Charlie Chan At The Opera (1936)

For seven years, an opera singer (Boris Karloff) with amnesia has languished in an insane asylum. But when a photo in a newspaper triggers his memory, he's off to get his revenge on those that tried to kill him. Based on the character created by Earl Derr Biggers and directed by H. Bruce Humberstone (I WAKE UP SCREAMING). Considered by many to be the best of the Fox Charlie Chan franchise and I'm inclined to agree with them. In this movie, Warner Oland as Chan is not the whole show and he shares both top billing and much of the screen time with Boris Karloff. The solution to the mystery isn't obvious and the opera house setting (clearly influenced by PHANTOM OF THE OPERA) gives the film a unique atmosphere for murder. The film's faux opera was composed by Oscar Levant. Good fun! With William Demarest, Keye Luke, Charlotte Henry, Margaret Irving, Gregory Gaye and Nedda Harrigan.