Trivia for
The Lady from Shanghai (1947) More at IMDbPro »

• The yacht on which much of the action takes place belonged in real life as the "Zaca" to Errol Flynn. Flynn skippered the Zaca between takes, and he can be spotted in the background in a scene outside a cantina.
  
  
• Orson Welles was very displeased with the score put together by the studio-appointed composer. In a test screening, he put a temp stock score on which was supposed to be a model for the composer. The composer completely disregarded Welles' precisely laid-out blueprint. In particular, the final mirror scene was supposed to be unscored, to create the sense of terror.
  
  
• Orson Welles' original rough cut of this picture ran 155 minutes. Numerous cuts made by Columbia Pictures executives included a shortening of the famous "funhouse" finale.
  
  
• Orson Welles' decision to have Rita Hayworth cut her hair and bleach it caused a storm of controversy, and many in Hollywood believed it contributed to the film's poor box-office returns.
  
  
• Filmed in 1946, not released until 1947.
  
  
• Errol Flynn's own pet dachshund is seen in the yacht scenes, since it is Flynn's yacht Zaca in the film. Flynn also did all the aerial photography for that film's yacht scenes and is in the film incognito.
  
  
• After distinguished service during WWII in coastal patrol off California, the Zaca was sold out of Errol Flynn's estate and went through years of neglect and disputes in ownership. Rescued from certain destruction and restored by a wealthy Italian businessman, it sails now out of Monte Carlo, and is recognized as one of the finest yachts in the world.
  
  
• Columbia Pictures chief Harry Cohn thought the movie would ruin his star, Rita Hayworth, and held the release of the picture back for one year. Cohn ordered director Orson Welles to insert "glamour" shots (close-ups) of Hayworth. Because of the success of Hayworth's singing in other films, Cohn ordered filming of the scene where Hayworth sings "Please Don't Kiss Me."
  
  
• According to Orson Welles, this film grew out of an act of pure desperation. Welles, whose Mercury Theatre company produced a musical version of "Around the World in 80 Days," was in desperate need of money just before the Boston Preview. Mere hours before the show was due to open, the costumes had been impounded and unless Welles could come up with $55,000 to pay outstanding debts, the performance would have to be canceled. Stumbling upon a copy of "The Man I Killed," the novel upon which this film is based, Welles phoned Harry Cohn, instructing him to buy the rights to the novel and offering to write, direct and star in the film so long as Cohn would send $55,000 to Boston within two hours. The money arrived, and the production went on as planned.
  
  

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