The Shanghai Cobra

Back in the days before the American entry into World War II, Sidney Toler as Charlie Chan had occasion to arrest a man accused of a nasty string of killings involving use of cobra venom. That individual escaped. But when in America just post World War II, the same modus operandi turns up in a string of homicides in the same urban vicinity, Toler knows its The Shanghai Cobra at work again.

Toler's hunt for The Shanghai Cobra now involves him in a case where the Feds have a serious interest. The Cobra plans to steal some radium stored in a bank vault for the usual nefarious purposes. With the questionable help of Number 3 son Benson Fong and chauffeur Mantan Moreland, Charlie of course solves the mystery. Not without a few twists in it, like a jukebox with a television camera inside it. Television development was put on hold during the war years and it was still an object of wonder to the public. Also of course the ways The Shanghai Cobra does deliver death is interesting.

One thing though did bother me. You would think that such a man might seek an alternative type poison, lest his work attract the attention of people like Charlie Chan. Cobra venom poison is kind of unique in America, even today.

In any event though, The Shanghai Cobra is not a bad mystery and it is that because you will be crossed up in the end if you think you've identified The Shanghai Cobra.

When the strange death of three employees of the same bank from cobra venom startles the police, they start remembering a similar case that had occurred in Shanghai eight years before - and they think that the only one who can identify the killer named Jan Van Horn that had escaped before the trial back then is Charlie Chan, because it was him who'd caught him. But Charlie, once called in for help, explains that the convict had been burnt badly in an accident and his face has probably changed completely; and besides that, he'd always insisted that he'd been framed...

But one thing becomes clear pretty soon: there IS something going on in connection with the bank, where a large and immensely valuable amount of radium is stored; and, strange as it sounds, there also seems to be something wrong with the laundry next door, and the coffee shop across the street - and its jukebox...! And when Charlie, Tommy and Birmingham finally find out that there's a secret passage to the bank leading through the underground sewers, they get into a REALLY tight spot there...

This 'Charlie Chan' movie definitely has got a BIG 'touch' of Noir, from dark, rainy streets to a ruthless gang of killers to a genuine 'tough guy' private eye (well, he finally turns out not to be so tough after all...) - only the gags that Tommy and Birmingham, and even Charlie himself, deliver, lighten up the otherwise really 'black' and pretty suspenseful atmosphere. But after all the perils are overcome, and the RIGHT guys have been convicted, we get to see an ending that CERTAINLY is one of the funniest of ALL 'Charlie Chan' films!

This Charlie Chan entry was more mystery-oriented than most of the Monogram Pictures versions, which tended to rely more on humor. The earlier Warner Oland-Chan films were like this one with the emphasis more on serious issues. I liked both Oland and Sidney Toler in the role of Charlie Chan, so I have no complaints either way.

As usual, it's Charlie's assistants: "Birmingham Brown" (Mantan Moreland) and "Number Three Son Tommy" (Benson Fong) who need to be rescued. They also try to help but usually wind up in trouble. Charlie has to solve the murder and help his buddies. It's a good thing because "Tommy" and "Brimingham" are the ones who add spice to this story, which was flat until the halfway mark.

This is kind of strange story and nothing was stranger than this jukebox that was rigged as a camera, with somebody behind it. It's hard to describe but it very cool, and something - technology-wise, that seemed to be way ahead of its time.

None of the Monogram Chan movies in the 1940s were "classics" but they all were entertaining and offered something different. This movie is typical: boring for some viewers, fascinating for others, lulls that shouldn't be there, but a good mix of humor, suspense and mystery.

In a nutshell, Charlie is called to Washington to help a Federal guy with a baffling case. Charlie owed him a favor so he is cashing in. It seems three people have been killed with cobra venom and the prime suspect is a guy that got caught in Shanghai eight years ago but now is not recognized. Only Charlie would know who the guys is, hence, they need him. (The suspect, "Jan Van Horn" was badly burned when the Japanese bombed the city, as the time of his arrest.)

Anyway, all three recent victims of the cobra bite worked for Sixth National Bank but the police have no clue. No wonder they always need Chan's assistance. Most of the officers shown in these movies are clueless about anything.

The story, even at a little over one hour in length, is slow in the first half hour and could use some punching up, but once Charlie's kid and "Birmingham Brown" go down to the sewers to investigate, the film is fun. Anyway, it's not like you waste half the day watching it. Charlie Chan movies are usually a fun way to spend a little over an hour.

Charlie's still working for the Federal Govt., and along with no. 3 son Tommy and the rather subdued Birmingham are trying to prevent a gang of crooks stealing some radium from an impenetrable bank vault. Who are also being tailed by a watchful someone who they framed 8 years before in Shanghai.

They all seem to spend a lot of time in that old friend, the gas chamber from the Jade Mask, this time masquerading as the sewers under the bank. But the key to this movie's implausible Monogram-plot is the very advanced jukebox in the diner which is manned via television by baddies 2 blocks away in the depths of the Monogram bank. Unsurprisingly Charlie solves everything.

All of the above probably makes it sounds utter tripe, but I've always liked this outing from the team, with a nice and dark nitrate atmosphere pervading throughout to compensate for the plot's definite shortcomings. Not so many smart ass one-liners as in other efforts, but none the worse for that! Sure, it's the usual cheap Monogram affair, but if you sat through it knowing that and didn't like it kiss that hour goodbye forever!

If you're volunteering to watch a Charlie Chan movie, you already have some idea of what's in store, and as this is one of the late ones done at the Poverty Row Studio, Monogram, you may also know it's not heavy on either production values or a complex script.

That said, director Phil Karlson sets up the first five minutes as if this were a dynamic, lurking-in-the-shadows film noir, and immediately slips from dark, shadowy streets into a brightly-lit diner where the juke-box is also a one-way television which connects to a secret room somewhere else in the city; what's not to like? Sounds like the start of a fascinating mystery! Unfortunately, the remainder of the film doesn't develop many more startling innovations or follow up much with the television, getting lost somewhere as the script pages went missing, perhaps

There are, however, character treats along with way, such familiar folks as George Chandler as a cynical soda jerk and familiar-face Addison Richards as a suspicious bank guard; the 64 minutes are well-spent for the average "B" movie fan--but this ain't The Maltese Falcon although almost any hour spent with Charlie Chan can be unadulterated escapism.