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.
Nathan Algren is an American hired to instruct the Japanese army in the ways of modern warfare, which finds him learning to respect the samurai and the honorable principles that rule them.
Down-on-his-luck veteran Tsugumo Hanshirō enters the courtyard of the prosperous House of Iyi. Unemployed, and with no family, he hopes to find a place to commit seppuku—and a worthy second to deliver the coup de grâce in his suicide ritual.
Akira Kurosawa's lauded feudal epic presents the tale of a petty thief who is recruited to impersonate Shingen, an aging warlord, in order to avoid attacks by competing clans.
Kondo Isami, the “Devil” commander of the Shinsengumi was one of Japan’s greatest national heroes and a peerless swordsman who devoted his life to protecting the shogun and fighting on the side of the Tokugawa.
In 16th century Japan, peasants Genjuro and Tobei sell their earthenware pots to a group of soldiers in a nearby village, in defiance of a local sage's warning against seeking to profit from warfare.
Seibei Iguchi leads a difficult life as a low ranking samurai at the turn of the nineteenth century. A widower with a meager income, Seibei struggles to take care of his two daughters and senile mother.
A group of travelers is stranded in a small country inn when the river floods during heavy rains. As the bad weather continues, tensions rise amongst the trapped travelers.
Afro Samurai avenged his father and found a life of peace. But the legendary master is forced back into the game by a beautiful and deadly woman from his past.
Kanichiro Yoshimura is a samurai and family man who can no longer support his wife and children on the low pay he receives from his small-town clan.
Alternative movies trailers for Signal Fires of Shanghai
More movie trailers, teasers, and clips from Signal Fires of Shanghai:
Signal Fires of Shanghai (1944) Comedic Language Barrier
From the 1944 film Signal Fires of Shanghai this clip combines the two halves of a humorous exchange between the Japanese delegation to Shanghai and their ...
Popular movie trailers from 1944
These some of the most viewed trailers for movies released in 1944:
A manufacturer and an impresario (who has promised some young people he will stage their show) are twin brothers causes a lot of confusion when the manufacturer is mistaken for his no-money brother.
Mukta and Anand are childhood friends and love each other. But Mukta belongs to higher social class than Anand and her family wants to arrange her marriage with Jawahar, son of a rich man.
Mamsie catches Lulu making a mess of the kitchen, so she punishes Lulu. When Lulu asks, "How do you know that I made this mess?", the maid says sarcastically, "A little bird told me!" Angered that the bird outside her home snitched to the family's maid, Lulu goes after the bird with her slingshot.
Feature version of the 1941 American serial film of the same name, made for export only, never shown in the USA in any medium, and evidently a lost film.
