Chinatown After Dark (1931)

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...

I watched "Chinatown After Dark" (1931) with Carmel Myers, Barbara Kent, Rex Lease, Edmund Breese, Frank Mayo, and Billy Gilbert. Wow!! Utterly unbelievable! Gilbert as a sneezing cop - in a half-way serious role, although it's a light part - is simply over-the-top for modern audiences. Would possibly have played better 90 years ago. But it's up against a group of Chinese in America (all played by American Caucasians!) who are bad, bad, bad. Except for Lotus, played by beautiful Barbara Kent, who turns out to be white (her father died and only a Chinese man played by Edmund Breese would take her in and raise her - yeah, right...)... Story concerns a dagger that happens to contain a very large and beautiful - and extremely valuable - stone...hidden inside the dagger, of course...Rex Lease not playing a cowboy is something of a wonder in and of itself. His brother, played by Frank Mayo, has about as much energy as molasses dried on a plate. Carmel Myers, as a Chinese gang leader, is about as realistic as me being Chinese. Edmund Breese played Chinese several times - I've got him in several of these performances - and he's actually fairly good, although his part doesn't last very long.This not only was shot on the cheap, but it screams the fact to the viewer. In fact, the scream is so loud it may remind someone of insanity where a scream inside the head won't go away!! Some of the acting is so bad as to be laughable. The film, I must admit, however, is still fun to watch. I'm not sure why. But I could actually recommend this to early film lovers of the transition period from silent to sound. This one has most of the technical faults, and it's a good study piece for that reason. Otherwise, be warned. I'll leave it at that.

This is a low-budget B movie with a mostly unknown cast (other than Billy Gilbert in a small comic relief role). It begins with a man trying to buy a dagger from a man who has agreed to take this to Lee Fong. Although it seems of minor value, the man offers $1000 for it but is refused—after all the other man can't sell something that isn't his. But when he refuses, the guy tries to kill him and take it! Apparently this is SOME dagger! In fact, several more attempts are made on his life but somehow he is able to escape with his life. When the dagger finally is brought to Fong, the reason it's so desired is now apparent. However, at that moment, Fong is killed and the secret is stolen.Of special note is the character of Madam Ling Soo who might just be the worst character played by a Westerner imitating an Asian—and that's saying a lot. It is probably worse than John Wayne's impersonation of Genghis Khan or Katherine Hepburn as a Chinese peasant—mostly because her accent and acting are so utterly bad and ridiculous. Also, while I usually like Gilbert in films, here he plays a person so stupid and one-dimensional that he is a serious detriment to the movie—not that it was a great film to begin with, by the way.Overall, bad acting and a bad script make for a bad picture. This film is in the public domain and I can easily see why no one bothered to renew the copyright!

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).