Charlie Chan à Shanghaï

Just to let those who are more prejudice than they think: According to co-star Keye Luke Oland didn't need make-up when he played Charlie Chan; all he would do is curl down his mustache and curl up his eyebrows. In fact, the Chinese often mistook him for one of their own countrymen. He attributed this to the fact that his Russian grandmother was of Mongolian descent. It always makes me angry when people complain about actors who play other races let alone other characters, that is what actors do! Especially back in the 1970s people were always thin-skinned and did not even consider the era nor how people were in those days. They only look at these movies with modern eyes and their own set of prejudices are involved. Little people were in the entertainment business too they were making a living just like all actors do prejudice is not only harsh but rarely check the facts! These movies are awesome and should be watched to be enjoyed as the mysteries they are, I also may add Earl Derr Biggers didn't like the stereo type of the evil oriental. He wrote of a gentle, intelligent, family man, who's job was police detective, I would have loved to have known him. That he happened to be Chinese would have made no difference.

Another good, atmospheric, Warner Oland Chan film in which the honorable detective visits the land of his ancestors. Keye Luke is great as Lee who shows his bravery. There is an amusing scene at a banquet early on in the film. And how can a Chan film not be good when Oland gets to sing the story of Ming Lo Fu? An inside joke in the song is a line about "Fu Manchu"--the role Oland was famous for playing before he became Chan. The film gives you a good sense of Shanghai of the 30's from a Hollywood perspective, of course. It also features a shady waterfront bar called the Versailles Cafe. Another winner!

This is an engaging whodunit with a particularly charming back and forth between Warner Oland and Keye Luke. A good bit of action as well, with some some fisticuffs and bang bang. I was intrigued by several occasions where Chinese is spoken, although it appears none of it was critical to the plot. Certainly it is appropriate considering the locale in Shanghai. Some good little surprises here and there, with Charlie always ahead of everyone else in spite of a couple of perilous encounters.

If you like this series in general, you should be quite pleased with this entry. Warner Oland is, at least I think, the best Chan, showing warmth and wit and a playfulness his antecedents seem to lack.

This time, Charlie Chan pays a visit to China, the home of his honorable ancestors - and lands, of course, in Shanghai, the biggest and most infamous (and most dangerous) port in the world, an Eldorado for crimes of all kind, and especially for opium-smuggling...

The officials give a big banquet in Charlie's honor - where his old friend and colleague Sir Stanley Woodland, who'd been after the smuggling ring, is murdered in front of everybody's eyes. From that point on the story becomes more and more complicated, the suspects more and more, until even the most seemingly honest man - and woman - isn't above suspicion anymore...

Charlie's son Lee once again - when he's not busy flirting with girls on the telephone - gives his father VERY valuable assistance, until the whole intricate puzzle is solved in a shady shack on the waterfront...

Magnificently acted and photographed, with lots of moments of great suspense - and of great surprise, when it comes to revealing the identities of the 'heads' behind this big smuggling ring... An absolute 'must' for fans of classic crime in general, and of course of Charlie Chan in particular!

Filmed in 1935, CHARLIE CHAN IN SHANGHAI is the 9th film in the Fox series. It is also, rather curiously the only Chan film that would be set in Asian--the only time Hollywood allowed Chan to make it back to China.

In this episode, Chan travels to China--presumably on holiday. But Chan's holidays have a way of being investigations in disguise, and no sooner does his ship dock than he receives a warning note; later that evening a close personal friend is unexpectedly killed by an ingenious booby trap which may have been directed at Chan himself. Needless to say, Chan assumes a major role in the investigation, and quickly finds himself the target of several murderous assaults. Could it all be tied to an infamous opium smuggling ring? Could be! Although this particular Chan film does not offer a notable supporting cast, Keye Luke is once more along for the ride as Chan's "Number One Son" Lee, and every one plays a smart pace. The plot, while typically gimmicky, is superior and offers a final twist that Chan fans may see coming in advance--but only if they know Chan's character and very high standards.

Chan films are often accused of being racist, and critics often complain that the actors playing Chan wore "yellowface" make up. The films, however, must be seen within the context of their era. In the 1930s, Hollywood presented most Asian characters as either servile or as Fu Manchu-like entities; Chan was actually just about the only positive Asian character going, and as such the films were tremendously popular with Asian-American audiences of the era.

True enough, Chan is inevitably played by an occidental actor, but this was typical of the era, in which star status was considered more important than racial accuracy. (Other Asian characters were always portrayed by Asian actors, Keye Luke being a case in point.) Whatever the case, neither Warner Oland or the later Sidney Toler wore significant make-up for the role, and Oland--although a Swede by birth--actually had a strong strain of Asian ancestry in his family tree.

While I cannot say that CHARLIE CHAN IN SHANGHAI is among my favorite Chan films, it is well-made, a solid entry in the series. Chan fans should enjoy it quite a bit.

Gary F. Taylor, aka GFT, Amazon Reviewer