Charlie Chan at the Opera (1936)

A dangerous amnesiac escapes from an asylum, hides in the opera house, and is suspected of getting revenge on those who tried to murder him 13 years ago.

Director:

H. Bruce Humberstone

Writers:

Scott Darling (screen play), Charles Belden (screen play),

Stars:

Warner Oland, Boris Karloff, Keye Luke

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Warner Oland	...	Charlie Chan
Boris Karloff	...	Gravelle
Keye Luke	...	Lee Chan
Charlotte Henry	...	Mlle. Kitty
Thomas Beck	...	Phil Childers
Margaret Irving	...	Mme. Lilli Rochelle
Gregory Gaye	...	Enrico Barelli
Nedda Harrigan	...	Mme. Anita Barelli
Frank Conroy	...	Mr. Whitely
Guy Usher	...	Inspector Regan
William Demarest	...	Sergeant Kelly
Maurice Cass	...	Mr. Arnold
Tom McGuire	...	Morris

Storyline

Gravelle, a former baritone believed dead after an opera house fire, has been languishing in a mental institution for the past seven years, an anonymous amnesiac. When he fortuitously sees a news story about his former wife's current appearance at the local opera, his memory returns. He escapes, and, disguised in costume, seeks revenge for a failed attempt on his life years earlier. When the guilty parties are found stabbed to death, Charlie Chan and son Lee try to find out if the dangerous fugitive is the one responsible.

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Plot Keywords:

opera | amnesiac | opera house | murder | baritone | 

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Taglines:

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

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Genres:

Comedy | Musical | Mystery | Thriller

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Certificate:

Unrated

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

8 January 1937 (USA)

Also Known As:

Charlie Chan na Ópera

Filming Locations:

20th Century Fox Studios - 10201 Pico Blvd., Century City, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

68 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Noiseless Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The Mephistopheles costume from "Faust" worn in the film was originally made for Lawrence Tibbett to wear in "Metropolitan" (1936).

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Goofs

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).

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Quotes

[first lines]
Sanitarium Guard 1: What's the mater Joe? Nervous?
Sanitarium Guard 2: Aw this job gives me gooseflesh. You're new here, but in a couple of months you'll get as jumpy as me.
Sanitarium Guard 1: Hey I've worked around sanitariums before, it's not so bad. I like the cuckoos myself. They're the same as anyone else only they're smart enough to admit they're nuts.

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Connections

Follows Charlie Chan in Shanghai (1935)

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Soundtracks

"Carnival, Then Farewell"
(1936) (uncredited)
Music by Oscar Levant
Libretto by William Kernell

User Reviews

My First Look At Charlie Chan

This was my first-ever look at Charlie Chan. It wasn't one of his better adventures but I've seen worse, too. It sports a famous guest actor, Boris Karloff, and a semi-famous, if you will, actor in William Demarest.

Demarest plays a cop and his lingo and his prejudices are very early '30s. He couldn't say those lines (cracks about Asians) on film in this day-and-age.

The usual witty and profound Chan proverbs are in here and the usual loyal son (Keye Luke, number one son) is there to help. The ending left me a bit confused. Granted, I was tired when I watched this but Charlie's last-minute explanation and conclusions came so fast they confused me. I'd have to see this at least one more time to understand it. I think this is coming out on DVD soon and I'll get that and watch it again.

I'll always have a fond memory for this since it introduced me to this extremely entertaining film series. I've seen around 20 of them since this one and enjoyed them all.