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) (as Charles S. Belden)

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	...	Sgt. 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:

asian detective | escaped lunatic | 

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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:

Mystery

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Certificate:

Unrated

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

8 January 1937 (USA)

Also Known As:

Charlie Chan en la ópera

Filming Locations:

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

Company Credits

Production Co:

Twentieth Century Fox

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

Though only excerpts are used, Oscar Levant wrote an entire short opera for this film.

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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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Crazy Credits

Opening credit: Warner Oland vs. Boris Karloff

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Connections

Followed by The Trap (1946)

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Soundtracks

Carnival: Ah, Romantic Love Dream
Music by Oscar Levant
Libretto by William Kernell

User Reviews

Charlie meets Boris in this one

Charlie Chan At the Opera is one of the better Chan movies I've seen and is worth having in any collection as Boris Karloff is in it.

Boris plays an opera star, Gravelle who escapes from an asylum where he was due to suffering amnesia. He heads to Los Angles where he turns up at an opera. It's not long before people start being murdered though and Gravelle is the chief suspect but as always in these movies, the murderer is the least person you would expect... Charlie Chan and his No1 son help with the investigation.

We also get to see Boris singing in this (if it is his voice) and also includes the opera "Carnival".

Joining Boris in the cast is Warner Orland as Charlie, Keye Luke, Margaret Irving and Guy Usher (The Devil Bat).

Charlie Chan At the Opera is a must for all fans of Chan and Boris Karloff. Excellent.

Rating: 3 and a half stars out of 5.