Charlie Chan at the Opera

1936 film by H. Bruce Humberstone

Charlie Chan at the Opera

Directed by| H. Bruce Humberstone
Written by| Bess Meredyth
Produced by| John Stone
Starring| Warner Oland
Cinematography| Lucien Andriot
Music by| William Kernell

Production
company

20th Century Fox

Distributed by| 20th Century Fox

Release date

* 1936 (1936)

Running time

| 68 minutes
Country| United States
Budget| $125,000[1]
Box office| $500,000[1]

Charlie Chan at the Opera is considered by many to be the best Warner Oland Charlie Chan film, probably due to the presence of Boris Karloff as the principal suspect, as well as faux operatic music composed by Oscar Levant. This is the 13th film starring Oland as Chan; it was directed by H. Bruce Humberstone for 20th Century-Fox in 1936.

Oland and Demarest also appeared in The Jazz Singer (1927).

## Plot

[edit]

Charlie Chan (Warner Oland) gets a chance to watch a popular opera performance. For seven years, opera star Gravelle (Boris Karloff) has been locked in an insane asylum, his identity a mystery – even to himself. But when his memory unexpectedly returns, he begins to recall that his wife and her lover tried to murder him – and now he's determined to make them face the music. Gravelle escapes from the asylum and makes his way to the San Marco opera house and begins hiding out in the various rooms and passageways. Soon, members of the opera company are being murdered one by one.

Chan soon investigates the killings and despite the presence of Gravelle, there are other suspects who may be the real killer. The suspects, excluding Gravelle, include Lilli Rochelle, the opera company's prima donna who has been having a secret affair with Enrico Barelli, the baritone; Mr. Whitely, Madame Rochelle's husband who has warned Barelli to stay away from his wife; Anita Barelli, the opera company's number two soprano who has learned of her husband's affair with Lilli Rochelle; and Phil Childers, the fiancée of Lilli's unacknowledged daughter who has been refused permission to marry the daughter.

Clues found by Chan to apprehend the killer include a torn newspaper, a charred note, a heel mark on a newspaper picture, and a bloodstained belt. Among the questions asked are who has been threatening Lilli Rochelle's life, the mystery man in Barelli's dressing room before he is murdered, and why does Chan insist that the opera be performed twice in one evening?

## Cast

[edit]

* Warner Oland as Charlie Chan
* Boris Karloff as Gravelle
* Keye Luke as Lee Chan, (Chan's "Number 1 Son")
* Charlotte Henry as Mlle. Kitty
* William Demarest as Sergeant Kelly
* Guy Usher as Inspector Regan
* Margaret Irving as Lilli Rochelle
* Gregory Gaye as Enrico Borelli
* Nedda Harrigan as Anita Borelli
* Frank Conroy as Mr. Whitely
* Stanley Blystone as Backstage Cop (uncredited)
* Gladden James as Secretary (uncredited)

Levant composed the music for the onscreen opera Carnival. Future Number 3 Son Tommy Chan actor Benson Fong is an opera extra.

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b Stephen Jacobs, Boris Karloff: More Than a Monster, Tomahawk Press 2011 p 107

## External links

[edit]

Wikiquote has quotations related to Charlie Chan at the Opera.

* Charlie Chan at the Opera at the AFI Catalog of Feature Films
* Charlie Chan at the Opera at the TCM Movie Database
* Charlie Chan at the Opera at IMDb
* Charlie Chan at the Opera at Rotten Tomatoes
* Charlie Chan at the Opera Film details at The Charlie Chan Family Home

* v
* t
* e

Charlie Chan by Earl Derr Biggers

Novels|

* The House Without a Key (1925)
* The Chinese Parrot (1926)
* Behind That Curtain (1928)
* The Black Camel (1929)
* Charlie Chan Carries On (1930)
* Keeper of the Keys (1932)

Films|

* The House Without a Key (1926)
* The Chinese Parrot (1927)
* Behind That Curtain (1929)
* Charlie Chan Carries On (1931)
* The Black Camel (1931)
* There Were Thirteen (1931)
* Charlie Chan's Chance (1932)
* Charlie Chan's Greatest Case (1933)
* Charlie Chan's Courage (1934)
* Charlie Chan in London (1934)
* Charlie Chan in Paris (1935)
* Charlie Chan in Egypt (1935)
* Charlie Chan in Shanghai (1935)
* Charlie Chan's Secret (1936)
* Charlie Chan at the Circus (1936)
* Charlie Chan at the Race Track (1936)
* Charlie Chan at the Opera (1936)
* Charlie Chan at the Olympics (1937)
* Charlie Chan on Broadway (1937)
* Charlie Chan at Monte Carlo (1937)
* Charlie Chan in Honolulu (1938)
* Charlie Chan in Reno (1939)
* Charlie Chan at Treasure Island (1939)
* City in Darkness (1939)
* Charlie Chan's Murder Cruise (1940)
* Charlie Chan at the Wax Museum (1940)
* Charlie Chan in Panama (1940)
* Murder Over New York (1940)
* Dead Men Tell (1941)
* Charlie Chan in Rio (1941)
* Castle in the Desert (1942)
* Charlie Chan in the Secret Service (1944)
* Charlie Chan in the Chinese Cat (1944)
* Black Magic (1944)
* The Shanghai Cobra (1945)
* The Red Dragon (1945)
* The Scarlet Clue (1945)
* The Jade Mask (1945)
* Dangerous Money (1946)
* Dark Alibi (1946)
* Shadows Over Chinatown (1946)
* The Trap (1946)
* The Chinese Ring (1947)
* Docks of New Orleans (1948)
* Shanghai Chest (1948)
* The Golden Eye (1948)
* The Feathered Serpent (1948)
* Sky Dragon (1949)
* The Return of Charlie Chan (1973)
* Charlie Chan and the Curse of the Dragon Queen (1981)

Television|

* The New Adventures of Charlie Chan (1956-57)
* The Amazing Chan and the Chan Clan (1972)

Related|

* Chang Apana

* v
* t
* e

Films directed by H. Bruce Humberstone

* Strangers of the Evening (1932)
* The Crooked Circle (1932)
* If I Had a Million (segment "The Forger", 1932)
* King of the Jungle (1933)
* Goodbye Love (1933)
* The Dragon Murder Case (1934)
* Ladies Love Danger (1935)
* Silk Hat Kid (1935)
* Three Live Ghosts (1936)
* Charlie Chan at the Race Track (1936)
* Charlie Chan at the Opera (1936)
* Charlie Chan at the Olympics (1937)
* Checkers (1937)
* Rascals (1938)
* Time Out for Murder (1938)
* While New York Sleeps (1938)
* Pardon Our Nerve (1939)
* Pack Up Your Troubles (1939)
* Lucky Cisco Kid (1940)
* The Quarterback (1940)
* Tall, Dark and Handsome (1941)
* Sun Valley Serenade (1941)
* I Wake Up Screaming (1941)
* To the Shores of Tripoli (1942)
* Iceland (1942)
* Hello, Frisco, Hello (1943)
* Pin Up Girl (1944)
* Wonder Man (1945)
* Within These Walls (1945)
* Three Little Girls in Blue (1946)
* The Homestretch (1947)
* Fury at Furnace Creek (1948)
* South Sea Sinner (1950)
* Happy Go Lovely (1951)
* She's Working Her Way Through College (1952)
* The Desert Song (1953)
* Ten Wanted Men (1955)
* The Purple Mask (1955)
* Tarzan and the Lost Safari (1957)
* Tarzan's Fight for Life (1958)
* Tarzan and the Trappers (1960)
* Madison Avenue (1961)

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