#32: Charlie Chan in Shanghai (1935)

Charlie Chan is basically a cross between Shirlock Holmes, Jessica Fletcher, and Confucius. People die whenever he comes to town, he has to solve the mystery, and for some reason (which I'm sure has nothing to do with his race/ethnicity, yeah right), he constantly speaks in aphorisms. Even though I find Chan to be more of an annoying caricature than a true-to-life character, there is something about the story itself that is very entertaining. I love the Agatha Christie-like whodunit mystery it imbues. Some parts of the story are illogical, but for the most part, it captured my attention from the first scene and kept it until the end. And of course, it was easy to watch at a mere 71 minutes. I know there's a saying that a good movie is never too long. I'm not sure I completely agree with that. Sometimes the length effects the quality.