The Shanghai Cobra

Yet another Charlie Chan B-Pic from Poverty row Monogram Pictures.

This time around Chan (Sidney Toler) is given the task of investigating the Murder of three Bank workers from Cobra venom, and in the same bank the Federal Government keeps valuable Radium in its Vaults worth several Millions of Dollars - The case has similarities to one Chan investigated in Shanghai 8 years earlier, although the main suspect vanished without a trace at the time.

Also along for the ride are No.3 son Tommy (Benson Fong) and Assistant Birmingham Brown (Mantan Moreland).

This 40's B-Pic by Low budget Studio Monogram Pictures is a pretty good Chan release, The Acting is above average and not as Wooden as in other episodes, There is more action and greater care in the Script and production this time and there are plenty of scenes in different locations rather than just a few rooms and despite the re-using of sets time and again (You'll notice rooms here that have been in other Monogram Chan Releases, even with the same pictures on the walls) all in all 'The Shanghai Cobra' is done with enough enthusiasm to make it pleasantly enjoyable.

*** out of *****

Sidney Toler is Charlie Chan in "The Shanghai Cobra," a 1945 film. The Chan series by now is in the hands of one of the "poverty row" studios, Monogram.

In this story, Charlie is called by an old colleague to help identify a man named Jan Van Horn,. Charlie arrested this man in Shanghai during the war; van Horn's modus operandi was killing with cobra venom. Van Horn at the time insisted that he was being framed. The man's face had been badly burned, and he escaped during deportation. Now he's probably had extensive plastic surgery.

Now four people have been killed with cobra venom, and all of them are involved with a bank that has radium in one of its vaults - radium that will be stolen if Charlie doesn't nab the criminal.

I admit I've always liked Sidney Toler as Charlie Chan, probably because I am most familiar with him in the role. And I admit that I've always loved Chan's relationship with Birmingham and find Mantan Moreland very funny. I know that kind of humor is out today, but as Birmingham the chauffeur, the talented Moreland has wonderful comic timing.

He also is treated on the same level as Charlie's son, in this case the number 3 son (Benson Fong). It's obvious that Birmingham has a close relationship with the Chan family.

These films have a certain formula - Charlie always solves the crime, of course, and whichever son accompanies him usually not only gets into trouble but drags Birmingham along with him.

However, no matter the studio, the Charlie Chan series is entertaining and enjoyable.

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.

"Most interesting case," Charlie Chan says. "In four months, three persons are murdered by bite of cobra fang."

The mysteriously murdered victims are all employees of a bank whose vault holds a valuable cache of radium. Crooks are after said radium and Charlie Chan is assigned to protect it. And the murders are not done by an actual cobra, it turns out, but by one of those dastardly sharp-tipped poison-dispensing devices hidden in a clever place....

This suspenseful series entry includes less comic relief than usual but moves fast and builds to an exciting climax that feels more like an action-adventure picture than the usual gather-the-suspects Chan resolution.

Number Three Son Benson Fong is on hand to help, as is chauffeur Mantan Moreland—so there are a few decent laughs. (Charlie Chan, fed up with his assistants: "You remain here until I find doghouse big enough to hold both of you.") Sidney Toler moves with confidence and even a bit of a swagger as the great detective.

Much of the action takes place in a diner that contains a unique jukebox: A coin is dropped and a song selected—but then instead of a record playing automatically, the request goes to a person sitting in a little room who then puts on the record manually. A video camera allows this disc jockey to view the interior of the diner and even communicate by microphone when desired. –I've never seen such a setup in real life but I have to say that the next time I see a jukebox I will be looking at it more closely.

While no one would mistake this Monogram effort for anything bigger, imaginative touches and familiar characters make it well worthwhile for Chan fans.

I particularly like this Chan as the first in which Tommy and Birmingham become partners in crime (pun intended). Notice Tommy reaching around and holding Birmingham's hand - there's real affection and togetherness there, although Birmingham doesn't necessarily want to follow Tommy. Are the plot twists nutty? Of course, it's a B movie, not Citizen Freakin' Kane, folks. They were making four of these a year - what do you want? Toler's Chan is more assertive than Oland - Toler orders the bank president around more than once. There's far less of Birmingham popping his eyes out in this one, and fewer 'feets don't fail me now' talk. Tommy seems destined for trouble, but otherwise this episode plays it straighter than some, more humorous Chans.

IF more people took these films for what they are - and not compare them to The Third Man - they might find themselves having a little more fun in life.