Chinatown Nights - 1929 - 6/10

Creaky drama, loses steam after an opening that resembles Warners films.
Rival Tong gangs battle on the streets and in a Chinese theater.
One gang led by the inscrutable Oriental (stereotyped Warner Oland), the other by an Irish boss (Wallace Beery).
First act rips along, only to stutter into romantic entanglement.
Despite flaws, film has loads of curiosity value.
Begun as a Silent, Paramount converted it to a Talkie mid production.
Dialogue was looped, save for Florence Vidor, hers was dubbed and she subsequently quit movies.
Mild by Pre-Code standards, there are elements that definitely would be censored later.
The silent scenes, even those dubbed later, move quicker and better than the static talkie sections.