Shadow of Chinatown

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.

Feature version of a serial of the same name has Bela Lugosi turning tables on a woman who hired him to help with her evil plans in Chinatown while a reported and her beau hunt down the villains.

One of the few things worse than this movie is the full length serial version. That monstrosity put me to sleep with its wild over length (15 chapters with enough plot for 2) and the same poor production values that make this film just as bad. I've seen almost every sound serial ever made, but the original serial was a chore and a half to get through and I never finished it (its one of the few). I have no idea what possessed me to try the feature version other than, perhaps selective amnesia about the original. Here the story unfolds in approximately one fifth the time but its a hopeless mess with an attempt to get a good portion of the "good bits" into it. Making matters worse is the cheapness of the film, this was an independent production and had a limited budget. There's tons of stock footage, almost no music and a technical quality (especially the sound) thats lacking.

In the "of note" column, and its not really a good thing, is the fact that this stands as one of the worst performances Bela Lugosi ever gave. I'm not even sure its a performance. Even in the final days Bela was never this disconnected to what he was doing. Its mind numbingly awful. Fortunately he's not alone since a good many of the other actors are clearly collecting a pay check not to act. Herman Brix, who would soon change his name to Bruce Bennett and move on to better things does give a performance, even if its phoned in.

Bad film lovers may want to see this on fast forward, but otherwise I'd avoid it at all costs.

Bela Lugosi is one of my favourites of the first stage of horror presences (not including silent cinema), but compared to his contemporaries (Boris Karloff, Vincent Price and Lon Chaney Jr.), he had more than his share of turkeys. The atmospheric, Hungarian-born, quite charismatic actor starred in one of them here, in this 'Charlie Chan'-knockoff serial. I tend to love them, but this is a minor, 70-minute editing of the 15-episode, 281-minute edition. It has decent supporting players, in Joan Barclay and Bruce Bennett, a woman trying to become an exciting news reporter, rather than simply the newspaper's society column editor, and her boss, respectively, who end up, predictably enough, romantically entangled as they try to discover what and who's behind raids threatening competitor merchants in San Francisco's Chinatown from the business interests of Lugosi's employer, the gorgeous Dragon Lady (Luana Walters). Lugosi gives your money's worth as the despicable and ruthless villain.

My copy came from my legendary Mill Creek 50-pack 'Nightmare Worlds', and if you enjoy serials, Lugosi or 30's detective films such as the 'Charlie Chan' series, it's a decent poor-boy's version and worth a watch. I would prefer to see the full version, but that's just me. If you're just marginally interested in them or prefer Lugosi in his more horrific fare, this may prove boring for you, and I would suggest that instead, you stick to his better-known projects with more money behind them and better directors--they offer you much more meat to sink your *ahem* teeth into.

In this ultra-condensed, 71 minute version of the original 15-part, 440 minute (!) serial, Bela Lugosi plays the maniacal Eurasian mastermind, Victor Poten, who plots to destroy both European and Asian people in Chinatown.

Astonishingly, even after being cut down by 80%, SHADOW OF CHINATOWN is a real chore to watch. Lugosi is his old, reliable self, but there's just not enough plot or action to keep things interesting.

There are other serials starring Lugosi (THE PHANTOM CREEPS, WHISPERING SHADOW) that are far superior to this...

Shadow of Chinatown (1936) is actually a 15-part serial but the movie is a condensed/edited version of it. Basically, 15 shows edited to create one movie. I have not seen the serial only this film version.

With the serial being condensed into a movie I'm sure the viewer is missing out on some interesting scenes by watching only the movie version but I feel they did a good job with the movie to cut through the chase and get to the heart and soul of the serial.

I liked this film. It's not the greatest Lugosi film but it's actually a fun crime-drama to watch. Victor Poten (Lugosi) will hypnotize and terrorize the people that get in his way of destroying Chinatown - he is a vengeful madman.

The movie is interesting enough that I would like to watch the the entire 15-part serial. For me it's just to watch Lugosi in something different.

6/10