Lovesusti The Worst Film Ever

Tetrady not as good as all the hype

Platicsco Good story, Not enough for a whole film

pointyfilippa The movie runs out of plot and jokes well before the end of a two-hour running time, long for a light comedy.

Prichards12345 Charlie Chan in Shanghai sees Charlie on the trail of opium smugglers, and the movie itself is fairly action orientated rather than a sedate murder mystery. Charlie himself and his number one son Lee (Keye Luke) end up being kidnapped by the gang, who of course have a mysterious leader plotting to kill Charlie himself...Early on, following a warning, there's an attempt on Chan's life, and the film moves briskly along; another fine performance from Warner Oland helps see it home. In truth, though I figured out what was happening and nailed the villain's identity fairly quickly. Once again action is the order of the day as Charlie and the police have a shootout with the gang at the film's conclusion, in which they are quickly rounded up.This is a decent Chan movie; but I've lowered my mark a little because I guessed who the main killer was. Enjoying the series immensely overall.

MartinHafer The Hawaiian detective, Charlie Chan, visits the homeland of his ancestors along with his son, Lee. Once there, not unexpectedly there is a murder and Chan is called into action to solve the crime. It seems that somehow the Opium trade and the US State Department are pulled into the case and it's up to clever Charlie to solve it. Along the way, you get to see Oland sing a cute little song to a group of kids (a rarity in these films) and his son is there to provide some comic relief, though it's much more subdued and less blundering like it was in later films--and this is indeed a relief. Lee isn't the idiot like many of the later Chan clan!I've long thought that the Charlie Chan films deserve to be remembered far better than they have--particularly the early ones that featured Warner Oland as the brilliant detective. While they clearly were B-movies (lower budget films intended for a double-feature), they were significantly better than nearly all the other detective series films from the same era. Excellent writing and production values compared to the rest of the genre really set them apart. Here, we've got the whole package--Oland in the title role, his best sidekick (#1 son, played by Keye Luke), a very good plot and a less hurried pace than the cheaper series made by Monogram in the 1940s---so it's certainly well worth a look.By the way, in today's world, the Chan films are not exactly welcome in many circles because they are NOT politically correct. This ISN'T because they portray Asians badly--heck, Chan is seen as brilliant and the rest of the Asians in this film are decent folks and not cardboard stereotypes. However, Chan was played in this and the rest of the films of the next couple decades by Westerners in Asian garb. While insensitive, for the era it was made, this was the norm and I hope that viewers can accept this and just watch the films for their own merits.

gazzo-2 And in this case, that's True! Honest. Sorta.Spoiler warning was in affect too you know.This entry was pretty good. I always enjoyed seeing Keye Luke, be it in Mash or Gremlins or the Chan flix. You know pretty early on that Russell Hicks ain't quite what he seems to be, you know that Halliwell Hobbes was slumming it, and you know that they just kinda wedged the reveal of who 'Merlott' was half-assedly at the end. It's okay-the real baddie, of course, is Hicks as the bogus G-Man.I appreciated the warmth between Chan and son, liked Keye Luke's little flying leap on the baddie from the stairs, and the whole Shanghai setting. Odd that this was the only one set in Asia, but then....it's the 30's, what did you expect? I'm a fan of the series so I enjoyed this one too and rec. it if you like all things Oland too.**1/2 outta ****

tedg The original "Star Wars" had lots of weaknesses of imagination, but when it hit a sweet idea, we made up for all the inadequacies in our imagination. One of these is a roughneck bar where beings from all over the galaxy hang out. In the movie itself, the rubber masks and puppets are unforgivably cheap and lacking in imagination. But we allow it because the idea of such a place is fascinating.This movie features such a place, the "Cafe Versailles." It is a French Cafe in Shanghai, owned by a German drug smuggler. The entertainment is a Turkish belly dancer and many customers are sailors from all over the world. There's an overlord, an American in secret agent mufti. The police bosses are British and the unraveler is a Scandinavian pretending to be Chinese.This cafe features opium, which we are under the influence of, I'm sure; because I think we saw the very same set in one of the Basil Rathbone Holmes where he battles Moriarty, the Victorian equivalent of Vader, nay his superior.You might want to check out this entry in the Chan series just for a visit to this place. Otherwise, this is just one of a dreary parade, At least this one has an uncharacteristic twist at the end — in the cellar of the cafe.Ted's Evaluation -- 1 of 3: You can find something better to do with this part of your life.