"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.
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.