Sherlock Holmes and the Secret Weapon (1942)

Back to another classic Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce movie where they star as Holmes and Watson. The action kicks of in Switzerland where a disguised Holmes is trying to smuggle a scientist and his new bombsite back to England before the Nazis can take them both to Germany. Yep, this is another one set during World War II. The scientist, Dr. Tobel, is successfully brought back to London, but the Germans haven’t given up yet. The good doctor also seems to be up to no good as he sneaks out of 221 B. Baker Street to visit a beautiful woman named Charlotte.

When he disappears she gives Holmes a strange cipher/code involving a bunch of dancing men. This is how they connect this movie to the classic story The Dancing Men. There are some clues to decipher that eventually lead our hero to his arch enemy Moriarty, who is working with the spies to recover Tobel and his bombsite for Berlin. Though that doesn’t work out too well as the movie ends with British bombers headed there with the sights installed and ready to drop their payloads.

I do really like these movies, but this is yet another that leans more into the adventure and has almost no mystery. In fact the only thing that needs to be solved is the code of the dancing men, which the audience has zero chance of guessing at as we are given no clues. There is no mystery to the identity of the… well I guess the bad guys. I mean there isn’t any killing until the very end where the bad guys get what is coming to them. This is less a Sherlock Holmes mystery and more so just an opportunity to beat up and out smart the Nazis. Don’t get me wrong as they do that very well and this movie is a great example of wartime Hollywood’s efforts. There just isn’t any mystery to solve here.

What we do get is a car chase, an escape by airplane, some creeping around dark streets, and some bad guys doing bad things. Holmes doesn’t solve his issues with fisticuffs, which most of the detective movies from the forties have the protagonist doing, but instead outsmarts his opponents at every step of the way. Here is where having Moriarty as the main antagonist is a bad idea. Holmesian lore has him as an intellectual equal to the great consulting detective so seeing him fall for obvious manipulation is a bit too far for me.

Rathbone and Bruce are good as always. Though I feel as if Bruce’s Dr. Watson isn’t given much to do and goes MIA for much of the movie. Lionel Atwill is back as Moriarty and is solid as well, though again isn’t given much to sink his acting chops into. Honestly the writing here is a bit lacking and unlike other entries this feels tossed together in a rush without much thought. Look out for a very young Whit Bissel (Creature from the Black Lagoon, I Was a Teenage Frankenstein) in an early and uncredited role.

For a quickie formula flick it works just fine. Though had it been any longer than the sixty eight minutes I feel as if this would have been a drag. But it didn’t’ and isn’t. While far from the best of this version of Holmes and nowhere near as fun as other adaptations closer to the original stories Sherlock Holmes and the Secret Weapon isn’t a horrible way to kill an hour. It is available online for free so is just a Google search away

 

© Copyright 2024 John Shatzer

The Shanghai Cobra (1945)

Big surprise that I covered yet another Charlie Chan flick in this mystery movie marathon. But I do love these, and they fit the theme so what can I do? As always if you haven’t already read my thoughts on a white actor playing a Chinese character, please click this link. With that out of the way lets talk about The Shanghai Cobra. 

The movie kicks off with some folks lurking around a dark street in a rainstorm. Three of them, including Mr. Black, end up going into a diner to get a cup of coffee. The only woman in the group, Paula, is followed outside by Mr. Black who starts to talk to her before dropping dead on the street. When the police arrive they discover he is the most recent victim of the cobra killings. It seems that someone is using cobra venom to murder people and the police are stumped. Lucky for them they have access to Charlie Chan. Doubly so when he lets them know this is the same method used in a previous crime he investigated in Shanghai. The remainder of the movie is Chan interviewing suspects while protecting a valuable government resource kept in a nearby bank. When he figures out that all of the murder victims were connected to the bank, he starts to connect some dots. Eventually the murderer is exposed and all is well before the end credits roll. 

This might be one of the few later entries into the franchise that I really don’t like. I mean the movie isn’t horrible it is just that the tried and true formula isn’t followed successfully. The mystery is almost nonexistent as we know the mysterious killer is there for a bank heist. We even get to see the gang planning the robbery. So, the motives behind the murders are obvious. They try to give the story a last minute twist, but it is obvious that who we are supposed to think is the killer is in fact innocent. There isn’t much meat on the bone here if you are looking for a solid mystery to follow along with and try to solve. 

I’ve had this same observation with other Chan movies, but they normally can hang their hat on some fun comedy. Especially when Mantan Mooreland and Benson Fong are along for the ride. I was shocked at how little screentime is given to the pair in this one. When they are on screen it is just them creeping around in the dark, mostly in a sewer, with little to no gags. Moreland is normally always good for a few laughs but here none of his normal quips hit the mark. It almost feels like the director, Phil Karlson, didn’t know how to use the comedy. But then again, he did Dark Alibi which has some really good Mooreland moments in it. I was also shocked to see that he directed both Ben as well as Walking Tall towards the end of his career. Those are some good flicks! 

The Shanghai Cobra is at best mediocre with neither the mystery nor comedy elements working for me. I’d say this is for the completist only and should be skipped by casual fans. There are much better Chan movies to watch. 

© Copyright 2024 John Shatzer

Dangerous Money (1946)

note: I always start off these reviews with a link to my thoughts on the issue of a white actor playing an Asian role. If you are interested in what I think about that please check this link out. 

I’m back with another old Charlie Chan flick. This time around the famous detective is traveling aboard a ship in the Pacific. He is approached by a treasury officer named Pearson. He is on the trail of some counterfeit money but has had his life threatened so asks Chan for some help. Before much can be done Pearson is murdered by a thrown knife. But who threw it and does it have anything to do with the investigation or is it a coincidence? 

From here we are introduced to the other nefarious characters traveling on the ship. The suspect pool is further muddied when they stop off at an island which leads to talk of stolen art, crooked dice games, and other such shenanigans. We even get a bit of blackmail mixed in for some added fun! In the end Chan figures out who done it and why. But not before more bodies are found and attempts are made on the detective’s life. 

This might be one of my least favorite of the later Chan movies. While the movie gets right to the point with an early murder and the counterfeit ring we get way too many suspects. This isn’t my first watch of this one (I’ve seen all these movies many times over the years) and even I got a bit overwhelmed with the sheer volume of suspects. Plus there are subplots piled upon subplots to further confuse the proceedings. The mystery gets lost in the mix and honestly that is one of the main reasons you sit down to watch a Charlie Chan flick. The other, at least by the time we get to this stage of the franchise, is the comedy. I have an issue with that as well. 

The always reliable Mantan Mooreland is replaced this time around with another Hollywood staple Willie Best playing Chattanooga Brown. I’ll admit that I’m a big fan of Mooreland and never liked Best all that much, though he was excellent in Ghostbreakers. I really do need to get around to covering that one for the site. His performance here isn’t terrible, but it lacks the chemistry that the former had with Victor Sen Yung has as Jimmy Chan. The pair end up with a lot of screentime as again Sidney Toler in the role of Chan was very ill and frail. While Mooreland and Yung can carry parts of the movie, I don’t think that the pairing of Best and Yung can. 

Now I don’t think that Dangerous Money is a terrible movie. I’ve seen much worse attempts at these murder mystery with a dash of comedy movies. Really check out some of my other reviews. But when it comes to this franchise, I’ve got some higher standards and judged against the other movies come before and after this one just doesn’t measure up. As much as it pains me to say unless you are a completist I’d recommend skipping this one. 

© Copyright 2024 John Shatzer

The Trap (1946)

note: If you want to hear my thoughts on casting a white actor in an Asian role you can follow this link.

I’m back with another Charlie Chan movie review. This time it is set in his hometown of Honolulu but was shot in California so don’t expect any exotic locations. Here we see a car full of showgirls being driven to the beach by their producer and crew. They are taking a small vacation to relax and get ready for the next season. Right away we see that Marcia, one of the girls, is a real pain. By that I mean she manipulates the others to get whatever she wants by threatening to expose their secrets.

A bit of blackmail never ends well in murder mystery movies. Though it is one of the other girls, Lois, who is found strangled while Marcia just goes missing. This leads to Charlie being called and getting involved in the case. Soon after Marcia is also found murdered which leads to some wandering around in the dark, accusations, clues, and other sorts of shenanigans. Eventually the killer and their motives are revealed.

This movie is based on one of what I think are only four actual Chan novels. When I read them I was shocked at how minor of a character he is in those stories. He is basically the inscrutable plot device that shows up to solve everything while the victims and suspects are the main characters. Obviously, this isn’t what happened when they became movies and since there are almost fifty of these damn things most of the scripts are original ideas. The only reason that I mention this is that in The Trap the character of Charlie Chan comes and goes but the movie spends most of the time on other characters. This was done for practical reasons as Sidney Toler, who played Chan, was terminally ill with cancer. This was his last outing as the character. He passed away the following year.

That said the movie still has a solid mystery with plenty of clues being given to the audience. The suspects are interviewed, folks creep around up to no good, and if you pay attention, you can figure it out. Though unlike many of the other entries into the franchise this mystery has a neat twist that most folks, including myself on first watch, never guessed. I figure that is because it was based on the novel by Earl Der Biggs, which is quite good. The Trap is a very cleaver murder mystery in both book and film.

There is also a healthy dose of son Jimmy and chauffer Birmingham Brown as the comic relief. Mantan Mooreland, who plays Birmingham, gets to do several gags including his classic knocking knees as well as a fun bit with a phone ringing. I understand that much like the casting of a white actor in the Chan role that Mooreland’s performance is frowned upon today, but he was an excellent comedian who deserves to be remembered and appreciated. The rest of the cast does a fine job for being assembled by a poverty row studio like Monogram. While not stars these were working actors with some decent skills.

This is another entertaining flick in the Charlie Chan filmography. I get that these old mystery movies are not for everyone, but I love them, and this is one of the best. Give it a chance. You might just find yourself a fan as well.

 

© Copyright 2024 John Shatzer

The Ghost that Walks Alone (1944)

This movie opens with some folks recording a radio show. So many of these mystery/comedy flicks revolve around radio shows. I guess it was a common trope that kept getting used. Anyway there is a rather handsy actor who keeps grabbing the leading lady much to the dismay of her fiancé Eddie, who is the sound effects guy. There is a fight and Eddie gets fired but then rehired by the producer. Why? The producer’s wife makes him!

With this established we then move on to Eddie and his lady leaving for their wedding and honeymoon. The producer is threatened with having the show cancelled so he tries to get Eddie and his leading lady back for more rehearsals, but they blow him off. So, the entire crew shows up at the lodge where they are honeymooning to get some practice in. When the producer ends up dead Eddie is convinced by some of his wacky co-workers that he will be blamed so they had better solve the murder before reporting it to the police. Shenanigans ensue… sort of.

I was sort of looking forward to checking this one out. The actor that plays Eddie, Arthur Lake, is best known for portraying Dagwood from the Blondie series. I’ve always liked those movies and thought he was a funny guy so the idea of a movie starring him was going to be a blast. Here is where I noticed why Lake never was able to build on his success from that series though. In the Blondie movies he was a second banana, an important one, but again not the focus. That worked because he has a very limited schtick that now that I see is solo in The Ghost that Walks Alone gets rather annoying very quickly. His sad sack persona and his whiney line delivery gets tedious and since he is the star we never get a break from it.

The movie also doesn’t help with a supporting cast that comes off flat and forgettable. I’m not even sure that they tried to develop anything beyond one wacky old lady character who exists to be the red herring (she knows who the killer is) as well as be the punchline for the final joke seen on screen. His lady friend and wacky co-workers are barely given screentime and when they are on camera, I can sort of see why. Lake needed some help here as again he can’t carry the movie on his own, but he got no help here. The story is also paper thin with no mystery and very little beyond them stumbling around in the dark. Had the story been more engaging it would have made the movie at least watchable, but it isn’t.

There are reasons why some of these old movies have been forgotten. Sometimes they were just cranked out to fill screens and cash in on what was popular at the time. The Ghost that Walks Alone is one of those and isn’t worth spending the hour or so of you time on. In the unlikely event you are an Arthur Lake fan (how many of us are there?) I’d recommend hitting up a Blondie movie and skipping this one. If you are looking for a mystery/comedy from the thirties or forties there are much better choices. Oh, and just to be clear. There is no ghost that either walks in a crowd or alone!

 

© Copyright 2024 John Shatzer

Whispering Ghosts (1942)

Hollywood studios copying or revisiting what was making their competitors money isn’t a new phenomenon. Since I just covered the Cat and the Canary remake I went back and watched the original, which I love. That got me to thinking I should go see what knockoffs that I could find. With Bob Hope doing that movie and then following it up the following year with the equally awesome The Ghost Breakers I figured someone would have taken notice. While there are a lot of poverty row flicks the one that stood out to me was Whispering Ghosts. This was a decent production and starred Milton Berle. If you couldn’t get Hope in your flick, then the next best thing… as far as former vaudevillian performers go… was Berle.

The movie opens with a woman, Elizabeth, checking out her uncle Eli’s unusual home. He was a sailor and had his ship hauled up on land for him to live in. He was murdered and while it took time, she has finally officially inherited the place. There is also the rumor of a cache of diamonds, so we get a fun buried treasure twist as well.

Then we meet up with famous radio detective H.H. Van Buren (Berle’s character) who claims to have solved Eli’s murder. Though it turns out that he is wrong but still has a week to figure it out as he has promised his audience the big reveal on a live broadcast. That means he and his manservant/sidekick Euclid Brown have to head off to the house looking for clues. There is also a subplot of him playing a mean trick on a fellow performer who sends some actors to the house to mess with him as revenge. This serves to add a couple extra character for shenanigans. Van Buren meets Elizabeth and the actors. Some others show up as well as a storm blows in and wrecks the road. Then shenanigans ensue. In the end though the mystery is solved, and the treasure is found.

This is a decent movie. The pacing is solid as it gets right to the story and the action/comedy. I can’t think of a slow spot in the proceedings as things are spaced out evenly from start to finish. Though it does follow the formula closely with the goofy characters and wisecracking hero that didn’t bother me at all. Like I’ve already mentioned this was made to cash in on the success of the Hope flicks, so I knew what to expect. Berle, while not as great as Hope, is still great in the lead cracking wise and dropping one-liners like the practiced professional he was. The guy was really funny, and I’ve noticed has been forgotten by a lot of younger people. That is a damn shame.

Look kids it's John Carradine!

The rest of the cast is good. Willie Best, who was also in The Ghost Breakers, does his thing. Though much like Mantan Mooreland this doesn’t play well to a modern audience. Plus, there are a couple cringeworthy jokes cracked by Berle at Best’s expense that haven’t aged well at all. Though as someone who has watched movies like this as well as every vaudevillian recording I could find it is obvious that Berle is giving Best some of the best gags so there was some respect there. Though it still is uncomfortable at times. We also get John Carradine as one of the actors hired to mess with them. This allows him to ham it up and chew some scenery in a couple funny gags. Plus, it also leads to a Dracula line from Berle that I found funny. There is some good stuff here.

While not anywhere as fun as the previously mentioned Hope flicks Whispering Ghosts isn’t too bad. Milton Berle is funny and is surrounded by a supporting cast that can help carry the load. The movie gets in cracks some jokes and gets out before getting repetitive and boring. This is totally worth a look. You can find it online for free if you dig a bit.

 

© Copyright 2024 John Shatzer

The Scarlet Clue (1945)

Another Charlie Chan movie for the marathon. As I do with all of these reviews I wanted to get my thoughts about a white actor in what really should have been an Asian role out of the way right off. You can click here for an article I wrote about it. Now onto the review.

The movie kicks off as all great old mystery flicks should with some shady characters skulking around a fog covered dock. A man is being trailed by a couple others and we find out that those following are police and the man who is being followed is in possession of some secret military technology. Remember that this was still during World War II and the poverty row studios like Monogram were still putting spies in everything! Charlie Chan arrives and when they go to arrest the man, they find him dead.

The rest of the movie is Chan, his son Tommy, chauffer Birmingham Brown, and a host of suspects at a radio station (there was a car at the murder scene that led them there) getting grilled. Sure enough some espionage is afoot, and Charlie needs to sort that out before the enemy makes off with some vital radar plans. Toss in some spooky masks, a thinly veiled reference to the legendary Boris Karloff, and a deadly elevator for some fun.

This is another of the Chan movies that I’ll admit doesn’t give the audience much chance to follow along with and try to figure out as it plays more like an adventure flick with some “who done it” teases along the way. You get an interesting murder weapon in both the cigarette twist as well as the trick elevator. But neither are hard to see coming. There are some clues so I don’t want to imply that we are kept in the dark but unlike any other Chan movie I can think of when the killer is revealed not only do we not get an explanation of how he sorted it out but there is also not a good connection as to why the killer/spy did what they did. That was a bit annoying.

Mooreland and Carter are excellent!

There is a bit of gunplay involved and we do get a healthy dose of comedy from Mantan Mooreland as Birmingham Brown who is joined here by his sidekick from the nightclub scene Ben Carter. They do their famous gag finishing each other’s sentences with the final punchline being given to Tommy by Mooreland. The wordplay from these guys is pure genius and makes me sad that so little of their act was saved from the thirties and forties. I would have loved to check it out.

Sidney Toler is good again in the role of Charlie Chan. His delivery is solid, and he has a lot of energy. This is one of the last movies where he was still on his game as the cancer which eventually killed him sapped him of his strength in the later entries. He did another six of these movies before passing away in nineteen forty-seven. While not the best mystery of the bunch this is one of his better performances and that makes The Scarlet Clue worth checking out.

 

Ó Copyright 2024 John Shatzer

Black Magic aka. Meeting at Midnight (1944)

Time for some more Charlie Chan review goodness. I suppose I should, as I always do with these movies, direct you towards my thoughts on casting a white actor in an Asian role. You can find that link here. With that out of the way lets actually take a look at this entry into the long running franchise. 

This movie kicks off with a bang as we see some folks sitting around a table at a séance where the medium, William Bonner, is contacting the spirits of lost loved ones for those in attendance. While this is happening Birmingham Brown, the always entertaining Mantan Moreland, shows up to take over the butler’s job. To say he is a bit put off by the spooky nature of his new boss’s business is an understatement. This is made worse when a shot rings out and Bonner is found murdered when the lights come back up. We also see that the whole thing is a scam that Bonner and his wife have been pulling with a couple of assistants in the basement. 

The police are called and as they sort things out they discover that one of the attendees is Charlie’s daughter Frances. Initially he doesn’t want anything to do with the crime but when the police threaten to hold his daughter for questioning, he dives into the case. Soon he is interviewing witnesses and potential killers. The date of October 5th, 1935 keeps coming up during this time. Another murder is attempted, a woman walks off a high rise building, Charlie is shot at, and Birmingham reacts to the craziness going on around him before all is revealed and the killer brought to justice. 

This is another solid movie from the Chan series. Sidney Toler does a decent job playing the character with a bit more of an edge behind the façade. There are brief spots where you can see his annoyance and anger at what is happening around him. This is especially so when he sees that the police are going to use his daughter’s predicament against him. The pacing is solid as the formula is down by this point. The murder happens quickly, Chan is drawn into it, and moves right to interviewing the suspects. We also get the typical shots being taken at him by the killer when he gets too close. Is it familiar? Sure, but when done right that doesn’t matter much. Here I had a good time and felt like all sixty seven minutes of the movie were headed towards the conclusion. Though I was bummed that the vital clue is kept from the audience until the very end, so we don’t have a chance to figure it out ourselves. 

It was also interesting that this is the first time we get a daughter solo and no son as his assistant. I don’t believe that happened again. While I thought the actress did a good job there is a lack of chemistry between her and Moreland. The comic shenanigans that Birmingham and whichever one of Charlie’s sons was along for that mystery adds a lot to these later entries and it is missing here. That might also play into why I didn’t feel like we got enough of Moreland in the movie as he disappears for long stretches. While I dig the mystery I also look forward to a bit of silliness with these movies. 

That said we do get enough here for it to be a decent way to kill an hour. I like Toler and am always down for Mantan Moreland. And while the story is a bit of a cheat not giving the audience all the clues the pacing is brisk enough to keep the story entertaining. In the end I suppose Black Magic is not the best but still worth a watch. 

© Copyright 2024 John Shatzer

Sherlock Holmes and the Voice of Terror (1942)

This is the third installment of the Rathbone Sherlock Holmes movies and the first that moved the action to “current” time aka. the forties when it was made. This also means it is set during the Second World War, so we of course have some Nazi spies running around. Here we are introduced to the Voice of Terror aka. a broadcast from Nazi Europe taunting the British populace over the radio. The voice warns them of sabotage seemingly while it is about to happen. The government is frustrated by their inability to stop the disasters before they happen so call in Holmes to root out those responsible.

Here is where it gets good. Holmes with Watson in tow starts to poke around the criminal underground of London looking for help. See those folks know everything that happens in the city so might have information they don’t even know they have. Sadly, this leads to a man falling dead on the doorstep of 221b Baker Street. Undeterred Holmes goes to the bad part of town to speak to the dead man’s girlfriend, Kitty. She ends up convincing the local ruffians to help fight the Nazis out of self-preservation and maybe a little bit of patriotism. With the clues they provide Holmes does in fact root out the Voice of Terror as well as stopping a planned invasion of England. Though not before the Nazis show themselves to be evil by murdering Kitty out of spite!

As I’ve just said with my recent review of Charlie Chan in the Secret Service, I love these movies set during World War II. They have a fun nostalgic charm to them that makes me want to go right into the lobby and buy some war bonds. Okay that might be a bit too much of a deep dive for you guys but trust me that is a good thing. Sherlock Holmes and the Voice of Terror is more of an adventure flick with a healthy dose of action and spy craft then it is a mystery story. Though there is the obvious hidden identity of the Voice as well as their plans that needs to be figured out, so I feel like it still belongs here in the marathon. Plus, it is Sherlock Holmes so where else would it fit?

Between the forementioned action and spy shenanigans the sixty-six minute runtime flies by. Seriously the pacing here is excellent without a single wasted scene. It seems that every line of dialogue and character action is leading us to the big finale. This is what I think they would have called a “programmer” back in the day. Made for a matinee or as the bottom half of a double bill it wastes little time getting to good stuff and entertains the audience before quickly wrapping things up. Eighty plus years later it still manages to entertain and be a good way to kill an hour or so. That is impressive.

If I had a complaint about the movie, I would say that it does show the lower budget. Shot during the war there was an obvious limit to the money available to be spent on the production. This leads to a lot of stock footage standing in for the acts of sabotage with buildings burning and trains wrecking. Pre and post war I’d imagine they would have done some miniature work but here they are clearly using recycled footage from other flicks. The big finale with the German invasion force being met in the English Channel is mostly hinted at with radio broadcasts rather than showing us in ships or planes in combat. The fact that the script was ambitious enough to include this as the payoff to the story but couldn’t afford to show us any of it is a bit disappointing. I would have preferred a simpler story that could have had the payoff onscreen.

The cast is solid. As always Basil Rathbone is great as Sherlock Holmes, and I still think Nigel Bruce is my favorite Dr. Watson. Along with them we get a solid performance in supporting roles from Evelyn Ankers (Son of Dracula, Hold That Ghost) as Kitty and Henry Daniels. Notably Daniels would return in a later Holmes movie playing arch villain Moriarty.

In the end I still really liked Sherlock Holmes and the Voice of Terror. The pacing, great cast, and war time storyline all appeal to me. I’m not sure that this is the first of the fourteen Rathbone outings as Holmes that I would suggest sitting down to watch as others are more mysteries and therefore inline with the character, but it isn’t a bad way to kill an hour. If you get the chance check this one out.

 

© Copyright 2023 John Shatzer

Charlie Chan in the Secret Service (1944)

The movie is set during World War II and opens with a scientist doing research on some secret weapon that will stop the German U-boat threat. For those not in the know the German subs were sinking lots of shipping before it could reach the front, so this was topical at the time and something audiences would have immediately grabbed onto. There are some Federal Agents guarding the scientist and his research. This becomes embarrassing when the man walks downstairs (his lab is in his house) for a dinner party and is killed right under their noses. What is worse are the missing plans for the weapon he was working on.

The party guests are locked down and Chan is called to solve the murder and recover the missing blueprints before they can fall into the wrong hands. The rest of the movie is him figuring out who killed the victim and how they managed to do so. In the end the spies, because of course there are German spies, are caught and the war effort protected by recovering the missing plans.

By the forties the Chan series was established but not considered “A” pictures anymore. That is likely how Monogram got their hands on it. This is the first of the movies made under their watch and honestly it isn’t too bad. You can see a bit of a drop off in the budgets, but they still made the effort to create a decent mystery and entertain the audience. The script does a solid job showing us Chan moving around the house collecting clues and talking to the suspects, though the audience doesn’t get a solid idea of what is being found so trying to solve the mystery along with the characters is a no go. Though things flow nicely, and the pacing is solid with the resolution coming after an entertaining sixty three minutes.

I’d also have to say that the added flavor of the spy sneaking around was a fun addition. Much like the later Sherlock Holmes movies the Chan series leaned heavily into the patriotic war effort as it was an appealing twist to the wartime audiences. This was a common occurrence in all sorts of movies. Abbott and Costello joined the army in Buck Privates and were In the Navy. Heck even the Three Stooges got in on the act poking fun at the Axis powers in several of their shorts. While this is before my time as a history nerd seeing this stuff while growing up always put a smile on my face and still does. Here it is a welcome as well as a nostalgic addition that works well.

What really makes me like Charlie Chan in the Secret Service is the addition of Mantan Mooreland and his comedic antics. With the move to Monogram the series took on that studio’s habit of adding in some slapstick to their movies. Mooreland had already done a lot of work for them including a couple of solid zombie flicks, so he was familiar and slotted right into this franchise. Here he gets a couple fun gags with my favorite being his shenanigans mixing himself some drinks. We also get Benson Fong returning as Tommy and as a bonus we get to see one of Chan’s daughters get involved as Iris is right there with Tommy. I should also point out that this is the first time Sidney Toler played the character. He was the third and final actor to do the classic Chan flicks.

I guess I’m doing a deep dive here that you all probably don’t care about. If it isn’t clear yet I love these movies and could talk about them for hours. But I won’t bore you guys any further. Between the Nazi spies running around taking shots at Chan and the addition of the Birmingham Brown character for the first time Charlie Chan in the Secret Service has always been and continues to be one of my favorites of the franchise. While not the best mystery it has so much other stuff going for it that I highly recommend you check it out.

 

© Copyright 2023 John Shatzer

Charlie Chan in the Chinese Cat (1944)

note: As is the case with all these Chan, Mr. Wong, and Mr. Moto movies I’ll direct you to this link for my thoughts on casting a white actor in Asian roles.

The movie opens with a man in his study working out something on a chessboard when a black gloved hand reaches in holding a gun and shoots him dead! His family hears the shot but is unable to get to him due to a locked door. I was thinking that we were going to have the classic locked room murder mystery, but it is quickly shown that there is a secret door. His family calls the police.

Months later we see that suspicion has now fallen onto the victim’s wife with the publishing of a book accusing her as such. Charlie Chan is approached by the daughter asking that he solve the crime that the police couldn’t and prove her mother is innocent. He only has forty eight hours before leaving for Cleveland but promises to try. This leads to a couple more murders, some clues, attempts on Chan’s life, as well as some comedy from his number three son Tommy. Oh and Birmingham Brown, the legendary Mantan Mooreland, is in this one as well. Toss in some Jade statues and stolen jewels for an all-around good time.

The pacing of the movie is solid with the murder happening right away with Chan being pulled into investigate shortly afterwards. There are many suspects and whenever they do the smuggling thing I always get a kick out of it. It adds a seedy underworld vibe that the straight up murders don’t. Plus, with it being made during the war years the movie not having a spy subplot was a nice break. The story is more action with a few fist fights, some torture, and a bit of gunplay than it is mystery as we aren’t given that many clues to follow, but there are some cool bits that the audience may see before it is revealed in the end. All that and we get some secret compartments and stolen gems!

This is also one of the later movies in the franchise an as such follows a slightly different formula with comedic bits being mixed in with the mystery. The funny stuff comes from the character of Tommy and that of Birmingham Brown. In these later movies the son is played as a more bumbling hindrance that is tolerated by his father then he is an asset. That said Benson Fong, who replaced Keye Luke from the earlier movies, is still quite good. Mantan Mooreland is doing his act in this movie and his snappy dialogue where he is almost speaking directly to the audience adds a lot to the proceedings. I like silly slapstick and they do it well. Here they are running around a funhouse interacting with the exhibits, which itself was a cool set piece. While some fans are more about the serious entries I can’t pass up on the jokes.

Charlie Chan in The Chinese Cat is a less serious take on the characters and is one of the first that showed the changes in the franchise when it moved from a big studio to the poverty row Monogram Pictures. Funny with a hint of action and mystery makes this one a must see. I recommend it.

 

© Copyright 2023 John Shatzer

Phantom of Chinatown (1940)

Dr. Benton has just returned from an expedition to the interior of China bringing with him a sacred scroll as well as the sarcophagus of a lost emperor. When the movie opens, we see him giving a talk to his colleagues while showing footage of the trip. There is a brief flashback of them smashing their way into the tomb before it returns to the present. He takes a drink from a pitcher of water and then collapses, though not before he mentions the curse! Well, that isn’t good.

James Wong, now played by Keye Luke, is late to the talk but arrives in time to see them carrying out Benton. He is friends with Benton’s daughter, Louise, and involves himself. We also see Captain Street show up to investigate the murder. Seems Benton was poisoned so it was murder. Though the pair don’t know each other, despite being friends in the previous five entries. Yes ladies and gentlemen this is the first known instance in Hollywood of a prequel! This is their first case together, which makes sense with the much younger Luke playing the character now. The pair work together collecting clues and fighting the bad guys before the killer is revealed and arrested.

This is a much better movie then the last two featuring Karloff in the role of Mr. Wong. The pacing is solid with the body hitting the floor in within the first ten minutes. From that point forward suspects are introduced and eliminated rapidly until the mystery is unraveled before our eyes. Though I will admit that this plays more like an two-fisted gumshoe movie then it does a cerebral mystery flick. Luke’s Mr. Wong is far more active throwing down in a fistfight as well as running around collecting the evidence. This makes for a much different movie, but one that I still enjoyed. I was very bummed to have watched this knowing that they didn’t continue the series with Luke. Based on Phantom of Chinatown I think it could have been pretty cool.

It is nice to be able to review and enjoy one of these movies without having to deal with the uncomfortable conversation involving yellowface (white actors playing Asian characters). Luke is excellent in the role and while he plays it differently is every bit as talented as the great Boris Karloff. Hell, if you look at the length of Luke’s career and some of the memorable roles he played it this shouldn’t be a surprise. His version of Wong isn’t afraid to get his hands dirty socking the bad guys in the jaw. He even gets a love interest! The movie is better when he is on screen.

Sadly, the powers that be didn’t think that an Asian actor could carry a movie and killed this series. Adding to the cancellation was the fact that by the time this one was made Monogram (the studio behind the Wong movies) had acquired the rights to the Charlie Chan series. Ironically, Luke would appear in a couple of those movies almost a decade later as Lee Chan, one of Charlie’s sons. We missed out on something cool.

I’ve watched all the other Mr. Wong movies before, but this was a first time watch for me. Not sure if it was because Karloff wasn’t involved or if I just never got around to it. Regardless don’t make the same mistake I did. This is well worth a look. I enjoyed the heck out of Phantom of Chinatown and highly recommend it.

 

© Copyright 2023 John Shatzer

Doomed to Die (1940)

This is the fifth movie in the Mr. Wong franchise and the last starring Boris Karloff in the role. The movie opens with news footage of a horrible accident at sea where the ocean liner Wentworth Castle catches fire and sinks, killing many passengers and crew. Then we see the owner of the ship, Cyrus Wentworth, in his office. A few different folks show up to visit him including a competitor, his lawyer, and the man that wants to marry his daughter. Unfortunately, that man is also the son of the competitor, Fleming, whom Wentworth wants nothing to do with. Then a shot rings out and he is dead. The last person in the office with him was the young Dick Fleming, so it is assumed he is the killer.

After sixteen minutes of the sixty-two minute Mr. Wong shows up at the behest of the lady reporter who also happens to be the fiancé’s friend. They don’t think that Dick is the murderer, so Wong starts to investigate the passenger list to see if there is maybe another reason for the murder. Why? Well folks I’m sad to say that this isn’t the kind of movie that is going to share the clues. Wong goes to visit the Tong who let him know that they were sneaking in some bonds to get them out of China and into the states safely and that those bonds are missing. That ends up being the key to the crime. Though we sit thru a bunch of nonsense before finding that out.

I like these movies but at this point it feels like they weren’t trying anymore. The mystery is a nonstarter with the murderer committing the crime from across the hall and then tossing the gun into the room before running away. No nifty gimmick or hard to figure out sequence of events. Hell this feels like a crime that Wong’s sidekick Captain Street of the San Francisco police should be able to sort out himself. Though what really annoyed me is the fact that the most important clue that explains all of Wong’s actions is kept from us until he reveals the killer’s identity. Come on guys we are supposed to play along with you in solving the crime and you just dump the vital clue with a minute left after all has been solved! That sucks.

Doomed to Die also feels very padded with lots of walking around and way too many characters. It isn’t like they are suspects or more victims either. They are just sort of there. That includes Captain Street who pops in here and there to be a buffoon but plays no real part in the story. He is a reoccurring character from the previous five movies so that was surprising. I also noticed that they used or should I say reused footage from previous Wong movies in odd ways. Characters clearly are different in the closeups from those that were there in the longer shots. This feels like a movie that they just tossed together as quickly and cheaply as possible.

This is the first time in the Wong franchise that I can’t recommend it. I’m annoyed that this was the last outing of Karloff in the role and that they made such a mess of it. There is one more movie which I will cover but it stars Keye Luke. I know that the studio tried to make a go of it with an actual Asian actor playing the detective so I’m hoping that it is a better flick. That said skip Doomed to Die. There is nothing worth watching here.

 

© Copyright 2023 John Shatzer

The Fatal Hour (1940)

I covered the first three Mr. Wong movies in my last Mystery movie marathon, so I figured it was time to finish up the franchise with the final three. The action kicks off with Wong’s friend Captain Street of the San Francisco police department finding out that his friend and fellow officer Dan Grady has been pulled out of the bay. He was working on cracking a smuggling ring and paid the price. Street enlists Wong’s help in finding out who murdered his friend and finishing the work that Grady started.

We are introduced to some gangsters running illegal Chinese Jade into the country, as well as the nearly bankrupt jeweler who is trying to save his business by fencing it. The closer that Street and Wong get though the more bodies that start to pile up. Belden, the jeweler, is shot as is his son’s daughter who had ties to the gangsters. Even a seemingly random radio writer is killed in the waiting room of Streets office! But who is doing it and why? If I told you that it would ruin the mystery and the big reveal. I wouldn’t do that.

The Fatal Hour is the weakest of the Wong movies so far. I mean it isn’t terrible and does follow the familiar and entertaining formula of murder, clues, solution that I’d expect. But after a quick start the proceedings slow down with lots of irrelevant dialogue and sneaking around in the shadows. The movie is only sixty two minutes long so the amount of padding is both surprising as it is disappointing. Though after about half an hour it picks up again for the big reveal of the murderer.

The mystery itself also left me wanting more. We aren’t given many clues with the big one being revealed at the end. Even then the identity of the killer and how he committed the one crime is a big stretch. Also, with the four murders only one is difficult to pin on the killer which is the best part of movies like this. I want to see our detective explain how the impossible crime was committed and the fact that three of the four don’t fall into that category was annoying. The movie also commits the cardinal sin of keeping the motive for one of the killings vague and then tries to explain it with a throwaway line in the final scene. Come on guys you at least have to give the audience the clues and potential motives for us to play along!

The highlight of the Mr. Wong movies for most is the fact that horror legend Boris Karloff is the titular character. That also brings up the difficult conversation about a white actor playing an Asian character or as it is more commonly known “Yellowface”. I’ve had my say the last time and you can read my more detailed thoughts on it at this link. The short of it I agree with those that take issue with these movies but am unwilling to toss them in the trash and ignore them. Why? Well in the case of this series it is because Karloff is good as the character. He underplays it lurking in many scenes but always present and collecting the clues. I also enjoy that fact that he doesn’t do the pidgin English that the Chan and the Mr. Moto character (played by another legend Peter Lorre) are guilty of. Instead, we get him in all his proper British accented Queen’s English.

Ignoring the other issues, The Fatal Hour judged solely as a movie is okay. As a completist I’m glad that I watched it but would much rather check out any of the first three again before revisiting this one. The mystery isn’t as fun, the pacing is off, and again I felt a bit cheated at not being given all the facts before the killer is caught. I’ll leave you with that lukewarm recommendation.

 

© Copyright 2023 John Shatzer

Mystery Broadcast (1943)

It is time for another of my murder mystery review marathons. I thought that I’d start off with this little gem Mystery Broadcast. Though I guess calling it a gem has already spoiled the review. Yeah, I like this one, but read more to find out why.

Jan runs a radio mystery show that has been lagging behind her main competitor, another show run by Michael. She decides to switch things up and try to solve an unsolved murder case to drum up ratings. Springing this on her sponsor, cast, and director to various levels of enthusiasm things get odd right away. One of her actresses asks for the week off and then calls asking to meet. She ends up dead! Soon after Jan finds herself wrapped up in intrigue as stolen money, blackmail, secrets, and a spooky old house all become key to solving the original murder as well as the new one. Early on she also picks up an annoyingly charming man that turns out to be Michael from the rival show! Hey man you have to have some romance in your murder mystery. Everything wraps up when she reveals the identity of the murderer live on her show.

I’m a sucker for movies set in and around radio shows from the thirties and forties. Mystery Broadcast is a fantastic example of this. This is the kind of movie that Radioland Murders was spoofing if you remember that review (found here). The pacing is solid as the movie clocks in at barely over an hour long. The mystery is engaging and, in the end, seems plausible, so it works well there too. I liked how they tied together the old crime with the new. There is even a fun twist at the end that I didn’t see coming in addition to a big fake out to trick the criminal into exposing themself. It isn’t often that a movie like this can fool me, but they did. This is a solid little low budget quickie.

The characters are fun, and our two leads have the chemistry required to pull of the banter and budding romance. Franke Albertson is good as Michael and Ruth Terry is excellent as Jan. Toss in Mary Treen as comic relief and Jan’s best friend Smitty for a bit of fun. Treen had a long career in mostly comedic supporting roles. She is also the only member of the cast that I recognized from other movies. That isn’t surprising since this was a Poverty Row production from Republic Pictures. They made some great flicks with tiny budgets. This is yet another example of that.

Clearly, I enjoyed Mystery Broadcast and am going to recommend it. Quick paced, fun mystery, and a good cast all add up to a fun way to kill an hour. Hah… see what I did there? Kill an hour! Sometimes I’m too funny. Check this one out.

 

© Copyright 2023 John Shatzer

Night Monster (1942)

This is an interesting movie. Before I start with the review, I have to mention that I was surprised as to the quality of Night Monster. I thought I was in for another poverty row studio production, but this is a Universal flick! Which further confused me because it isn’t ever listed on their Horror lists, and this certainly feels like a horror movie. But then I suppose it could also be considered a mystery. Check out my plot synopsis and let me know where you think it belongs.

Things kick off with three doctors being brought to a creepy old house in the woods. The owner is a man named Kurt Ingston and he has summoned the doctors who treated him for a terrible illness. There treatments failed and left him a cripple, but they seem to think that him asking them to come stay for a weekend is still a way to thank them for trying. It isn’t. Instead, he wants to show them the results from training he received from a yogi named Agor Singh. He shows them that he can conjure a skeleton from a far off land. Before the show can continue it is interrupted.

We also have Igston’s daughter Margaret calling for a psychiatrist. She is distraught for reasons that never are completely shared but wants her own doctor to tell her if she is losing her mind or not. This is how we meet our heroine Dr. Harper and thru her our hero/her love interest Dick. There is also a house filled with creepy servants, including Bela Lugosi as the butler and some locals, including the sheriff. He arrives because there have been murders, including the former maid who was killed after quitting and trying to warn everyone about the weird stuff happening at the Ingston estate.

More folks die, the secrets are revealed, and we get a fun ending. All of this is wrapped up tightly in an entertaining seventy three minute runtime. Night Monster gets right to the good stuff with the creepy old house, lecherous limo driver, and Lugosi being his creepy self in the first couple scenes. I was sucked into the story and while I figured it out early on the first time I watched the movie it was still a good time watching how it unfolds. To be clear the viewing for this review is maybe my tenth time watching this one. It was one of those movies that played a lot on my local hosted late night shows, and I think Svengoolie plays it every so often as well. I can confirm that it never gets old and is fun on repeated watches.

The setting of the house with most of the action happening at night when it is properly foggy gives Night Monster just the right atmosphere. This is continued with the reveal of the creature as well as establishing the supernatural bits with the yogi summoning the skeleton. This as well as the look of the monster itself is well executed for the forties and I think still looks pretty good today. Toss in Lugosi’s menacing performance as the butler Rolf as well as Lionel Atwill’s appearance as one of the doomed doctors and you have some legit horror cred. Though it is odd that both were given small supporting roles.

The movie also does a wonderful job of blending the horror elements into that of a mystery. Though again it is obvious who the killer is and how they are likely doing it. But still there are a few questions here and there that need answered. I still think that Night Monster should be on the “official” list of Universal Horror movies and was included in the initial Shock Theater package from Universal that put so many of their classic monster movies on television in the fifties. Either way if you consider it horror or consider it a who done it this is still highly recommended. If you could consider any Universal movie from the forties a hidden gem this is it.

 

© Copyright 2023 John Shatzer