Charlie Chan in Shanghai *** (1935, Warner Oland, Irene Hervey, Russell Hicks, Keye Luke, Halliwell Hobbes, Jon Hall) – Classic Movie Review 8692

Director James Tinling’s 1935 Charlie Chan in Shanghai is the ninth Charlie Chan film produced by 20th Century Fox with the title character played by Warner Oland.

Charlie Chan heads for Shanghai on the request of the US government to purge an opium smuggling drugs ring and he finds himself having to solve a homicide after a prominent colony official Sir Stanley Woodland (David Torrence) is murdered at a banquet honouring the detective.

Detective Chan (Oland)’s arrival in ‘land of honourable ancestors’ sparks off murder, kidnapping, impulsive antics by Number One Son, Lee Chan (Keye Luke) and a rich haul of amusing aphorisms.

A busy plot in the screenplay by Edward T Lowe Jr and Gerald Fairlie is rather slackly handled in the 71 minutes, but there is a fine cast of venerable character actors to add appeal and a lot of rushing around to add dynamism, and, as well as those assets, the period flavour is irresistible.

Also in the cast are Irene Hervey as Diana Woodland, Jon Hall as Philip Nash, Russell Hicks as James Andrews, Halliwell Hobbes as Colonel Watkins, police commissioner, Frederick Vogeding as Ivan Marloff, Neil Fitzgerald as Colonel Watkins’ aide Dakin, Max Wagner and Charles Locher.

© Derek Winnert 2019 Classic Movie Review 8692

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