Chinatown After Dark (1931)

I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.

The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.

Excellent and certainly provocative... If nothing else, the film is a real conversation starter.

Blistering performances.

Chinatown After Dark (1931)* 1/2 (out of 4)Jim Bonner (Rex Lease) is in possession of a priceless Asian dagger, which gets him into some hot water and especially when the evil Madame Ying Su (Carmel Myers) wants it.CHINATOWN AFTER DARK is yet another low-budget crime movie that features evil Asian characters working the dark streets of Chinatown. These types of movies were quite popular since they were constantly being made. Obviously the success of the early Fu Manchu movies played into this and it should be noted that this was released a year before Boris Karloff's marvelous turn in THE MASK OF FU MANCHU.With that said, this film is in no way, shape or form close to that classic and for the most part there's really nothing here worth recommending the film for. If you're a die-hard fan of these crime films then you might want to check it out if you've seen everything else but the action is pretty light and there's really no drama or mystery. The bad performances really stand out including Myers who isn't all that believable playing an Asian character.

...even though it was a Ralph M. Like production and even that was a better joke than any featured in the film. Billy Gilbert had an early role as dim witted Dooley, the chief of police whose humour consists mainly of talking slang and sneezing at inappropriate times!! Even though forgotten today, Carmel Myers had a big career in the silents, going right back to the mid teens when as a young teen herself she worked at Universal. But by 1931, even though only in her early 30s, she was considered too old for leading lady parts and may have jumped at this chance to portray a character role. In this film she played Madame Ying Su, or Poppy, a smoothly seductive dragon lady.A real mish mash of a movie, begins abruptly with Ralph Bonner (Frank Mayo) being entrusted with a priceless heirloom, a Chinese dagger, that he has to bring to America so Lee Fong (Edmund Breese) can give his ward, Lotus, a chance to start life with her own people. Ralph, who realises he has been followed during the voyage, is killed after he hands the dagger over and soon Fong has been murdered as well. Enter Ralph's brother Jim (Rex Lease) who wants to find his brother's murderer and also wants to protect the vulnerable Lotus. He is shaping up as the lead suspect but he has his own ideas and is keeping a careful watch on Poppy who just happened to be nearby when both murders took place.I often wonder what these poverty row films would look like all cleaned up - maybe you could praise the authentic looking Oriental sets, the wall hangings and even the costumes. Unfortunately, no praise for this movie. Lotus is played by Barbara Kent who started off as an insipid leading lady but films such as "Lonesome" revealed her talent and hidden glamour.

CHINATOWN AFTER DARK is only one of the many short thrillers with supposedly Chinese atmosphere; the title is much better than the movie itself. Yet the very movie is acceptable, if you enjoy these between—the—wars standard thrillers.A guy is asked to deliver a Chinese dagger to a Chinese oldster; meantime, a gang is trying to get the dagger, a valuable one because inside it it's hidden a precious stone. The guy has a helpful brother.Otherwise, there's no skill, and only a moderately good—looking lady as a Chinese gang boss. The story is very clumsily told.Yet such movies have charm. They are made for a playful disposition.For me all this slapdash is more enchanting that most new TV cop series/ or blockbusters, for that matter.

This is just another one of the incompetently acted and written C-grade films put out by gone-and-forgotten Action Pictures (one of many early-sound era independent feature film companies that came and went by the mid-thirties). At least there are a few Chinese actors and extras used to add ethnic authenticity, but you still have the woefully inept Carmel Myers as Madame Ying Su and Barbara Kent as Lotus. Billy Gilbert is the comedy relief as a flustered cop named Dooley. He's also the only decent actor in the bunch; the rest fumbling with their dialogue, including hero Rex Lease. It's all in an effort to tell the cliché story of the murderous desire for an oriental dagger that contains a valuable ring inside it. Rex Lease jumps into the case to help out his brother. Gilbert is cop hot on Lease's trail, thinking he's a killer. Most of Gilbert's "comedy" is sneezing loudly whenever he's in contact with a flower. Like Gilbert's allergy, this dull thriller should be kept out of contact from viewers.