Slow pace in the most part of the movie.

Very interesting film. Was caught on the premise when seeing the trailer but unsure as to what the outcome would be for the showing. As it turns out, it was a very good film.

How wonderful it is to see this fine actress carry a film and carry it so beautifully.

The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.

A lunatic escapes from a mental asylum after seeing a newspaper article about an opera production at a nearby theater. The police fail to find him, and Charlie Chan happens to be nearby. The maniac is believed to be a former opera singer supposedly killed in a Chicago opera house fire years ago, with intentions of taking revenge on the opera stars who had locked him in the opera house. But there are feuds and intrigues among the opera cast and crew as well.But the story is not so simple after all. The maniac is at the opera house, but why is he there? For revenge, or for some other reason? The story takes on very unexpected turns before it concludes.Good performances by all, especially by Boris Karloff who plays the maniac without overdoing it, and it is not merely Number One Son who provides comic relief.

Fans of Charlie Chan, Boris Karloff or both should find little to dislike about Charlie Chan at the Opera. Count me as someone who likes Karloff a great deal and gets a fair amount of pleasure watching the Charlie Chan film series. The general consensus is that Charlie Chan at the Opera is one of the best of the series, and it is a consensus that I agree with wholeheartedly. If there is anything that didn't work very well, it was that that Boris Karloff's singing was dubbed very obviously with the sloppy lip synch and the singing voice sounds very little like Karloff when he speaks(Karloff probably did have some singing talent, but there is a lot of truth in what has been said already that he probably wouldn't have been an actor if he was THAT good). Tudor Williams does dub him brilliantly though, the dark velvety quality(that is fairly reminiscent of the great baritone Lawrence Tibbett) of his voice makes him captivating and thrilling to listen to. That aside, the film is very pleasing to look at, well shot with effectively used settings. The Mephistopheles costume was really striking and Karloff looks very imposing(he always did though) in it. The music is grandiose, playful and beautiful, the opera Carnival was composed especially and it is well-utilised and is one that you wish made appearances on the opera stage. Apart from the lip-synch, Karloff is still very good here, he is charismatic and formidable but clearly knows how to have a good time. Warner Oland is spot-on as a character that suits him to a tee, in particular he really relishes his hilariously droll lines and it shows in his sly delivery of them. The dialogue is laugh-out-loud funny, Charlie Chan's lines are like little bon bons and you have to love the nod to Karloff and one of his most iconic roles. All the acting is very good though. The scenes with William Demarest are every bit as fun as those with Karloff and Oland. The mystery parts of the story are well-paced, have good amounts of suspense- not too obvious or predictable- and keeps your "little grey cells"(in the words of Agatha Christie and her immortal creation Hercule Poirot) working, complete with some great atmosphere. Overall, non-stop entertainment from start to finish. 9/10 Bethany Cox

Another day. another Charlie Chan mystery. This time, Walter Orland is paired up with Boris Karloff, an interesting combo to be sure, as Chan tries to figure out who bumped off a pair of philandering opera singers(!!) Boris Karloff is, of course, prime suspect #1, as he is cast here as a crazed opera singer who just escaped from the looney bin lusting for revenge on the people who tried to kill him in an opera fire many moons ago! This one is a bit strange with it's premise, so therefore it's fun as Chan tries to make sense of it all. Karloff looks to be having a ball in this strange casting as an opera singer, he lip syncs horribly. I think he knows his fans know it, so just adds to the fun.

Toward the start of the MGM series Bela Lugosi had played a role in the Black Camel, not it was time for Charlie Chan to meet Boris Karloff.I'm kind of mixed about the film. As a mindless mysterious romp the film is gangbusters and a really enjoyable film. The trouble is for me is that this is one of the films that are more about being spectacular and flashy rather than being as solid a mystery. I'm being snobby, I know, after all who cares when you have both Oland and Karloff at the top of their game, but to me, the film feels like the story is secondary to the actors and the look and opera. It feels like a misdirection of sorts.I'm nitpicking. In all honesty the film, other than Karloff's obviously dubbed singing, is first rate. I just wish there was a little more umph to the proceedings.