I Cover Chinatown
Cast & Crew
Norman Foster
Norman Foster
Elaine Shepard
Vince Barnett
Theodore Von Eltz
Arthur Lake
Film Details
Technical Specs
Synopsis
In San Francisco's Chinatown, Myra Duryea discovers that her husband Clark and his brother Victor are not jewelry salesmen but thieves. When Myra threatens to leave him, Clark strangles her and hides her body in her trunk. The same day, Myra's sister, Gloria Watkins, arrives for a visit and gets a ride to Chinatown from ex-policeman Eddie Barton. Eddie is a tour guide on a sight-seeing bus driven by Puss McGaffey, an ex-convict who used to transport contraband for the Duryea brothers. When Gloria arrives at the Duryeas, Clark tells her that he and Myra quarrelled and she left. Victor, unaware that Clark killed Myra, takes Gloria to lunch and meets Eddie and Puss, who tells Eddie the Duryea jewelry store is a front. Eddie promises to meet Gloria later, but when he and Puss arrive at the store, Victor detains Gloria on the roof, while Clark pulls a gun on Puss and Eddie, shoots Puss in the shoulder, and frames both of them as thieves. A rookie policeman believes Clark and chases Eddie, who eludes him. Eddie then calls Clark pretending he's the policeman to lure Clark to the police station to identify the thieves. Clark has made a reservation as "Steve Allemby" on a steamship bound for South America and has hired a man to transport the trunk containing Myra's body to the docks. Gloria, in Myra and Clark's apartment above the store, finds a letter from Myra asking her not to visit. She explains that she is sending her trunk to her mother's and fears Clark will try to stop her from leaving. When Victor tells Gloria that Clark is sending Myra her trunk, she notices that the name on the trunk is "Steve Allemby." Eddie, pretending to be the man from the transport company, gets into the store and knocks out and ties up Victor. Eddie and Gloria then share information and kiss. Clark returns from the police station and enters his apartment through a secret passage. He locks Gloria in a closet, but Eddie manages to hide. Clark then gives the trunk to the real transport man and unties Victor, while Eddie frees Gloria and descends the secret passage with her. Victor follows them with a gun and they are trapped behind a steel door. Puss, meanwhile, convinces the police that the Duryea store is a front. Eddie jumps Victor in the dark passage and Clark is met by the police. The man from the transfer company returns and tells Clark he missed his boat, and Eddie and the police chase Clark, who takes off in a truck. At Pier 45, Eddie fights Clark and both fall in the water. The police retrieve the men from the water, find Myra's corpse in the trunk, and arrest Clark. Later, Puss drives the sight-seeing bus while Gloria and Eddie kiss.
Director
Norman Foster
Cast
Norman Foster
Elaine Shepard
Vince Barnett
Theodore Von Eltz
Arthur Lake
Polly Ann Young
Eddie Gribbon
Edward Emerson
George Hackathorne
Andy Iona And His Recording Hawaiians
Bruce Mitchell
Robert Love
Cherita Alden
Crew
Film Details
Technical Specs
Quotes
Trivia
Notes
This film's working titles were Murder in Chinatown and Trunk Murder Case. Although a 1936 copyright statement appears on the viewed print, the title is not listed in copyright records. This film marks Norman Foster's directorial debut. A modern source lists Abe Meyer as musical director. The 1937 Film Daily Year Book lists actress Cherita Alden as Cherita Alden Ray, although an ad for the film lists her as Cherita Alden.
