West of Shanghai (1937)
American promoters Myron Galt (Douglas Wood) and Gordon Creed (Ricardo Cortez) arrive in a small village in the bandit-infested country of northern China. They intend to foreclose on a valuable oil concession owned by Jim Hallet (Gordon Oliver). Creed discovers his estranged wife, Jane (Beverly Roberts), a medical missionary, is in love with Hallet. But he refuses to give her a divorce. Looking for loot, an army of cutthroat bandits led by a renegade general, Wu Yen Fang (Boris Karloff), captures the town and sets up headquarters in the mission. The Americans and missionaries find themselves prisoners of the warlord and are at his mercy.
Fang remembers Hallet saved his life years ago when he was a coolie. Eager to return the favor, the warlord wipes out Hallet’s debt by tearing up the foreclosure note. After discovering Creed and his companion plotting to murder Hallet, Fang shoots Creed. Government troops finally arrive and take Fang prisoner. But the warlord nonchalantly faces the firing squad knowing his friend Jim Hallet and Jane are now free to marry.
Books with substantial mentioning of West of Shanghai
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Gary J. Svehla and Susan Svehla (editors) Boris Karloff Baltimore, 1996 |
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Richard Bojarski and Kenneth Beals The Films of Boris Karloff Secaucus, NJ, 1974 |
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