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6.7/10
Senior Film Conservator
A definitive 6.7/10 rating for a film that redefined the boundaries of cult cinema. Shanghaied Love remains a cornerstone of transgressive art.
Honestly, only if you have a soft spot for pre-code melodrama that doesn't mind being a bit mean-spirited. If you need your protagonists to be likable or the pacing to be brisk, you’re going to hate this one. It's the kind of movie that feels like it’s trying to punch you in the gut, but sometimes it just ends up throwing air instead.
Noah Beery as Captain Swope is just nasty. Like, cartoonishly villainous in a way that feels oddly grounded because he’s so committed to being a jerk. Watching him try to play a father figure to Mary after everything he did to her mother? It’s genuinely uncomfortable to watch, and not in a 'deep cinema' way, just in a 'this guy is a total creep' way. 🌊
The sets feel claustrophobic, which actually works in the movie's favor. You can practically smell the salt and the bad decisions on the Golden Bough. There is this one shot of the deck that lingers on a rope coiling for way too long, and I spent three minutes wondering if it was a technical glitch or just a weird stylistic choice. Probably just the budget running out, honestly.
It’s not quite as intense as the grit you see in Tseka komissar Mirostsenko, but it’s got its own weird energy. The film really drags in the middle when the crew is just standing around looking miserable. It’s like the actors were just as tired of the plot as I was starting to be.
I kept waiting for the emotional payoff, but the movie just sort of happens until it ends. It feels a bit like watching Why Women Remarry, if that movie had decided to trade in the domestic drama for a bunch of grumpy sailors and a stolen kid. It’s not necessarily bad, just incredibly uneven.
If you're a fan of old maritime yarns, you'll probably find enough to chew on here. Just don't go in expecting a masterpiece. It's a rough trip, but maybe that's the point. ⚓
