting with bored playgirl, Fay Wray.

Fox Film Corp. Producer: A. L. Rockett. Screenwriter: Austin Parker. Cinematographer: Lee Garmes. Editor: Margaret Clancy, Alexander Troffey. Cast: Spencer Tracy, Fay Wray, Ralph Morgan, Eugene Pallette, Herbert Mundin.

35mm, b/w, 68 min.

The Painted Woman (1932)

Directed by John Blystone

Fleeing a violent lover and a scandalous past, Singapore-based saloon singer “Kiddo” (Peggy Shannon) winds up on a remote tropical island and realizes the first possibility of true love with ex-marine “Tom” (Tracy), now the owner of a small pearl diving operation. Together they face down Kiddo’s fears and brave the future. Tracy’s breezy reading of this role is refreshingly buoyant and spontaneous.

Fox Film Corp. Screenwriter: Guy Bolton, Leon Gordon. Cinematographer: Ernest Palmer. Editor: Alex Troffey. Cast: Spencer Tracy, Peggy Shannon, William Boyd, Irving Pichel, Raul Roulien.

35mm, b/w, 73 min.