Shanghai Express (1932) Poster, French

Shanghai Express (1932) Poster, French

Artist: Roger Soubie (1898-1984)

Unframed: 31 x 24 in. (79 x 61 cm)

Framed: 37 1/2 x 29 1/2 in. (95.3 x 75 cm)

Roger Soubie has created a beautiful poster for one of Dietrich's most acclaimed films. He has brilliantly captured her sultry looks, and added interesting detail in the background in the way that he has stylised the train.

Very few of these beautiful French posters are known to have survived.

This fantastically atmospheric pre-code melodrama is the fourth collaboration (they made a total of seven films together) between director, Josef von Sternberg and Marlene Dietrich. This film marks the height of their iconic collaboration. Dietrich plays the notorious Shanghai Lily, a woman living by her wits. The film is set during the Chinese Civil War, and takes place during a hopeful three-day train from Peking to Shanghai. There are intriguing characters on the train with Shanghai Lily, including a past lover. All this makes for a heady combination of adventure and romance. Von Sternberg brilliantly shot the film, capturing breath-taking sequences.