Hall-Montez

 

 (imdb)

COBRA WOMAN-1944-Ramu (Jon Hall) & Tulia (Maria Montez) are to be married. On their wedding day she's kidnap by Hava (Lon Chaney), a sinister looking guy pretending to be blind. Ramu's friend McDonald (Moroni Olsen) says Tulia has been taken back to the treacherous "Cobra Island" where she was born. Ramu journeys to the island to rescue her accompanied by a local talkative young guy Kado (the one and only Sabu). Once there Ramu spies Tulia swimming and goes to her. They embrace but she seems rather distant. After they part, he's captured and sentenced to die. Kado meets up with Tula and the Queen of the island (Mary Nash).

It turns out the woman Ramu met was not Tula but her evil sister Narja who rules the island using sacrifices to a volcano and the help of evil fiancée, Martok (Edgar Barrier). It turns out Hava is not bad but a servant of the Queen who brought Tulia back to rule.

Universal made several of these Technicolor tropical adventures with Hall & Montez. Mostly considered camp, they do have a cult following. A dance in front of a cobra is kind of funny and Chaney is once again wasted in a mute role. Directed by Robert Siodmak, a year after making SON OF DRACULA with Chaney.

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Shanghai Chan

CHARLIE CHAN IN SHANGHAI-1935-Charlie Chan (Warner Oland) visits “the land of my ancestors” for the first time in many years to see his friend Sir Stanley (David Torrance). He’s  met at the dock by Stanley's secretary Nash (Jon Hall using his real name Charles Locher) and his niece Diana (Irene Hervey). Chan also hooks up with number 1 son Lee (Keye Luke). Unfortunately at the dinner Stanley is shot and killed by a wooden case rigged with a gun. Police inspector Watkins (Halliwell Hobbes) agrees to let Charlie investigate the death of his old friend. At night while Chan and Lee are sleeping an attempt to kill Chan fails. Later Chan is kidnapped by some mysterious bad guys but number one son saves him. An American secret agent Andrews (Russell Hicks)  explains to Chan that that he and Sir Stanley were working on breaking up an opium ring and wanted Chan’s help. Meanwhile Nash snoops around very suspiciously. After Nash is arrested for attempted murder, Chan's life is threatened several more times until he tricks the gang and reveals their real leader.

 One of the best in the series with son Lee doing a lot of fighting! 

Director James Tinling also made MR. MOTO'S GAMBLE.
 https://moviemeltdown.blogspot.com/2016/01/mr-moto-returns-again.html

Followed by CHARLIE CHAN'S SECRET.

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I've Been Invisible too!

THE INVISIBLE MAN'S REVENGE-1944-Psycho murderer Robert Griffin (Jon Hall) escapes from an insane asylum in South Africa and goes to England. He visits his old friends Jasper (Lester Matthews) and Irene (Gale Sondergaard) who abandoned him in the jungle on their diamond expedition. He's come to collect his share of the booty but Irene (who's pretty evil) has other plans. She drugs Griffin and throws him in the woods. He falls into a river but is rescued by a comic drunk (Leon Errol). They hire a lawyer (Ian Wolfe) to help them but he chickens out. While walking in the rain, Griffin comes to the door of Dr, Durea (John Carradine) who's experimenting with invisible animals. He convinces Griff to become the world's first invisible man. Even the doctor is surprised when it works (“I've out stripped the immortals of science”). Griffin goes for revenge against Jasper and Irene. Foster (Alan Curtis), a reporter who just happens to be wooing the couple's daughter Julie (Evelyn Ankers) investigates. After terrifying the the family Griffin decides he wants to be visible again but the cure is a complete blood transfusion. He goes to Durea for help but when the doc tries to double cross him, he uses the doc's blood. Now visible Griff takes over Jasper's whole household and sets his sights on Julie. In the finale Griff turns invisible unexpectedly and tries to use Foster's blood for a transfusion but Durea's faithful dog spells his end. Despite a bad double for Durea in his final scene, REVENGE is set up nicely by veteran director Ford Beebe and it's a change to have the invisible guy actually being a villain not just an innocent man driven crazy by the formula. It's also full of many un-billed character actors including Billy Bevan, Shelton Knaggs, Mildred Dunnock and a few others. This is usually considered the last of the original Universal “Invisible Man” series but seven years later the studio would dust the character off to meet Abbott & Costello! At the onset of filming Edgar Barrier played the role of Jasper but dropped out after 4 days.

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More Invisibility

INVISIBLE AGENT-1942-Nazis want the indivisibility formula created by Frank Griffin, the original “Invisible Man” in this kind of sequel to THE INVISIBLE MAN RETURNS. Two enemy agents (Sir Cedric Hardwick and Peter Lorre) visit Griffin's grandson Frank (Jon Hall) whose working as a printer under an assumed name. They try to get the formula from him but he escapes and goes to the US for help. The government wants the formula too but he refuses until he learns of the attack on Pearl Harbor. He agrees to help but only if he is allowed to become the “invisible agent”. While parachuting into Berlin he becomes invisible and contacts German double agent Maria (Ilona Massey) who dines with the head of the secret police (J. Edward Bromberg) and there's lots of invisible comedy. For a while Frank puts on cold cream, sunglasses and a robe to become almost visible. Later he's kidnapped by Lorre (who's suppose to be Japanese; his outings as Mr. Moto got him in the mood). Once again Frank escapes their clutches and Lorre kills Hardwicke then commits hari-kari. Fortunately Maria can fly a plane and she and Frank stop bombers headed to destroy NYC! Keye Luke appears as a doctor in one scene. 

Released right after Pearl Harbor bombings this is one of the many propaganda like science fiction films released at the time. The SFX are good (they were nominated for an Academy Award) and director Edwin L. Marin doesn't go overboard with the comedy bits. Screenwriter Curt Siodmak (who also penned THE INVISIBLE MAN RETURNS) had fled Germany (first to England) in 1937. His depiction of the Nazis are evil but incompetent. 

Director Marin had previously made A CHRISTMAS CAROL and A STUDY IN SCARLET (both with Reginald Owen) and later many westerns. Lead actor Jon Hall returned to invisibility two years later in THE INVISIBLE MAN'S REVENGE, though playing a different character.

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