Shadow of Chinatown

This serial deals with the plotting of a European importing firm to put Chinese trade competition in a west coast Chinatown - city unnamed, but it's by the bay and it isn't Oakland - out of business. Their representative, Sonya Rokoff/The Dragon Lady (Luana Walters), a beautiful Eurasian girl, hires Victor Poten (Bela Lugosi), a mad Eurasian chemist and inventor and an equal-opportunity racist who hates both Chinese and White races, to aid her. Poten, by means of his infernal inventions and underworld henchmen, conducts successful raids on the Chinese merchants and also successfully eludes the people hunting and investigating him. Those include newspaper reporter Joan Whiting (Joan Barclay), her sweetheart Martin Andrews (Bruce Bennett as Herman Brix), Willy Fu (Maurice Liu), Martin's servant, and police Captain Walters (Forrest Taylor) and his detectives. After narrow escapes from death in the form of bombs, poison-traps, infernal machines and some hand-to-hand, five-on-one scuffling in Chinatown's underworld, Martin finally captures Poten just as he is about to indulge in a little wholesale killing by poisoning the wine served at a Chinese merchant's banquet.

Andrews grabs hold of the fire escape but Grogan is killed from falling off the roof of Sonya Rokoff's apartment. Poten sets up an exploding chandelier in Andrews' apartment.

Andrews and the others manage to detect the invisible gas and escape the lab in time. Andrews finds Victor Poten in Sonya Rokoff's apartment, but Poten flees over the rooftops. Andrews faces a zombified Grogan.

Andrews and Joan survive going over the cliff and continue on to San Francisco, a psychiatrist brings Sonya Rokoff out of her trance. Poten's lets loose an invisible and odorless gas.

Andrews manages to catch Grogan's hand grenade and throw it out an open window. Poten retrieves Grogan from the insane asylum and then follows Andrews back to San Francisco. On the road, Poten forces Andrews' car over a cliff.

Wong saves Andrews, Joan and Willy Fu from Poten's gas but Poten and Sonya Rokoff escape.

Joan tells Andrews that Sonya Rokoff is behind the sinister events in San Francisco and that she also has plans to destroy Chinatown in LA.

Wong saves Andrews from Grogan's noose, Poten threatens to kill Grogan by midnight.

Andrews escapes the sword and rescues Joan from her imprisonment, Poten leaves Los Angeles and Grogan attempts to kill Poten with a homemade noose.

Andrews is saved from the deadly goldfish bowl by Detective, Wong (James B. Leong).

Andrews (Herman Brix) fakes his demise but Poten (Bela Lugosi) wants to be sure and rigs up a killer goldfish bowl.

Andrews (Herman Brix) survives the exploding manhole cover. Poten attempts to get rid of Dr. Wu with a poisoned dart via a phone receiver.

Andrews (Herman Brix) saves Joan Whiting (Joan Barclay) from the crusher.

Martin Andrews (Herman Brix) escapes being caught by Victor Poten's automaton. Meanwhile, Joan Whiting (Joan Barclay) wanders into Poten's deadly hydraulic chamber. Andrews and Willy Fu (Maurice Liu) attempt to rescue her.

Sonya Rokoff (Luana Walters) hires Professor Victor Poten (Bela Lugosi) to terrorize Chinatown.