Cobra Venom Is The Weapon, August 25, 2002

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.

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.

"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" 1946which 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...