Lady from Shanghai (1947)

I watched Lady from Shanghai last year on TCM, but it is much better on the big screen. In noir tradition, there is a big lug of a guy with dodgy morals (Orson Welles), the femme fatale (Rita Hayworth), the smart, irritating man (her husband), and an incomprehensible plot. No matter, for the style is mesmerizing, as is the closing scene in the house of mirrors. Welles was married to Hayworth at the time. Is the movie a metaphor for his powerlessness in the wake of her beauty and fame?

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