Search - Charlie Chan in The Shanghai Cobra on DVD

Cobra Venom Is The Weapon

Peter Kenney | Birmingham, Alabama, USA | 08/25/2002

(4 out of 5 stars)

"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."

By Far The Best Monogram Chan movie

Isaac Laughhunn | Victoria TX | 02/11/2002

(4 out of 5 stars)

""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..."

This is one of the better Monogram Chans.

Marc Capralis | Temecula, CA United States | 08/22/1999

(3 out of 5 stars)

"This mystery concerns the murder of several victims by cobra bites. It has Mantan Moreland and Benson Fong again getting into trouble as usual. The criminals' objective is to rob a bank vault of a valuable government depository of radium. The viewer must follow the plot closely since the denouement when Chan finally corners the leader occurs rapidly. This film uses the new invention of television well as part of the criminals' devices. The running gag in this film concerns Birmingham getting an illegal U-turn ticket and saying "But you said 'No, you turn here! So I turned!'" At the end of the film, Chan himself gets an illegal U-turn ticket and uses the same excuse to the inspector. "But you say 'No, you turn here!' and everybody ends up laughing. Classic Chan line is "Cannot sell bear skin before shooting bear"."

One of Toler's Best Performances as Charlie Chan

Tim Janson | Michigan | 03/18/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Obviously the Chan movies made at Monogram could never compare to those made at Fox with Warner Oland, but of these, The Shanghai Cobra is one of the best. Several employees of a bank have been murdered by a killer dubbed "The Cobra Killer" for his use of cobra venom in dispatching his enemies. Chan is called in to solve the murders.

Director Phil Karlson really gets the most out of the limited budget he had to work with and this film looks much better than most Monogram films with better production values and superior acting. The mystery is also very well done and keeps your interest in trying to figure out who the murderer is. Benson Fong and the always enjoyable Mantan Moreland provide the comic relief as #3 son Tommy Chan and Birmingham Brown respectively. Moreland brings life to every role he is in.

As a kid I would love staying up late and watching these with my dad who was a huge fan. We watched several together when Turner Classic was running them a couple of years ago or so and I was so disappointed when they decided to pull them off the air. These were always very entertaining."