hwg1957-102-265704 The first film in the Monogram Studio's Charlie Chan series after 20th Century-Fox had given up the the franchise. A scientist is killed and the plans of his torpedo stolen just before he could greet several people who have come to his house for a cocktail party. The head of the Secret Service (who sits in an office with 'SECRET SERVICE' written on the door!) tasks Charlie Chan to solve the crime and find the plans. Which he does of course. Apart from some plot holes it is a fair mystery mainly set in the scientist's house and passes the time nicely.Sidney Toler as Chan is his usual urbane self, slowly prodding and pushing to get to the truth. He is supported by his No. 2 daughter Iris and his No. 3 son Tommy played respectively by Marianne Quon and Benson Fong. The film also sadly introduces into the Chan series Mantan Moreland as Birmingham Brown, which I thought was a retrograde step as this fine actor and comedian is reduced to unfunny mugging and rolling of eyes. It would have been better to utilise one or two of Chan's numerous offspring instead of Brown. In this film Quon and Fong are fine as the comic relief as were previous actors in the series like Keye Luke and Victor Sen Yung. With fourteen Chan children there were plenty to choose from!

Michael O'Keefe During World War Two, spies come in all shapes and forms. America's Number One Chinese detective, Charlie Chan(Sidney Toler), is called upon by the Secret Service to find who murdered the scientist/inventor of a top-secret weapon to protect the U.S. forces from German U-boats. Chan arrives to a house party full of guests that contains a spy that has stolen the assembly plans of the newly invented weapon. The guests are quite eccentric, if not just plain suspicious. Chan is followed by one of his sons(Benson Fong) and daughters(Marianne Quon)good for getting in the way of the investigation. Not one of the best Chan movies I've seen, but still good enough to hold interest. Absolutely comical is Mantan Moreland that plays a chauffeur named Birmingham Brown. Others in the cast: Gene Roth, Lelah Tyler, Gwen Kenyon, Arthur Loft and Sarah Edwards.

BaronBl00d A true yawner and a bad film even for the Chan series. I like a good Charlie Chan film or even a reasonably good one, but this one falls way short of the mark. Charlie is enlisted to help figure out the murder of a scientist working for our government when someone in the house has stolen the plans for another power. The mystery is very pedestrian and the acting doesn't fare much better. The only saving grace for me in the film was the presence of Mantan Moreland as Birmingham Brown. He gives the film a little comedy and has some good scared faces, but after that the pickings are rather slim. Benson Fong is here as Tommy Chan and pairs up with Chan's daughter of all things. What about Sidney Toler? He is pretty decent but looks like he is straining to carry the film. What I noticed most was the way the film was shot. Chan director Phil Rosen, of whom I generally like most of his entries, uses lots of long shots with no action(like Charlie's initial walk into the house from outside). Why? The film is only 64 minutes long for crying out loud! Shots like that tell me the director had to fill time up because the script was even weaker than he was accustomed to. This probably isn't the worst Chan film ever made, but up to now it is the worst I have sat through unfortunately.

Spondonman I'm pretty sure there wasn't a Chan film made that I didn't like: I preferred Oland to Toler and Fox to Monogram but am more than happy (maybe even keen!) to watch a Toler Monogram effort. They all transported you to a world of more or less cultured baddies, each hiding a thousand secrets which Charlie (and us of course) has to work his way through. Usually, as in this case, to find the murderer from a roomful of shifty twitching eyes.Electrical scientist murdered and the secret plans stolen, Charlie with a little ... help from offspring Tommie and Iris has to decide which of the house guests did it. The Monogram house's hanging drapes and thick carpets lend a nice atmosphere to the mystery. Only gripes: the incongruously brash and childish music track and the continual visual reference to a Watching Evil Eye from a Dark Place.Watched from the Chanthology DVD and with the widescreen TV set to mild zoomview meant it was like the first time again for me seeing this, an experience I'd have to recommend and one I want to repeat with the other titles in the set.