À l'ouest de Shanghai

When the Laemmle Family lost control of Universal Pictures in 1936 and his contract with them was at an end, Boris Karloff signed a one picture deal with Warner Brothers. That movie, THE WALKING DEAD directed by the legendary Michael Curtiz, was successful enough that the studio offered him a 4 picture deal. After finishing commitments in his native England for 2 pictures, BK returned to Warners and made the 3 movies in this set plus BRITISH INTELLIGENCE. Despite his reputation as "the King of Horror" and his undeniable box office clout, Karloff was generally viewed as a B movie actor and that's precisely what these 3 titles are.

WEST OF SHANGHAI is a real oddity. Although set in China, the film resembles a Western with lots of horseback riding and a set that looks like a Mexican cantina. Then there's a crime angle with lots of graft and double dealing concerning a local oil field. Finally there's BK himself playing a Chinese warlord (in politically incorrect Asian make-up) with more than a hint of black comedy. He has some choice dialogue which he makes the most of. Sheila Bromley scores as a tough minded American woman as does Vladimir Sokoloff as a weary Chinese general. At 62 minutes the movie is enjoyable and doesn't wear out its welcome.

The same cannot be said of THE INVISIBLE MENACE which despite its sci-fi sounding title, is just an ordinary murder mystery taken from an unsuccessful stage play called WITHOUT WARNING (it closed after just 17 performances). It is set on an Army base where a newly wed private and his smuggled in bride stumble across a grisly murder. At 59 minutes it feels roughly 30 minutes too long with stock characters and a totally wasted BK although, as usual, he has his moments. Both movies were directed by John Farrow (Mia's dad) who would move up the Hollywood ladder to bigger and better things.

The last movie in the set, and the best of the three, is DEVIL'S ISLAND about an unjustly accused doctor who is sent to the infamous locale for treating an injured criminal. The parallels to the real life case of Dr Samuel Mudd (who set John Wilkes Booth's leg after Lincoln's assassination) and to Henri Charriere (made famous by Steve McQueen in the movie PAPILLON) are fairly obvious. This film, directed by B movie specialist William Clemens, is full of atmospheric photography (on the same cantina set as SHANGHAI) with solid performances from everyone involved. A decent script also adds to the viewer's enjoyment.

Another in the long list of MOD Warner Archive DVD-Rs, this BORIS KARLOFF TRIPLE FEATURE is their usual bare bones release with no extra features and no subtitles. The films occasionally have contrast issues and in some places the volume is low but without restoration this is the best that they are going to be. While far from Boris' best they are also far from his worst and give him the opportunity to play non-horrific roles. If you're a Boris Karloff fan then you should have this set. The price is right and these forgotten films come from the 1930s which was BK's most interesting and productive decade...For more reviews visit The Capsule Critic.

This somewhat obscure film is helped by a quick running time and the presence of Karloff. On the downside it is overly talky and the few battle scenes it has are generic.

The script is decent though, and my interest in the film was undoubtedly bolstered a bit because I find contemporary Chinese history to be intriguing (not that this is a textbook reproduction of the period. :)

6/10. I wouldn't recommended it, but at the same time I feel it is above average with everything considered.

Attention All Fans Of Boris Karloff: if you have not yet watched this delightful Boris performance, you are missing a real treat! Sporting an effective Asian makeup, Karloff portrays robber General Wu Yen Fang, a dangerous tyrant in northern China with an endearing sense of humor. Fang seizes command and holds several visiting Americans prisoners, and it's a real pleasure watching the colorful general toying with them. Among the cast members is Ricardo Cortez, but the one to watch and who steals the show is Karloff himself. I would easily rank this role among his best ever; he played Asian parts a few times in his career, but this is the only time he's ever sold me completely on such a character, speaking in broken English and managing to disguise most of his own British accent here. Some of the most humorous scenes involve Fang's charming communication through his always-present trusty interpreter, trying to understand and shoot back some common Americanisms. In no time, Karloff makes us actually like and feel for this murderous criminal. At the time this movie was made, the production of the usual horror movies which Boris Karloff was so well known for were temporarily halted. I think that WEST OF SHANGHAI proves beyond a shadow of any doubt that Boris had no problem holding his own in non-scary character parts and would have gone on to succeed in other dramatic roles, had the ban on horror movies not ultimately been lifted. *** out of ****

With me it has become a bit of a cliché to say that Boris Karloff is reason enough to see anything, even if the film is not that good(ie. The Invisible Menace). But I do genuinely mean that, he is a very magnetic actor who has the ability to show more than one side to his character in any film and do it well. He is great here as Fang, his accent is not the best but you forgive that immediately when he does sympathetic, humour and threatening with such aplomb with no overdoing or underplaying. His make-up and use of broken English is also very effective and just adds to the performance and character. Ricardo Cortez is appealing and works very well with him, but the rest of the cast do the job solidly enough but with not the command that Karloff shows and with not the perfectly pitched chemistry he and Cortez share(that with Richard Loo's Cheng is good too). It is a good-looking film, and has some funny dialogue exchanges, for example "What are they going to do with him"/"they're going to bury him", that make up for the moments where it does get a little too talky. The story moves crisply and maintains interest with a somewhat movingly dignified ending. I did wish that the length was longer though, 64 minutes does seem too short to me, but the film doesn't rush through or feel like the story is too thin to sustain the duration(the latter being a major problem with The Invisible Menace). To conclude, an enjoyable film and Karloff is great, a longer length, a stronger supporting cast and a little less talk(sometimes that is) would've made it even better perhaps though. 7/10 Bethany Cox

I thought this was a well done movie. A group of Americans become in control of Fang, but while Fang is a killer(he decides who is good or bad), he befriends one of them because of a past experience. You become to like Boris Karloff character,General Fang. The chemistry between General Fang and Mr. Cheng is great and funny at times also. Ricardo Cortez does a good job fighting off Fang as Gordon Creed. Actually the fighting is usually with words and not action. Karloff does a great job of making this so-so movie better. I will give this film a 7.5 out of 10.