Shadow of Chinatown (1936)

A madman sets out to destroy a group of Chinatown merchants.

Director:

Robert F. Hill (as Bob Hill)

Writers:

Robert F. Hill (original story) (as Rock Hawkey), William Buchanan (special dialogue)

Stars:

Bela Lugosi, Bruce Bennett, Joan Barclay

Cast

Cast overview:
Bela Lugosi	...	Victor Poten
Bruce Bennett	...	Martin Andrews (as Herman Brix)
Joan Barclay	...	Joan Whiting
Luana Walters	...	Sonya Rokoff, aka The Dragon Lady [Chs. 1-14]
Maurice Liu	...	Willy Fu
Charles King	...	Henchman Grogan [Chs. 1-13]
William Buchanan	...	Henchman Healy
Forrest Taylor	...	Police Capt. Walters [Chs. 1-7, 12-15]
John Cowell	...	White Chinaman [Ch. 1] (as Jack Cowell)
James B. Leong	...	Wong [Chs. 5-13]
Henry T. Tung	...	Dr. Wu [Chs. 1-5, 12-15]
Paul Fung	...	Tom Chu [Chs. 1,2]
George Chan	...	Old Luce [Chs. 1,2,7]
Moy Ming	...	Wong's Brother Charlie [Chs. 10-11]

Storyline

Released both as a 15-chapter serial and as a condensed feature version (for theaters that didn't use serials) which means that all of the cast and crew would one day be credited in some sources with a misleading extra film appearance added to their filmographies even though they only worked on (and got paid) for one performance or job. The story (serial and/or feature) deals with the plotting of a European importing firm to put Chinese trade competition in a west coast Chinatown - city unnamed, but it's by the bay and it isn't Oakland - out of business. Their representative, Sonya Rokoff/The Dragon Lady, a beautiful Eurasian girl, hires Victor Poten, a mad Eurasian chemist and inventor and an equal-opportunity racist who hates both Chinese and White races, to aid her. Poten, by means of his infernal inventions and underworld henchmen, conducts successful raids on the Chinese merchants and also successfully eludes the people hunting and investigating him. Those include newspaper ...

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Plot Keywords:

b movie | poverty row film | low budget film | double feature film | damsel in distress | 

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Taglines:

Thrills and chills and shivering shocks as a crazed scientist terrorizes the underworld!

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Genres:

Adventure | Crime | Horror | Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Certificate:

Passed

Did You Know?

Trivia

The titles of the 15 individual chapters, their respective running times and certificate numbers are:

• The Arms of the Gods: 26.15 - #2509
• The Crushing Walls: 17.00 - #2510
• 13 Ferguson Alley: 17.00 - #2511
• Death on the Wire: 17.04 - #2512
• The Sinister Ray: 16.25 - #2513
• The Sword Thrower: 17.25 - #2514
• The Noose: 21.29 - #2515
• Midnight: 17.32 - #2516
• The Last Warning: 18.46 - #2517
• The Bomb: 20.00 - #2518
• Thundering Doom: 18.31 - #2519
• Invisible Gas: 18.22 - #2520
• The Brink of Disaster: 18.27 - #2521
• The Fatal Trap: 18.25 - #2522
• The Avenging Powers: 17.48 - #2523
• The chapters have a total running time of 280.5 minutes (4 hours 40 minutes)

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Goofs

The "HELP" sign drawn on the mirror by Joan is written in skinny, very straight and angular letters, but when it is projected, Batman-style, on the wall outside, the letters are then rounded and fat.

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Quotes

Willy Fu: I accede to honorable request of thugs.

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Crazy Credits

Opening credits of crew and cast are flipped as pages of a book.

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Connections

Referenced in Free Rainer (2007)

User Reviews

Shadow leaves a black mark

Eurasian Victor Poten decides to drive the Chinese merchants from their district in order to start his new race and eliminating any Asians or whites that stand in his way. Its up to Martin Andrews, author and expert on Chinese cultures (only thanks to his manservant Willy Fu) and reporter Joan Whiting to stop Poten's nefarious plot. This serial is absolutely forgettable with absolutely nothing to keep the viewer in any suspense to watch the next week's chapter or the serial throughout. The entire cast tries their best to make something out of this, but are overcome by the ineptness of the production crew. The only saving grace for this travesty is the banter between Herman Brix and Joan Barclay does make for some funny scenes. Rating, based on serials, 2.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

10 October 1936 (USA)

Also Known As:

A Sombra do Bairro Chinês

Company Credits

Production Co:

Victory Pictures Corporation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

281 min (15 chapters)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1