Charlie Chan at the Opera (1936)

Director:

H. Bruce Humberstone

Writers:

Charles Belden (writer)
Earl Derr Biggers (character)
(more)

Release Date:

21 April 1937 (Denmark)

Genre:

Comedy | Musical | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

A fiendish killer lurks at the opera! Weird! Thrilling! The Master Minds of Crime Match Wits Against Each Other!

Plot:

A dangerous amnesiac escapes from a mental hospital and returns to the opera house to wreak revenge on those who tried to murder him seven years earlier.

Plot Keywords:

Opera | Amnesiac | Opera House | Charlie Chan | Murder

Cast

Warner Oland	...	Charlie Chan
Boris Karloff	...	Gravelle
Keye Luke	...	Lee Chan
William Demarest	...	Sergeant Kelly
Guy Usher	...	Inspector Regan
Margaret Irving	...	Mme. Lilli Rochelle
Gregory Gaye	...	Enrico Borelli
Nedda Harrigan	...	Mme. Lucretia Borelli
Frank Conroy	...	Mr. Whitely
Charlotte Henry	...	Mlle. Kitty
Thomas Beck	...	Phil Childers
Maurice Cass	...	Mr. Arnold
Tom McGuire	...	Pop Morris - Stage Doorman
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
William Bailey	...	Detective (uncredited)
Charles Bancroft	...	Soldier in Opera (uncredited)
John Bleifer	...	Murdered Orderly (uncredited)
Stanley Blystone	...	Backstage Cop (shoots Gravelle) (uncredited)
Myrna Bonillas	...	Villager in Opera (uncredited)
Raymond Brown	...	Guard (uncredited)
Carita Crawford	...	Dancer in Opera (uncredited)
Patrick Cunning	...	Villager in Opera (uncredited)
Zari Elmassian	...	Mme. Rochelle (uncredited) (singing voice)
Jim Farley	...	Detective (uncredited)
Larry Fisher	...	Cop (uncredited)
Benson Fong	...	Opera Supernumerary (uncredited)
Otto Fries	...	Innkeeper (uncredited)
Bud Geary	...	Cop (uncredited)
Milton Gowman	...	Villager in Opera (uncredited)
Herschel Graham	...	Villager in Opera (uncredited)
Harrison Greene	...	Detective (uncredited)
Cliff Herd	...	Stagehand (uncredited)
Charles Anthony Hughes	...	Ambulance Doctor (uncredited)
Selmer Jackson	...	Hudson, wire-photo technician (uncredited)
Gladden James	...	Regan's Secretary (uncredited)
Jane Keckley	...	2nd Wardrobe Woman (uncredited)
Fred Kelsey	...	Dugan, Policeman (uncredited)
Marc Lawrence	...	Undetermined Minor Role (uncredited) (unconfirmed)
Leonard Mellon	...	Villager in Opera (uncredited)
Tony Merlo	...	Villager in Opera (uncredited)
Dodo Newton	...	Barmaid in Opera (uncredited)
Eddie Parker	...	Cop (uncredited)
Richard Powell	...	Cop (uncredited)
Enrique de Rosas	...	Florist (uncredited)
Tony Roux	...	Villager in Opera (uncredited)
Dick Rush	...	Detective (uncredited)
Eddie Shubert	...	Guard (uncredited)
Lee Shumway	...	Sanatarium Guard (uncredited)
Mary Louise Smith	...	Villager in Opera (uncredited)
Harry Strang	...	Cop (uncredited)
Eddie Tamblyn	...	Call Boy (uncredited)
Marjorie Timm	...	Villager in Opera (uncredited)
Harland Tucker	...	Private Detective (uncredited)
Hilda Vaughn	...	Agnes - Wardrobe Woman (uncredited)
Emmett Vogan	...	Smitty, Wire-photo Technician (uncredited)
Billy Wayne	...	Electrician (uncredited)
Tudor Williams	...	Gravelle's Singing Voice (uncredited) (voice)
Joan Woodbury	...	Dancer in Opera (uncredited)

Directed by
H. Bruce Humberstone

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Charles Belden		writer (as Charles S. Belden)
Earl Derr Biggers		character
Scott Darling		writer
Bess Meredyth		story

Produced by
John Stone	....	associate producer

Original Music by
Charles Maxwell		(uncredited)

Cinematography by
Lucien N. Andriot

Film Editing by
Alex Troffey

Art Direction by
Duncan Cramer
Lewis H. Creber

Costume Design by
Herschel McCoy		(as Herschel)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Sol Michaels	....	assistant director

Sound Department
Harry M. Leonard	....	sound
George Leverett	....	sound

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Sam Benson	....	wardrobe (uncredited)

Music Department
Samuel Kaylin	....	musical director
Charles Maxwell	....	orchestrator

Production Companies

• Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Distributors

• Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation (1936) (USA) (theatrical)
• 20th Century Fox (1937) (Austria) (theatrical)
• CBS/Fox (1989) (USA) (VHS)
• Key Video (1996) (USA) (VHS)
• Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation (2006) (USA) (DVD)
• 20th Century Fox (1937) (France) (theatrical)
• Super Sleuths Video (video)

Runtime:

68 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Noiseless Recording)

Certification:

Finland:K-16 | USA:Unrated

Company:

Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Trivia:

The unique billing listed Warner Oland vs. Boris Karloff above the title. Karloff had turned down the title role in Werewolf of London (1935), which would have pitted him against his current co-star. The part was ultimately played by Henry Hull.

Goofs:

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): When they characters are all gathered in the dressing room after the murders and they are questioning Childers, he says he knew Madame Barelli well. What he actually meant to say Madame Rochelle (or Madame Lilli as she was being referred to).

Quotes:

Sergeant Kelly: I don't like that guy Borelli! I think he uses perfume!

Movie Connections:

References Frankenstein (1931)

Soundtrack:

March Funebre

Best Warner Oland Chan!

This is my favorite of the Warner Oland Chan films and my second favorite of the series. This one is loaded with atmosphere and has Boris Karloff in it,too! It starts off with an escape from an insane asylum during a thunderstorm at night and gets better from there! Most of the action takes place backstage at an opera house. The opera "Carnival" was written especially for this film and I wish it would be performed so I could see the entire work. Karloff in his Mephisto costume is impressive. In this film, Chan is assisted by Number One Son, Lee, played by Keye Luke. Luke is at his best in this one. He and Oland make a great team. This is another Chan film that even when you know the identity of the murderer, you still want to see the film again and again just for the atmospheric fun. A real pleasure.