CHARLIE CHAN AT THE OPERA (1936) B/W 66m dir: H. Bruce Humberstone

w/Warner Oland, Boris Karloff, Keye Luke, Charlotte Henry, Thomas Beck, Margaret Irving, Gregory Gaye, Nedda Harrigan, Frank Conroy, Guy Usher

From The Movie Guide: "Yes, Charlie Chan [based on the character created by Earl Derr Biggers] is a caricature of the East Asian personality and questions of racism do arise, but in his heyday in the 1930s the character of Chan presented an Oriental hero on the screen in what is perhaps the longest running series in movies. (The first Chan film was made in 1926 and the most recent in 1981.) There's something else going on here besides the caricature. Chan is probably unique in being a family detective and his collaboration with his sons is one of the attractions of the character. As with Nick and Nora Charles in THE THIN MAN movies, we're more interested in the relationship than in the mystery. Of the several actors who have played Chan, Warner Oland, who starred in this one, was generally regarded as the best.

"One of the best of the series, this entry has the added attraction of Boris Karloff as Gravelle, an opera star who is presumed dead after being caught in a fire at a theater. He survives as an amnesiac, however, and is admitted unidentified into a mental hospital. When a picture of his opera singer wife appears in the newspaper, Gravelle's memory is spurred and he recalls that it was his unfaithful wife and her lover who set the fire in an attempt to kill him. Seething with a desire for vengeance, Gravelle escapes the mental hospital and heads for the opera house. When several people turn up dead, Charlie Chan is called in to investigate.

"Included in the film is the opera Carnival, composed especially for the picture by Oscar Levant. This movie was so well made --- and holds up so well --- that its interest ranges far beyond the usual circle of Chan buffs."