Chinatown After Dark (1931)

Director:

Stuart Paton

Writer:

Betty Burbridge (story)

Release Date:

15 October 1931 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

See what happens in the underworld dens after dark!

Plot:

The female head of a criminal gang in Chinatown is after a valuable jewel, and lets nothing stand in her way of finding it. |

Plot Keywords:

Chinatown | Chinese | Jewel Thief | Jewel

Cast

Carmel Myers	...	Madame Ying Su
Rex Lease	...	James 'Jim' Bonner
Barbara Kent	...	Lotus
Edmund Breese	...	Le Fong
Frank Mayo	...	Ralph Bonner
Billy Gilbert	...	Horatio Dooley
Michael Visaroff	...	Mr. Varonoff
Laska Winters	...	Ming Fu (as Laska Winter)

Runtime:

59 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Company:

Action Pictures

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Love and Curses (1938)

Low Budget Ancient Chinese Secret

This is just another one of the incompetently acted and written C-grade films put out by gone-and-forgotten Action Pictures (one of many early-sound era independent feature film companies that came and went by the mid-thirties). At least there are a few Chinese actors and extras used to add ethnic authenticity, but you still have the woefully inept Carmel Myers as Madame Ying Su and Barbara Kent as Lotus. Billy Gilbert is the comedy relief as a flustered cop named Dooley. He's also the only decent actor in the bunch; the rest fumbling with their dialogue, including hero Rex Lease. It's all in an effort to tell the cliché story of the murderous desire for an oriental dagger that contains a valuable ring inside it. Rex Lease jumps into the case to help out his brother. Gilbert is cop hot on Lease's trail, thinking he's a killer. Most of Gilbert's "comedy" is sneezing loudly whenever he's in contact with a flower. Like Gilbert's allergy, this dull thriller should be kept out of contact from viewers.