Shadow of Chinatown (1936/II)

User Rating:

4.6/10   

Director:

Robert F. Hill

Writers:

Isadore Bernstein (continuity)
William Buchanan (additional dialogue)

Release Date:

10 October 1936 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Crime | Sci-Fi

Plot:

Feature version of the 1936 serial "Shadow of Chinatown." |

Plot Keywords:

Chinatown | Hypnotism | Television | Mad Scientist | Feature Version Of Serial

Cast

Bela Lugosi	...	Victor Poten (archive footage)
Bruce Bennett	...	Martin Andrews (archive footage) (as Herman Brix)
Joan Barclay	...	Joan Whiting (archive footage)
Luana Walters	...	Sonya Rokoff (archive footage)
Maurice Liu	...	Willy Fu (archive footage)
Charles King	...	Grogan (a thug) (archive footage)
William Buchanan	...	Healy (a thug) (archive footage)
Forrest Taylor	...	Police Capt. Waters (archive footage)
Jack Cowell	...	Willie (archive footage)
James B. Leong	...	Wong (archive footage)
Henry T. Tung	...	Dr. Wu (archive footage)
Paul Fung	...	Tom Chu (archive footage)
George Chan	...	Old Luce (archive footage)
Moy Ming	...	Wong's Brother (archive footage)

Runtime:

71 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

USA:Approved (PCA #2509)

Company:

Victory Pictures Corporation

Movie Connections:

Edited from Shadow of Chinatown (1936/I)

Fair

Shadow of Chinatown (1936)

** (out of 4)

Feature version

European businessmen want the China trades shut down so they hire a madman (Bela Lugosi) to destroy Chinatown. This was originally a 15-part serial but this here is the feature version of that and it isn't too bad. I haven't seen the serial version but the feature runs pretty fast, although you're left with a lot of stuff that doesn't make sense due to all the editing that was done. Sometimes these feature versions can be good but this isn't one of them. Another bad thing is the performance from Lugosi who really sleepwalks through his role. Had he gone over the top then that would have made the film somewhat better.