Just perfect...

It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

The plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one

The movie really just wants to entertain people.

Charlie Chan in Shanghai (1935)** 1/2 (out of 4) Charlie Chan (Warner Oland) is in Shanghai where he's about to receive an award but at the ceremony and man is murdered in a very clever way. Soon Chan and Lee Chan (Keye Luke) are investigating the murder, which leads to several attempts on their own lives.CHARLIE CHAN IN SHANGHAI is certainly the weakest film in the series up to this point. That's not to say that this isn't an entertaining entry in the long-running series but it seems a lot of different things were asleep at the wheel including the story and the characters. It seems that they tried to make up for the lack of story by throwing more bits of humor surrounding Chan's son but even this doesn't quite pay off.Again, the biggest issue is certainly the story itself, which is pretty routine from start to finish. Outside the clever way the first man is killed, there's really nothing too interesting here. The lack of any real villain is another thing that doesn't work and the lack of any good supporting players is another issue. This here really shocked me because you could say that the earlier films had enough stories for two movies yet this one here isn't given one or any good supporting players.Where the film does work is the greatness of Oland in his role of Chan. Once again he manages to really build this character up and there's no doubt that he's working hard trying to make up for the lack of a plot. Luke is also good in his supporting role, although the screenplay gives him a tad bit too much comedy that doesn't always work. The rest of the supporting cast give decent performances but no one really stands out.CHARLIE CHAN IN SHANGHAI isn't a bad movie per say but it's certainly lacking the script and characters of previous entries.

1st watched 7/18/2009 - 6 out of 10 (Dir- James Tinling): Good mystery crime drama from the Charlie Chan vault. In this one he's in his homeland and a murder occurs at his reception of a British Intelligence man. Chan and his number one son are put on the case which eventually leads to an opium gang in the mother land. This is a good complex mystery that you have to pay really close attention to if you want to understand how it is solved. The main characters are also fun to watch as the son is always getting caught on the phone with a girl while he's supposed to be waiting for a phone call for his father. Warner Oland plays the Charlie Chan character well as we see the quiet smarts win over --as happens in all his cases. Otherwise, this is a pretty basic story but is done well and is effective.

The original "Star Wars" had lots of weaknesses of imagination, but when it hit a sweet idea, we made up for all the inadequacies in our imagination. One of these is a roughneck bar where beings from all over the galaxy hang out. In the movie itself, the rubber masks and puppets are unforgivably cheap and lacking in imagination. But we allow it because the idea of such a place is fascinating.This movie features such a place, the "Cafe Versailles." It is a French Cafe in Shanghai, owned by a German drug smuggler. The entertainment is a Turkish belly dancer and many customers are sailors from all over the world. There's an overlord, an American in secret agent mufti. The police bosses are British and the unraveler is a Scandinavian pretending to be Chinese.This cafe features opium, which we are under the influence of, I'm sure; because I think we saw the very same set in one of the Basil Rathbone Holmes where he battles Moriarty, the Victorian equivalent of Vader, nay his superior.You might want to check out this entry in the Chan series just for a visit to this place. Otherwise, this is just one of a dreary parade, At least this one has an uncharacteristic twist at the end — in the cellar of the cafe.Ted's Evaluation -- 1 of 3: You can find something better to do with this part of your life.

Hi there all you IMDb reviewers. Aren't we having fun? I just watched 'Charlie Chan in Shanghai' for about the 4th time. For some reason, I just love these 30's films. Silly, isn't it? Looking at the previous reviews, I don't recall any mentions of Irene Hervey. I think she's a real dish. She has one of those mouths that stays slightly open unless she consciously closes it - suggesting open-mouthed kisses are almost guaranteed. I looked at her filmography and was surprised to see that she had a very long and full career - surprised I was, because her name is not a household word. One of the things about this movie that I think is funny is the ending. Warner says to Keye that he can go back to the hotel and make one "female telephone call" (he can call his girlfriend) - Keye says "Thank you - so much", and Warner waves his hand like - "let's forget you said that". Does anybody know whether Warner and Keye got along well? Their greetings in these films seem so heartfelt. But, of course, they're actors, so who knows? I watched the very first Charlie Chan movie, which has an actual Chinese person as Charlie Chan. He is, in my opinion, boring. Perhaps Hollywood made an attempt to find a Chinese person to play Charlie Chan, but was unable to find anyone charismatic enough. Yes, Warner's portrayal undoubtedly sickens present-day Chinese, but they should recognize that he represented the Chinese to a credulous 30's American audience as a highly intelligent, globally respected person, and in the process undoubtedly created a positive impression of the Chinese at a time when they were under attack by the Japanese - perhaps that's what Hollywood had in mind.