West of Shanghai (1937)

Director: John Farrow
Starring: Boris Karloff, Beverly Roberts, Ricardo Cortez

Synopsis:
A group of foreigners in the Chinese hinterlands are made the captives of a warlord.

Impressions:
We've got Boris Karloff in yellowface again and it's an even broader caricature than what was seen in The Mask of Fu Manchu. That being said, I found myself getting rather attached to the character of Fang. The way he would justify everything with "I am Fang," his friendship with the character of Hallet, and his mostly flippant, easygoing ways. Richard Loo is a nice counterpoint to all the broken English as Fang's well-spoken adjutant Mr. Cheng. Ricardo Cortez is also pretty good as the scumbag Creed. A lot of the elements here are done much better in The Bitter Tea of General Yen, but if you're not too sensitive, Karloff's performance makes this worth a watch.

Rating:
50/50