{"id":9161,"date":"2009-08-15T13:10:38","date_gmt":"2009-08-15T20:10:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=9161"},"modified":"2021-01-29T20:42:04","modified_gmt":"2021-01-30T03:42:04","slug":"charlie-chan-at-the-opera-1936","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=9161","title":{"rendered":"Charlie Chan at the Opera (1936)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>&#8220;Small things sometimes tell large story.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<table>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/Charlie-Chan-Opera.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/Charlie-Chan-Opera-206x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"206\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-66946\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/Charlie-Chan-Opera-206x300.jpg 206w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/Charlie-Chan-Opera-88x128.jpg 88w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/Charlie-Chan-Opera-186x270.jpg 186w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/Charlie-Chan-Opera.jpg 519w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 206px) 100vw, 206px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Synopsis:<\/strong><br \/>\nWhen a delusional amnesiac (Boris Karloff) escapes from a sanitarium in search of an opera singer (Margaret Irving), Chinese detective Charlie Chan (Warner Oland) and his &#8220;number one son&#8221; (Keye Luke) are on the case.\n<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p>\n<strong>Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Asian-Americans<\/li>\n<li>Boris Karloff Films<\/li>\n<li>Detectives and Private Eyes<\/li>\n<li>Murder Mystery<\/li>\n<li>Opera<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Review: <\/strong><br \/>\nAs I wrote in my review of <a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=4188\"><em>Charlie Chan at Treasure Island<\/em> (1939)<\/a>, it&#8217;s a shame that Hollywood primarily cast white actors in the central role of this popular and long-running detective series (though <a href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Charlie_Chan\">it should be noted<\/a> that Asian actors were originally tried, without box office success). Swedish actor Warner Oland was the original &#8220;white&#8221; Chan, appearing in no less than 16 films in the series before his untimely death from pneumonia in 1938. While Oland does a fine job, it&#8217;s much more refreshing (from an historical perspective) to see Chinese-American Keye Luke playing his Number One Son &#8212; and the presence of Boris Karloff in a meaty supporting role as a delusional former opera singer will surely be a delight for film fanatics. The story itself (about murder and jealousy among opera singers) is reasonably enjoyable, making good use of just a couple of settings &#8212; primarily an opera house during opening night of a new opera (written by Oscar Levant!). You&#8217;re sure to be kept guessing about the outcome, and will likely find yourself innocently entertained throughout.  <\/p>\n<p><strong>Note:<\/strong> While it&#8217;s frustrating to see Chinese Americans portrayed in the Chan series as either benevolent or stereotypically eager-beaver, Charlie Chan and his son are at least a welcome alternative to the &#8220;yellow peril&#8221; posited in the notorious character of Fu Manchu; in addition, the screenwriters do a nice job presenting William Demarest&#8217;s skeptical, racist detective as a clueless dolt. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Redeeming Qualities and Moments: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Boris Karloff as Gravelle<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/Charlie-Chan-Opera-Karloff2.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/Charlie-Chan-Opera-Karloff2.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-66948\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/Charlie-Chan-Opera-Karloff2.png 640w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/Charlie-Chan-Opera-Karloff2-300x225.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/Charlie-Chan-Opera-Karloff2-128x96.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/Charlie-Chan-Opera-Karloff2-360x270.png 360w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Keye Luke as Lee Chan<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/charlie-chan-opera-keye-luke.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/charlie-chan-opera-keye-luke.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-9164\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>An innocuously fun yet challenging murder mystery<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/charlie-chan-opera-mystery.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/charlie-chan-opera-mystery.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-9165\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Must See? <\/strong><br \/>\nYes, simply to see the best of Oland&#8217;s Chan films.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Categories<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Representative Film<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Links: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0027440\/\">IMDb entry<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/1936\/12\/05\/archives\/at-the-palace.html\">NY Times Original Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thespinningimage.co.uk\/cultfilms\/displaycultfilm.asp?reviewid=1831&#038;aff=13\">Spinning Image Review<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;Small things sometimes tell large story.&#8221; Synopsis: When a delusional amnesiac (Boris Karloff) escapes from a sanitarium in search of an opera singer (Margaret Irving), Chinese detective Charlie Chan (Warner Oland) and his &#8220;number one son&#8221; (Keye Luke) are on the case. Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors: Asian-Americans Boris Karloff Films Detectives and Private Eyes Murder Mystery Opera Review: As I wrote in my review of Charlie Chan at Treasure Island (1939), it&#8217;s a shame that Hollywood primarily cast white&#8230;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"><a class=\"btn btn-default\" href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=9161\"> Read More<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">  Read More<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9161","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-reviews"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9161","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=9161"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9161\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":66949,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9161\/revisions\/66949"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=9161"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=9161"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=9161"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}