Onlinewsma Absolutely Brilliant!

Intcatinfo A Masterpiece!

Adeel Hail Unshakable, witty and deeply felt, the film will be paying emotional dividends for a long, long time.

Billy Ollie Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

binapiraeus This entry in the long-running and hugely popular 'Charlie Chan' series takes us into the distinguished - and a bit decadent - world of grand opera: famous soprano singer Lilli Rochelle, eccentric and somewhat conceited, is on the brink of hysteria because she's received a death threat for the very same day - her opening night in Los Angeles, after being away for seven years. And on exactly the same day, an amnesiac breaks out of a mental asylum after seven years; because, as soon as he sees her picture in the papers, he seems to remember something...Meanwhile, we learn that second soprano Anita Barelli is madly jealous of Lilli - not only because she's the star, but mainly because she's got an affair with her husband! And then there's a young couple hanging around backstage all the time, for some reason trying by all means to get to Lilli - but then the opera performance starts, and very soon a murderous drama REALLY worthy of any opera libretto begins to take its course...Except for the comic relief provided by Lee Chan and the cops, this film is pretty earnest, at times dramatic, if not even melodramatic; but we must undoubtedly admit that Boris Karloff probably plays one of the BEST roles of his life here: mad, full of hatred, and then again pitiful and sympathetic... While in other movies he usually only showed parts of his full acting range at a time - here he demonstrates them all in one!

ccthemovieman-1 This was my first-ever look at Charlie Chan. It wasn't one of his better adventures but I've seen worse, too. It sports a famous guest actor, Boris Karloff, and a semi-famous, if you will, actor in William Demarest.Demarest plays a cop and his lingo and his prejudices are very early '30s. He couldn't say those lines (cracks about Asians) on film in this day-and-age.The usual witty and profound Chan proverbs are in here and the usual loyal son (Keye Luke, number one son) is there to help. The ending left me a bit confused. Granted, I was tired when I watched this but Charlie's last-minute explanation and conclusions came so fast they confused me. I'd have to see this at least one more time to understand it. I think this is coming out on DVD soon and I'll get that and watch it again. I'll always have a fond memory for this since it introduced me to this extremely entertaining film series. I've seen around 20 of them since this one and enjoyed them all.

MartinHafer The famous Charlie Chan series of the 1930s starred Swedish actor Warner Oland as the main character. Yes, I understand that having a non-Chinese man playing Chan is NOT politically correct and they SHOULD have had a Chinese guy play the detective as well as play him less stereotypically, but considering this is the 1930s and the films are still entertaining, this is something the viewer is just going to have to overlook. In the 1940s, the series would continue with other non-Asians (Sidney Toler and then Roland Winters) as well as move from glamorous Twentieth Century Fox to poverty row Monogram Studios--where the production values would drop considerably and racial insensitivity would increase dramatically! Since this is one of the earlier Fox Charlie Chan films, it is a definite step up in quality and entertainment.The film starts with Boris Karloff in a mental institution playing the piano and feeling pretty contented for a patient. It seems he was there due to amnesia and had been in the hospital for over a decade. However, out of the blue, he recalls who he is and attacks an attendant and escapes. With headlines such as "Dangerous Maniac Escapes", everyone seems to be worried that Karloff will go on some sort of killing spree, though why a previously harmless guy would suddenly run amok and start killing is beyond me! Anyway, he eventually arrives at the opera house where he hides among in the building like the Phantom of the Opera. At the same time, the company's diva receives a death threat and Chan is brought in to investigate. Well, even the world's greatest detective isn't perfect, as pretty soon this woman assumes room temperature (dies)! Where the movie goes from there and how Karloff fits into it all is a real treat since it's handled so well. Also, just because the story takes place at an opera house does not mean the film is stuffy or packed with opera! Watch it and see how well the series was occasionally written and how it goes when there is a good "villain" like Karloff to add to the film.

Chris Gaskin Charlie Chan At the Opera is one of the better Chan movies I've seen and is worth having in any collection as Boris Karloff is in it.Boris plays an opera star, Gravelle who escapes from an asylum where he was due to suffering amnesia. He heads to Los Angles where he turns up at an opera. It's not long before people start being murdered though and Gravelle is the chief suspect but as always in these movies, the murderer is the least person you would expect... Charlie Chan and his No1 son help with the investigation.We also get to see Boris singing in this (if it is his voice) and also includes the opera "Carnival".Joining Boris in the cast is Warner Orland as Charlie, Keye Luke, Margaret Irving and Guy Usher (The Devil Bat).Charlie Chan At the Opera is a must for all fans of Chan and Boris Karloff. Excellent.Rating: 3 and a half stars out of 5.