bkoganbing Eccentric and rich scientist Frank Reicher is working on a poison gas formula and he's got the usual collection of servants, relatives, and colleagues in his mansion. That mansion also contains a room where Reicher does his work, keeps his secrets, and can only be opened or closed with a voice command. Should someone not authorized get in, good chance they'll trip a trap that will lock them in and kill them with poison gas.Despite all this security Reicher winds up murdered and in a most exotic way. Before this Charlie Chan film is concluded four more victims will die. And they'll die in the same exotic way most of them. The method I won't reveal because it's way too good.Sidney Toler plays the all wise Charlie Chan in this and despite help from number 4 son Edward Luke and Mantan Moreland, Toler solves the case. As for the title, where Jade comes in I don't know, but life masks are an integral part of the case allowing the murderer to whatever evil is planned.For a Monogram Picture,The Jade Mask wasn't too bad and Charlie is at the top of his game.

jonfrum2000 While this Chan is worth watching for fans of the series, it doesn't quite hold up to the standard earlier episodes set. Charlie is quite grumpy to his son, - to the point of meanness - son #4 Edward, while a distinct character from his siblings, is also a stiff as an actor, and Birmingham Brown's role never takes off. The local policeman Charlie works with cracks homespun expressions that only stop the movie in its tracks. The mystery plays out OK, but the reveal is tough to take.Any Chan is better than no Chan at all, but this one needed more time to shoot and better direction. P.S. Notice I wrote the entire review without mentioning the term 'Poverty Row.' Many reviewers of the Monogram series seem incapable of writing a paragraph about these films without letting you know that they know about Poverty Row. Well la-di-da!

Michael O'Keefe This Charlie Chan feature is complicated as it is simple. Charlie(Sidney Toler)is summoned to a spooky mansion to solve the murder of a renowned scientist, who is working on a gas that can turn wood into a substance hard as steel. The government is interested in this project, thus Chan on the case. The mansion is full of family and help and all loathed the deceased scientist, that may have taken his secret formula to the grave with him. Everyone is a suspect, but Chan discovers that the murderer and his wife have hidden certain identities with human puppets and masks, making victims seem alive. This black & white film is crisp and well paced. Interesting banter between Chan and his number four son Eddie(Edwin Luke); and you can always count on chauffeur Birmingham(Mantan Moreland)to provide comic relief. Other players in this 66 minute caper: Hardie Albright, Frank Reicher, Cyril Delevanti, Janet Warren and Ralph Lewis.

ccthemovieman-1 This is one of the strangest Charlie Chan films I've even seen, probably because many of the suspects were so weird. That, and the building in which most of the action takes place - with all its secret and motorized panels - is odd to see.The story: an unpopular family member-scientist, "Dr. Harper," (Frank Reicher) has developed a chemical that makes wood as strong as steel. Our government could use this, especially in time of war, so they are obviously concerned when the scientist is found murdered. They call on Charlie Chan to help solve the case and get the formula. Charlie winds up getting help from his Number Four Son "Eddie," someone I never saw in any other Chan films. He was the bespectacled "intellectual" son in the family and another likable Chan.Anyway, someone is after the formula - for the money it could bring them - and is culprit is probably from the big family where the doctor was working. All of these people are portrayed as guilty-looking so the audience has a hard time figuring out who's the killer. The "whodunnit" is wrapped up in the end with a gathering of everyone while Chan explains his discoveries. That was the only problem with the film: the ending was unsatisfying and bit unrealistic.