VeteranLight
I don't have all the words right now but this film is a work of art.
Smartorhypo
Highly Overrated But Still Good
Guillelmina
The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.
Bob
This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.
Hitchcoc
This is it for Chan (at least for the three actors that did the B-movie thing). It involves a plot that has been done any times since. That of a murder on board an airplane. We have a finite set of suspects. There is some history among the passengers. There is a large sum of money involved. And, Charlie and Lee (Number One Son) are on board. We have been told that Lee has been trained as a pilot for several episodes, so there is no big deal when assumes control of the plane. This has a nice cast of very recognizable actors. Noel Neill who was Lois Lane in "The Adventures of Superman" and Milburne Stone from "Gunsmoke." I also remember a show called "The People's Choice," which starred a heavy set guy who played the Mayor. There is no way to keep these people on that plane and they are allowed to leave. Of course, murders are committed and lots of drama ensues. For the final time, a light is turned out and a man is assaulted by an intruder.. How many times!!! This is the most entertaining of the Roland Winters films. I'm puzzled at the great disdain held for him. The earlier Chan movies weren't really all that great anyway. Having Caucasian men play a Chinese detective creates problems from the start. I guess there is a charm in seeing these actors do their thing for very little money. We could criticize till the cows come home, but these weren't ever works of art.
nova-63
This film, along with The Shanghai Chest, is my favorite of the Roland Winters films. Here, Charlie is on board a late night flight home to San Francisco. He awakens to find that everyone on the plane has been drugged, $250,000 has disappeared, and a detective hired to guard the money has been murdered.There are a couple of subplots that at first seem to be distractions, but ultimately tie in to the murder case. The cast is filled with familiar faces, including Iris Adrian, Elena Verdugo, Lyle Talbot, Milburn Stone, and John Eldredge. The skill of these character actors adds immeasurably to the film. There is a little less comedy in this one and that is fine by me. And the presence of number one son Lee (Keye Luke) is always welcomed.There is no denying that these Monograms lack the technical expertise of the earlier Fox films. But if one accepts them for what they are, low budget B mysteries, you will enjoy the 65 minutes.
classicsoncall
"The Sky Dragon" would be the last of the Charlie Chan mystery films, this one starring Roland Winters who appeared in a total of six films as the Oriental Detective. Keye Luke, who first appeared as Number #1 Son Lee in 1935's "Charlie Chan in Paris" opposite Warner Oland, appears here in a much more mature characterization. So much so, that this is the only film in which Charlie is called "Dad" instead of "Pop" by any of his offspring.The movie involves an insurance scam aboard a San Francisco bound airline flight, on which all the passengers are drugged, with the perpetrator making off with a two hundred fifty thousand dollar bundle. Chan must make his way through a host of suspects among the passengers, before ferreting out the guilty party with Lee's help impersonating an injured (actually dead) pilot.Notable among the cast are Tim Ryan in his third Chan appearance as Lieutenant Mike Ruark of the San Francisco Police Department; and future Daily Planet Reporter Noel Neill as an airline hostess. For trivia fans, her TV Superman counterpart George Reeves also appeared in a Charlie Chan film, 1941's "Dead Men Tell", as of all things, a newspaper reporter! For his last appearance in a Chan film, Mantan Moreland as Birmingham Brown doesn't have much to do, although he does get physical at one point, helping Lee wrestle down a gunman confronting Charlie.Like many Charlie Chan films, it helps to keep a scorecard to track the characters and their relationships. "The Sky Dragon" has enough going on to keep you guessing, although in the end it's a rather average entry in the Chan series.
admjtk1701
The last Chan film made by Monogram and Roland Winters is a sad final bow for the great detective and great film series. The supporting cast is good for a Monogram picture. The best thing about it is that Keye Luke is back as Lee Chan. Great title. Poor picture! Sorry Charlie!