Product Description

From the director of Kansas City Confidential and The Silencers comes this universal Chan mystery. Containing a number of film noir elements unique to the series (such as a weary young detective, stark urban sets and a grown-up romance), The Shanghai Cobra is one of the most striking Chans of all! Charlie Chan (Sidney Toler) is called to investigate a strange and complicated series of mysterious murders by cobra venom. Soon Charlie, Number Three Son Tommy (Benson Fong) and ever-present assistant Birmhingham Brown are on the trail of an escaped con from Shanghai who's out to rob a government vault of its valuable contents: highly toxic radium!

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #63227 in DVD
• Brand: TWENTIETH CENTURY FOX HOME ENT
• Released on: 2004-07-06
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Black & White, DVD, Full Screen, Subtitled, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: English, Spanish, French
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: 1.00 pounds
• Running time: 64 minutes

Customer Reviews

Cobra Venom Is The Weapon
The killer uses venom from a cobra to eliminate his victims in this film. Sidney Toler plays Chan and the cast includes Benson Fong as Tommie Chan and Manton Moreland in the role of Birmingham Brown. Fong and Moreland are really quite good as a comic team. George Callahan and George Wallace Sayre handle the screen play. THE SHANGHAI COBRA is one of the better entries in the Chan series.

One of the best Chans, and miraculous for a Monogram
Low-budget Monogram Pictures usually did a serviceable job with its Charlie Chan mysteries, but this one is exceptional. Thoughtful direction (by Phil Karlson) and excellent camerawork (by Vincent Farrar) give the film far more atmosphere and production polish than usual. You'll notice, as early as the opening scene, the imaginative staging and camera angles, unusual sets, and clever technical gimmicks, all enhancing the excellent film-noir-style presentation. Series regulars Sidney Toler, Benson Fong, and Mantan Moreland are in good form, aided by a fine cast of familiar character actors (Joan Woodbury, James Cardwell, Addison Richards, George Chandler, and a host of others). If you've never seen a Monogram Chan, try this.

By Far The Best Monogram Chan movie
"The Shanghai Cobra" is my favorite of the Monogram Charlie Chans. It is beautifully atmospheric in the opening scenes, and I think Phil Karlson, the director (his first of two Chan outings, the other being "Dark Alibi" [1946]which is also worth watching)adds alot of these great effects, making it an enjoyable mystery that will keep you guessing. The comedy in this entry is superb with a wordplay gag about "u-turns" running all through the film. The sets and the noticable shadows and darkness make it almost like a "film noir" movie. Some action takes place in the sewers below the bank that they are doing investigations in(more darkness.)I also enjoyed the "flashback" when they showed Charlie Chan in his visit to Shanghai in '36 and '37. A fun film, a good mystery, and atmospheric at the same time, I would recommend this film highly to any Charlie Chan fan. Excuse, Please...