The Shanghai Cobra
The Shanghai Cobra
NR | 29 September 1945 (USA)
The Shanghai Cobra Trailers

Someone is attempting to steal radium stored in a bank. Death by cobra venom connects a number of murders. Charlie Chan investigates.

Reviews
GamerTab That was an excellent one.
Steineded How sad is this?
Supelice Dreadfully Boring
StyleSk8r At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.
Hitchcoc The Shanghai Cobra is a human who has been injecting people with cobra venom. He can be traced back to a man that Chan captured years before, but who escaped from a ship that was taking him to prison. Now there are more killings centered around a coffee shop and the Sixth National Bank building. Tommy and Birmingham are in the way as usual. Charlie's kids never listen to him. They feel protective of the old guy and try to solve things themselves, putting people and themselves in danger. This is pretty good, holding the solution to the very end. Chan and the gang end up in the sewers below the streets that I previously mentioned and that leads to some pretty good stuff. I enjoyed this offering a much as any in the series.
Michael O'Keefe Director Phil Karlson gives this Charlie Chan mystery the Film Noir treatment. Otherwise, business as usual with Sidney Toler playing America's favorite Hawaaian detective. Chan is summoned to investigate several murders concerning wartime radium. A group of bank employees where deposits of radium is held for safe keeping mysteriously die. It appears each has been injected with deadly cobra venom. Chan remembers a similar case that happened earlier and the only clue he has is a man with a white streak down the middle of his otherwise jet-black hair. You can always depend on Tommy Chan(Benson Fong)and Chauffeur Birmingham (Mantan Moreland)to provide comic relief. You can't go too wrong with a Chan movie. Other players: James Cardwell, Joan Barclay, Walter Fenner and Addison Richards.
Spondonman Charlie's still working for the Federal Govt., and along with no. 3 son Tommy and the rather subdued Birmingham are trying to prevent a gang of crooks stealing some radium from an impenetrable bank vault. Who are also being tailed by a watchful someone who they framed 8 years before in Shanghai.They all seem to spend a lot of time in that old friend, the gas chamber from the Jade Mask, this time masquerading as the sewers under the bank. But the key to this movie's implausible Monogram-plot is the very advanced jukebox in the diner which is manned via television by baddies 2 blocks away in the depths of the Monogram bank. Unsurprisingly Charlie solves everything.All of the above probably makes it sounds utter tripe, but I've always liked this outing from the team, with a nice and dark nitrate atmosphere pervading throughout to compensate for the plot's definite shortcomings. Not so many smart ass one-liners as in other efforts, but none the worse for that! Sure, it's the usual cheap Monogram affair, but if you sat through it knowing that and didn't like it kiss that hour goodbye forever!
dbborroughs I've just finished watching this movie and I'd be hard pressed to tell you anything about it. Its a good looking movie with some clever witty sayings but beyond that it simply blurs into the mix of every other Charlie Chan film.I suppose the fact that this film doesn't ring a bell either way could be considered a good thing, I mean, you won't groan when someone mentions it. On the other hand its so middle of the pack that with every other movie ever made out there you may wonder why you should bothering watching it. Why should you watch it? Because its forgettable, but doesn't suck. If that doesn't work try the fact you've seen every other Charlie Chan film.Nothing special5 out of 10