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.

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 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.