Matcollis This Movie Can Only Be Described With One Word.

ReaderKenka Let's be realistic.

Sammy-Jo Cervantes There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.

Philippa All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

Michael_Elliott Chinatown After Dark (1931)* 1/2 (out of 4)Jim Bonner (Rex Lease) is in possession of a priceless Asian dagger, which gets him into some hot water and especially when the evil Madame Ying Su (Carmel Myers) wants it.CHINATOWN AFTER DARK is yet another low-budget crime movie that features evil Asian characters working the dark streets of Chinatown. These types of movies were quite popular since they were constantly being made. Obviously the success of the early Fu Manchu movies played into this and it should be noted that this was released a year before Boris Karloff's marvelous turn in THE MASK OF FU MANCHU.With that said, this film is in no way, shape or form close to that classic and for the most part there's really nothing here worth recommending the film for. If you're a die-hard fan of these crime films then you might want to check it out if you've seen everything else but the action is pretty light and there's really no drama or mystery. The bad performances really stand out including Myers who isn't all that believable playing an Asian character.

kidboots ...even though it was a Ralph M. Like production and even that was a better joke than any featured in the film. Billy Gilbert had an early role as dim witted Dooley, the chief of police whose humour consists mainly of talking slang and sneezing at inappropriate times!! Even though forgotten today, Carmel Myers had a big career in the silents, going right back to the mid teens when as a young teen herself she worked at Universal. But by 1931, even though only in her early 30s, she was considered too old for leading lady parts and may have jumped at this chance to portray a character role. In this film she played Madame Ying Su, or Poppy, a smoothly seductive dragon lady.A real mish mash of a movie, begins abruptly with Ralph Bonner (Frank Mayo) being entrusted with a priceless heirloom, a Chinese dagger, that he has to bring to America so Lee Fong (Edmund Breese) can give his ward, Lotus, a chance to start life with her own people. Ralph, who realises he has been followed during the voyage, is killed after he hands the dagger over and soon Fong has been murdered as well. Enter Ralph's brother Jim (Rex Lease) who wants to find his brother's murderer and also wants to protect the vulnerable Lotus. He is shaping up as the lead suspect but he has his own ideas and is keeping a careful watch on Poppy who just happened to be nearby when both murders took place.I often wonder what these poverty row films would look like all cleaned up - maybe you could praise the authentic looking Oriental sets, the wall hangings and even the costumes. Unfortunately, no praise for this movie. Lotus is played by Barbara Kent who started off as an insipid leading lady but films such as "Lonesome" revealed her talent and hidden glamour.

binapiraeus Here's another one of the many crime B movies set in some Chinatown that were so popular in the 30s; unfortunately, it's not one of the best. The acting is hammy, the plot is thin to put it mildly (a greedy Chinese lady is hunting for a hugely precious gem that belongs to an ancient Chinese family, while two American brothers get mixed up with the whole case - and with a beautiful young American girl that was brought up by the Chinese, and acts and thinks almost more like a Chinese than like an American; but that changes when she gets to know one of the two adventurers a little better...); in short, a typical Poverty Row product to fill the gap in the movie program of the days in between the Newsreels and the A movie...And yet it's still got something charming about it; the bragging sap of a police detective and the hard-boiled adventurers, who are all talking in a gutter language that the better educated Chinese (including the young American girl) can't understand, the two young people falling in love with each other virtually at first sight, and in contrast the bad, ruthless lady that wants to get hold of the jewel (and doesn't look Chinese at all, by the way) and the dark alleys and houses of Chinatown where danger is lurking everywhere - it's quite nice entertainment for a rainy Sunday afternoon; just don't have too high expectations, that's all.This is a B movie, and fans of the genre will surely get something out of it; in fact, in a way it awakes almost nostalgic feelings if you watch it today, more than 80 years after its making - cinema-goers were easier to please back then, and not as 'highbrow' as they pretend to be nowadays...

reptilicus Detective Dooley (Billy Gilbert) explaining police procedure to Lotus (Barbra Kent): Dooley: When I get enough evidence on him I'll send him to the pen.Lotus: What pen?Dooley: Well it ain't the fountain pen!That's an example of the comedy relief in this movie and we could have gotten along very well if they had just stuck to the mystery and forgotten the . . . um . . . humour.Chinatown had been a source of mystery and imagination from silent movie days. To hear filmmakers tell it there was danger in every restaurant and a murderer lurking in every dark alley. This thriller from 1931 is no exception. The hero Jim Barton (Rex Lease, taking a break from westerns) is trying to locate his missing brother Ralph. Said brother was supposed to deliver an antique dagger which has a priceless jewel in the hilt to a certain Mr. Lee Fong. Just before delivering the dagger a mysterious hand fires a shot in the dark and when the lights come on Lee Fong is dead and Ralph and the dagger have vanished! Now Jim must find his brother and the dagger, not necessarily in that order. Detective Dooley, who is very tough but so dumb he could not find a bucket of sand at the beach, is certain Jim is the killer so Jim must dodge both the police and Madame Ying Su (Carmel Myers) to solve the mystery.Despite the low budget and the fact that "Chinatown" is an obvious backlot this is a well constructed picture. Jules Cronjager is a competent cameraman who makes very good use of the shadows. Director Stuart Paton does his job very well also. The lead Chinese characters are played by Caucasian actors in makeup but the "background" roles are handled by actual Chinese actors. If you like this film, and I suspect you will, you might also want to check out CAPTURED IN CHINATOWN (1933) and CHINATOWN NIGHTS (1929).