User reviews

The Hawaiian detective, Charlie Chan, visits the homeland of his ancestors along with his son, Lee. Once there, not unexpectedly there is a murder and Chan is called into action to solve the crime. It seems that somehow the Opium trade and the US State Department are pulled into the case and it's up to clever Charlie to solve it. Along the way, you get to see Oland sing a cute little song to a group of kids (a rarity in these films) and his son is there to provide some comic relief, though it's much more subdued and less blundering like it was in later films--and this is indeed a relief. Lee isn't the idiot like many of the later Chan clan!

I've long thought that the Charlie Chan films deserve to be remembered far better than they have--particularly the early ones that featured Warner Oland as the brilliant detective. While they clearly were B-movies (lower budget films intended for a double-feature), they were significantly better than nearly all the other detective series films from the same era. Excellent writing and production values compared to the rest of the genre really set them apart. Here, we've got the whole package--Oland in the title role, his best sidekick (#1 son, played by Keye Luke), a very good plot and a less hurried pace than the cheaper series made by Monogram in the 1940s---so it's certainly well worth a look.

By the way, in today's world, the Chan films are not exactly welcome in many circles because they are NOT politically correct. This ISN'T because they portray Asians badly--heck, Chan is seen as brilliant and the rest of the Asians in this film are decent folks and not cardboard stereotypes. However, Chan was played in this and the rest of the films of the next couple decades by Westerners in Asian garb. While insensitive, for the era it was made, this was the norm and I hope that viewers can accept this and just watch the films for their own merits.

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

This is one of Warner Oland's best, in my opinion. I found it to have a very clear plot line with a neat twist at the end, albeit somewhat predictable. Oland made a terrific effort and Keye Luke was marvelous, without being "over the top". They could have left the singing out, though.

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!

If you want to see him dance, get the Red Dragon. If you want to see him sing, look no further. I like this one, it's one of the lesser seen early Chan films. This one had a bit more rough-housing than the the others. The shot of Lee Chan flying down a stairway in mid leap is great. It was always one of my most memorable Chan scenes.

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.

"Charlie Chan in Shanghai" was a 1935 entry into the very popular Charlie Chan series. It stars Warner Oland, Keye Luke, Jon Hall, and Irene Hervey.

Charlie (Oland) goes to Shanghai in order to meet with a Stanley Woodland, but he doesn't know why Woodland has sent for him. Once he's in Shanghai, he meets up with Lee (Luke), who has been sent by his company to look into some trade agreements.

At a welcoming dinner that evening, Woodland is killed, leaving Charlie further in the dark. He soon learns that he was asked there to help break up a large opium ring. There are attempts on his life as he tries to figure out who's bad and who's okay.

The Warner Oland Chan was much different from the Chan of Sidney Toler. The Oland Charlie was happy and enjoyed the company of his son; Toler seemed a much older Charlie (even though he wasn't), he was sarcastic somewhat slow, and his kids were always getting into trouble with Birmingham. I actually like both. It's been a while since I've seen Roland Winters.

At any rate, this is a good, if somewhat unremarkable story - Chan dealt with better mysteries, but both Oland and Keye Luke are very good and keep things lively.

I agree with one of the reviewers here - these aren't PC movies, but it's important to see the practices and views of other eras, as well as interesting to see the Hollywood casting traditions.

If you want a real casting eye-opener, take a look at Dragon Seed. A Swede as Charlie Chan will not seem unusual at all! Entertaining.

This was another very-solid entry in the long-running series that mainly featured either Warner Oland or Sidney Toler as "Charlie Chan." It's generally considered that Oland's films were superior. I enjoy both of them and, after just completing watching the Chan DVD set that were all Toler's films, this return to Oland was a shocker in a way.

I say "shocker" mainly because Chan was so nice and respectful to his kid. In the latter films, Toler's Chan does nothing but insult his son, whichever one accompanies him on various cases. Here, Oland's warmth for his Number One Son "Lee" (Keye Luke) is more than evident and "Lee" helps keep the case alive with a daring rescue of his kidnapped father.

The story is played much straighter, too, than the Toler versions. There is still levity with Chan' many profound-yet-funny proverbs but this is an action-packed short story played more like the mysteries they were supposed to be. Good stuff

Warner Oland returning via steamship to land of ancestors to assist British secret agent with unknown mission. Charming interlude aboard ship includes Chan singing song about Princess Ming Lo Fu and confessing his age (60). [He confessed his pajama size in previous film] Although warned to not go ashore, Chan sets out to meet Sir Stanley Woodland who is murdered before revealing to Chan what he had discovered. Chan defeats attempt on his life and kidnapping by gangsters. Chan meets with American agent and discovers the mission involved opium trade: "beauty of poppy conceals sting of death." Story is weak but it facilitates development of father/son relationship between Chan and his son Lee (Key Luke) who demonstrates martial arts and skills with disguise. Gang tries again to neutralize Chan but in end, key evidence is revealed and entire gang is sent off to Government House: "spider does not spin web for single fly." Recommended for those who need to see entire series.

1st watched 7/18/2009 - 6 out of 10 (Dir- James Tinling): Good mystery crime drama from the Charlie Chan vault. In this one he's in his homeland and a murder occurs at his reception of a British Intelligence man. Chan and his number one son are put on the case which eventually leads to an opium gang in the mother land. This is a good complex mystery that you have to pay really close attention to if you want to understand how it is solved. The main characters are also fun to watch as the son is always getting caught on the phone with a girl while he's supposed to be waiting for a phone call for his father. Warner Oland plays the Charlie Chan character well as we see the quiet smarts win over --as happens in all his cases. Otherwise, this is a pretty basic story but is done well and is effective.

There were no big winners or losers in the Oland Chan's, they maintained a happy, passable, watchable standard all the way through, including "Shanghai". If I had to take one with me to a desert island it'd probably be either "Black Camel" or "Opera" though. This one is slightly more ... routine maybe, Charlie's song was Definitely Not beautifully sung, the Versailles Cafe was a bit odd outside of Limehouse, and it seems the whole population of Shanghai was in with the opium smugglers and on the watch to do Charlie & Co. in.

Portrayal of a respected Chinaman by a Swede may not be seen as PC nowadays, but where do we draw the line? Warner Oland's portrayal could be still be seen as insulting to all modern day Swedes, Keye Luke's portrayal of a beggar in this is grossly insulting to all beggars who happen to be watching, Halliwell Hobbes to all Police Commissionaires etc. After 70 years of its (hopefully) innocently entertaining do we burn this film and all like it, and of course expunge all records in the history books? Who will choose the items to ban and destroy? Didn't Hitler and the Nazis follow this idea through??

But if you're still given a chance to see this, believe me, there are better in the series, but it's still a pleasing time filler no matter how artificial it is.

This is a nice clean mystery. Charlie is in Shanghai to receive some sort of honor. After a couple testimonials, a dear friend of his opens a box. In it is a revolver that goes off and kills him. Charlie has, himself, received a threat to his life. He suspects an attack and evades death when he puts some pillows in his bed which are attacked by the would be killer. Another development is the appearance of his son played by Keye Luke. The son is quite protective of his father. He is also carrying on a relationship with a young woman over the phone, causing consternation to his father who needs to stay in contact with the police. It turns out a couple is at the center of all this and are trying to isolate the two Chans in order to kill them. As is usually the case, Charlie has the ability to see things others don't. From watching the Chan movies in order, I would recommend not opening boxes if you can help it.

While visiting China, Charlie Chan finds himself the guest at a banquet in his honor. At the banquet, a man is murdered. Now Charlie and "Number One Son" Lee must investigate. This is one of the best of the Charlie Chan series. A nice mystery coupled with some humor and more action than usual for the series. Keye Luke is great in his second appearance as Lee. He was sorely missed in Egypt. Warner Oland is pitch-perfect, as always. We even get to hear him sing! Solid support from pretty Irene Hervey, Halliwell Hobbes, Russell Hicks, and Jon Hall in a very early role (billed under his real name Charles Locher). Just a fun story for fans of classic detective movies.

Hi there all you IMDb reviewers. Aren't we having fun? I just watched 'Charlie Chan in Shanghai' for about the 4th time. For some reason, I just love these 30's films. Silly, isn't it? Looking at the previous reviews, I don't recall any mentions of Irene Hervey. I think she's a real dish. She has one of those mouths that stays slightly open unless she consciously closes it - suggesting open-mouthed kisses are almost guaranteed. I looked at her filmography and was surprised to see that she had a very long and full career - surprised I was, because her name is not a household word. One of the things about this movie that I think is funny is the ending. Warner says to Keye that he can go back to the hotel and make one "female telephone call" (he can call his girlfriend) - Keye says "Thank you - so much", and Warner waves his hand like - "let's forget you said that". Does anybody know whether Warner and Keye got along well? Their greetings in these films seem so heartfelt. But, of course, they're actors, so who knows? I watched the very first Charlie Chan movie, which has an actual Chinese person as Charlie Chan. He is, in my opinion, boring. Perhaps Hollywood made an attempt to find a Chinese person to play Charlie Chan, but was unable to find anyone charismatic enough. Yes, Warner's portrayal undoubtedly sickens present-day Chinese, but they should recognize that he represented the Chinese to a credulous 30's American audience as a highly intelligent, globally respected person, and in the process undoubtedly created a positive impression of the Chinese at a time when they were under attack by the Japanese - perhaps that's what Hollywood had in mind.

Charlie Chan in Shanghai (1935)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

Charlie Chan (Warner Oland) is in Shanghai where he's about to receive an award but at the ceremony and man is murdered in a very clever way. Soon Chan and Lee Chan (Keye Luke) are investigating the murder, which leads to several attempts on their own lives.

CHARLIE CHAN IN SHANGHAI is certainly the weakest film in the series up to this point. That's not to say that this isn't an entertaining entry in the long-running series but it seems a lot of different things were asleep at the wheel including the story and the characters. It seems that they tried to make up for the lack of story by throwing more bits of humor surrounding Chan's son but even this doesn't quite pay off.

Again, the biggest issue is certainly the story itself, which is pretty routine from start to finish. Outside the clever way the first man is killed, there's really nothing too interesting here. The lack of any real villain is another thing that doesn't work and the lack of any good supporting players is another issue. This here really shocked me because you could say that the earlier films had enough stories for two movies yet this one here isn't given one or any good supporting players.

Where the film does work is the greatness of Oland in his role of Chan. Once again he manages to really build this character up and there's no doubt that he's working hard trying to make up for the lack of a plot. Luke is also good in his supporting role, although the screenplay gives him a tad bit too much comedy that doesn't always work. The rest of the supporting cast give decent performances but no one really stands out.

CHARLIE CHAN IN SHANGHAI isn't a bad movie per say but it's certainly lacking the script and characters of previous entries.

CHARLIE CHAN IN SHANGHAI (1935)

This is a decent if unremarkable Warner Oland Chan entry, though there are some good moments teaming up with Keye Luke as his Number One son. Here, the father and son team are in their native China where Charlie is being honored at a dinner.

Things take a morbid turn when a good friend of Chan's gets killed while making a speech, and it may or may not be intentional. The detective then becomes a target as he investigates an opium smuggling ring.

**1/2 out of four

Before Charlie Chan was in Shanghai, someone tries to kill Warner Oland on the boat from Hawaii. Even villains can get some unfriendly vibes at times.

Charlie Chan In Shanghai, the only time that the famous detective actually was in the land of his ancestors in the film series, finds Warner Oland and Keye Luke going there to help stamp out an opium smuggling ring. They are summoned there by a Scotland Yard Inspector who gets himself shot and killed during a banquet by means of a booby trapped box.

The suspect pool was a little thin in this particular movie which doesn't make it quite rise to the level of some of the other Oland and Sidney Toler features from Fox. It was also the last film released under the Fox film banner, henceforth all productions would be under the new reorganized 20th Century Fox.

As the villains also seemed to know every move that Oland was making for a while you know they had to have some inside help which also narrows the suspect pool. I think you'll figure it out way before the end.

Still Oland is at his inscrutable best in this feature.