West of Shanghai

West of Shanghai doesn’t start well, but stick with it.

We start with oilman Gordon Creed traveling via train to buy into Jim Hallet’s oil field in the wild-west frontier of northern China. Hallet’s struck oil, but is running out of cash and Creed figures he can leverage a share at a bargain price. Rival oilman Myron Galt and his daughter Lola are on the train to see Hallet too, Myron because he has a fifty-thousand dollar overdue note from Hallet and figures he can claim the oil field as payment, Lola because she’s carrying a torch for the American wildcat.

Along the way they befriend an eminent Chinese General and find themselves the subject of a military inquest, before finally meeting up with Hallet only to discover his oil field is overrun with bandits led by the fearsome General Fang.

Jim leads the group to a mission, where Lola’s dismayed to learn that Jim’s already in love with a missionary assistant, Jane, who happens to be Creed’s estranged wife.

If all this seems a little convoluted, don’t worry, soon Fang shows up, takes everyone hostage and the movie takes off.

Boris Karloff plays Fang as an unabashed egomaniac, and it’s a joy to watch. His rapid-fire broken English is snappy and entertaining, and he plays off the otherwise tepid support cast very well.

The film’s biggest misstep is waiting twenty minutes to get him on screen. While the film does a great job attending to the little details early on, like the smokey dining car where Creed and the Galt’s first meet, these touches can’t overcome the stilted delivery that plagues the first half. Once Karloff shows up however, all is forgiven, which is what makes West of Shanghai worth a look.