Charlie Chan in Reno

Charlie Chan (Sidney Toler) rushes to Reno when a friend (Pauline Moore) is accused of murdering her soon-to-be ex-husband's new fiancée. "Number Two Son" Jimmy (Victor Sen Yung) also shows up to investigate with comical results. Not the best Charlie Chan movie, even for the Toler series. Still enjoyable though. Supporting cast includes Ricardo Cortez, Robert Lowery, Morgan Conway, and Phyllis Brooks (who has noticeably poor posture). Slim Summerville plays a hick sheriff that's supposed to be funny but comes across as annoying. The killer in this one seemed fairly obvious to me. The mystery's weak but Toler and Sen Yung are good.

Mary Whitman seems to be a logical suspect in the murder of Jeanne Bentley. After all, she was found standing over the body. And Jeanne was the "other woman" and the reason Mary was getting a divorce. On the surface, there seems to be little doubt of Mary's guilt. But Charlie Chan sees it all quite differently. He sees a hotel full of suspects who wanted Jeanne out of the way. Can he find the real killer before Mary is convicted of a crime she didn't commit?

Sidney Toler's second outing as Charlie Chan is a solid effort and an improvement over his first. I'm not exactly sure how to put this, but Charlie Chan in Reno is just more interesting. The plot, suspects, and setting all appealed to me. The pacing is nice with very few dull moments. I particularly enjoyed Chan's visit to the ghost town. The supporting cast is strong with Phyllis Brooks and Ricardo Cortez being the standouts. And Iris Wong as the dead woman's maid and Jimmy Chan's love interest is a delight. But one thing I really enjoyed about Charlie Chan in Reno is the way the finale is handled. I've often complained about the "cheat" endings of Chan films (and I should probably stop and just accept it as a given), but the ending here is played much straighter than some of the other entries in the series. If you're sharp enough, you actually have a chance to spot the killer before Chan's big reveal. Unfortunately, I am not that sharp.

This very good Charlie Chan mystery was made at 20th Century Fox. At this time the series still had the backing of a major studio and so the production values, acting, script, camera work, etc. were of good quality. Later, when Fox dropped the series and it found a home at Monogram, the Chan films got pretty bad with the look of cheapness in abundance. But, this film had some very good actors, such as Ricardo Cortez, Robert Lowery, and the always funny Slim Summerville supporting Sidney Toler as Chan. There seemed to be just the right amount of comic relief to keep the story moving at a good pace. Later Chan entries would go overboard with comedy with Mantan Moreland and company trying to avert the viewers from realizing what lame plots and bad acting they were watching. Of course, as in all Chan mysteries, there is no shortage of suspects in the case of a murder that is committed on a thoroughly unlikeable woman who seemed to go out of her way to alienate everyone. With several characters having a motive to kill the woman, Chan must sort out the clues and unmask the killer while continually being harassed by an inept (but very funny) sheriff, portrayed by Summerville. Victor Sen-Yung, as number two son, helps out when it counts while enduring the usual number of affectionate insults from his detective father. All in all, this movie is great fun.

Unlike most of the Warner Oland Chan films, those featuring Sidney Toler as Lieutenant Charlie Chan, Honolulu Police Department, often include sufficient clues that the viewer can play detective along with the hero. Charlie Chan in Reno is one of those films. Released prior to a first-class film with a similar main storyline (`The Women' in 1939) this Chan film also has a group of females waiting their time in Reno before a divorce decree can be granted. Chan has an eye for these ladies: `Charming company turn lowly sandwich into rich banquet.' Norman Foster takes over from a series of Mr. Moto films to direct the first of three good Chan films.

Good supporting comedic cast with Victor Sen Yung as No. 2 son Jimmy - a USC undergraduate, former Keystone Kop Slim Summerville as Sheriff `Tombstone' Fletcher, and Eddie Collins as the ever-talkative cab driver (until it is suggested that he might appear in court). Ricardo Cortez is smooth as the suspicious doctor with a motive for murder. Some racial slurring as a hood from the lineup pulls up on the corners of his eyes and tells the detective that he also is one of Chan's sons.

Most of the story takes place at the Hotel Sierra or Police Headquarters. Jealousy, possible robbery, and other motives and a number of obvious suspects complicate the solution. `When searching for needle in haystack, haystack only sensible location.' A keen eye for details will lead the viewer to see what Chan sees and to anticipate his every move. Good luck, the Sheriff could not figure it out and storms out of headquarters heading for Tonopah in disgust at the end.

Could have moved faster. Recommended.

Sweet but sorrowful Pauline Moore arrives in Reno for her divorce. At the hotel she quickly meets Ricardo Cortez, suave doctor, and Phyllis Brooks, a kind of "social director" at the hotel, who urges her into the lounge for a drink. Also on the scene are Robert Lowery, earnest young socialite, and Kay Linaker, a more serious-minded guest—and the vulgar and tipsy Louise Henry, the would-be future husband of Moore's current spouse, who manages to insult all of the other characters within the space of about two minutes. Not surprisingly….

The nasty woman is shortly thereafter found murdered in her room. Pauline Moore is—unfortunately for her—found standing over the still-warm body; on the plus side for Moore, however, is her old friendship with the great Charlie Chan—who on hearing of her arrest immediately drops everything in Honolulu (he has been working in the police lab on an Easter egg) and flies over to Nevada to assist. He is accompanied by Kane Richmond, Moore's estranged—yet basically solid—husband.

It's a nice ensemble cast, a good mix of suspects. Keeping an eye on them all is Sheriff Slim Summerville, who goes by the name of "Tombstone," is suspicious of everyone, and is pretty much clueless. He is good comic relief, as is—

Sen Yung, back as Jimmy Chan, now a student at USC who borrows a car and sets out for Reno when he gets word that there's a case on. Along the highway, he gets highjacked and loses his car and his clothes….And one of the funniest scenes in the Chan series has got to be the moment when Jimmy, picked up by the cops, walks out under the lights in a police lineup wrapped in a blanket—and his recently-arrived pop is in the audience with the Reno chief.

Once released, Jimmy has a cute romance with hotel maid Iris Wong. "Does honorable father think you're too young to smoke?" she asks as he (amateurishly) lights up a cigarette. "Oh no, I'm no kid," Jimmy insists. "I help him solve his cases." Of course, he has a few ideas on this case as well….

Sidney Toler is fine at the center of it all, bantering with suspects, flattering the sheriff, tut-tutting Jimmy. Eventually, he gathers all of the suspects together for a climactic scene that is quite suspenseful and nicely satisfying.

Very enjoyable. It may be a formulaic series entry—but at this point they sure had the formula down right.