Product Details

• Actors: Sidney Toler, Mantan Moreland, Benson Fong, James Cardwell, Joan Barclay
• Directors: Phil Karlson
• Writers: Earl Derr Biggers, George Callahan, George Wallace Sayre
• Producers: James S. Burkett
• Format: Black & White, DVD, Full Screen, Subtitled, NTSC
• Language: English (Dolby Digital 1.0)
• Subtitles: English, Spanish, French
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: MGM (Video & DVD)
• DVD Release Date: July 6, 2004
• Run Time: 64 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B00020X870
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #27,579 in Movies & TV (See Bestsellers in Movies & TV)
• For more information about "Charlie Chan in The Shanghai Cobra" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

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!

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Cobra Venom Is The Weapon, August 25, 2002

By	Peter Kenney (Birmingham, Alabama, USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Charlie Chan: The Shanghai Cobra [VHS] (VHS Tape)

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.

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars One of the best Chans, and miraculous for a Monogram, November 8, 1999

By	Scott MacGillivray (Massachusetts, USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Charlie Chan: The Shanghai Cobra [VHS] (VHS Tape)

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.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars By Far The Best Monogram Chan movie, February 11, 2002

By	Isaac Laughhunn (Victoria TX) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Charlie Chan: The Shanghai Cobra [VHS] (VHS Tape)

"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...