Saturday, February 20, 2010

The Lady from Shanghai

Friday, February 19 @ 8:00 pm
Paramount Movie Classics
The Lady from Shanghai


I was in a cheap mood last night, so at the spur of the moment I went to movie night at the Oakland Paramount to see Orson Welles's the Lady from Shanghai. Even including the $6.20 BART trip, it's cheaper than a movie in the City & the atmosphere can't be beat. Even the restrooms are like temples! Customers are allowed to bring drinks into the auditorium, & several people seated around me were plenty happy well before the main feature even started.

I've never seen this movie all the way through before, & I found it a bit of a muddle. Judging from conversations around me as I was leaving, a lot of other people found it confusing too. It only came alive to me at the very end, in the scenes shot in San Francisco. By coincidence, just a few days ago I was in the new incarnation of the aquarium where Orson Welles & Rita Hayworth are caught kissing by giggling school children. The new aquarium is not as Gothic & noir-ish as the old one. & it is such a pity that Portsmouth Square was turned into a parking garage long ago.

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