The Lady from Shanghai

In the 40s, Rita Hayworth developed into Columbia Pictures’ biggest star. Her image as a love goddess was constructed under the supervision of studio boss Harry Cohn, for which her long, dyed-red hair was characteristic. Hayworth broke with precisely this image with her husband of the time Orson Welles when she had her hair cut short and dyed for the shoot for THE LADY FROM SHANGHAI with the press in attendance. As platinum blonde femme fatale Elsa Bannister, she entangles a sailor (Welles) in a volatile affair on the high sea before the very eyes of her rich husband and under the constant observation of his partner and a private detective. A delirious mix of jealousy, betrayal and murder unfolds in which no image can be fully trusted and every gesture can mean the opposite even before the famous finale in the hall of mirrors.