Signal Fires of Shanghai

    Signal Fires of Shanghai
    1944

    Synopsis

    During the Taiping Rebellion of the mid-19th century, anti-Qing (Manchu) Chinese forces led by Taiping commander Li Xiucheng march on Shanghai. Although the Western powers are officially neutral, the British consul in Shanghai sides with the Qing imperial government, and counter to his own government's policy he retains American adventurer Frederick Townsend Ward to raise a mercenary force of foreigners in Shanghai and oppose the Taipings. Ward's force is routed, with heavy casualties, but since many of the casualties are British, the British army soon is drawn in on the side of the Qings. The only support for the Chinese comes from Japanese in Shanghai and anti-imperialist demonstrations in Japan. A family drama plays out against this historical background. After a Chinese home is destroyed by careless British shelling, killing the father and crippling a daughter, the surviving son vows revenge but begins to see that his true friends may be the Japanese.

    Your Movie Library

    Cast

    • Tsumasaburō BandōShinsaku Takasugi
    • Ryūnosuke TsukigataSaisuke Godai
    • Li Li-HuaWang Ying
    • Ryōsuke KagawaHeirokurô Numata
    • Ryōnosuke AzumaShakusaburô Ôtsuka
    • Tatsuya IshiguroKuranosuke Nakamuta
    • Yoshimatsu NakamuraBoartman
    • Xiucen DuanAh Yang - the waiter
    • Han Lan-GenAh Lin - the waiter
    • Jiang MingShen Changling

    Recommendations