Charlie Chan in the Secret Service

Just watched this, the first of the Monogram Charlie Chan movies after Fox dropped the Honolulu detective two years before, on DVD. It has Chan as a government agent in Washington, D.C., investigating a murder of a scientist who's invented a weapon used to stop some enemy spy missions. I'll stop there and just say that at just a little over an hour, there isn't too much in the way of excitement especially since nearly the entire thing seems to take place on a mansion but there are some good atmospheric shots and a few good suspenseful moments and also some amusing comic relief courtesy of no. 3 son Jimmy (Benson Fong), no. 2 daughter Iris (Marianne Quon), and, in his first appearance, chauffeur Birmingham Brown (Mantan Moreland, who isn't as outrageous as his later appearances in the series). So in summary, Charlie Chan in the Secret Service is a pretty entertaining first entry for the series at its new studio. P.S. In once again identifying someone from my favorite movie, It's a Wonderful Life, Sarah Edwards-who was Mary's mother in that Frank Capra classic-plays Mrs. Hargue, a housekeeper here.

Good WWII concept for a mystery story and the script is not bad except for a bit of routine mystery-movie padding typical of the era. This film is crisply and professionally edited, better than most low-budget films. And there are a few surprisingly good cinematography highlights.

The discount supporting cast does a good job although you may not recognize some of them, and you will notice that Sarah Edwards develops a watchable odd character who has custody of all the keys to the house. Mantan Morland has some poorly written throw-away dialog but his comedy timing is perfection and his performance is very polished as he does a great job.

Sidney Toler gives us a first rate Charlie Chan. The remarkable 70-year old is vigorous, keeping the proceedings moving as he strides briskly and confidently through all the scenes.

Moves at a good pace and held my attention throughout. What more can you ask for in a murder mystery?

I'll say one thing for these Charlie Chan films. There's never a shortage of murder suspects and the clues are always readily apparent to the master sleuth but not to the audience. At least, that's the usual pattern, even when Sidney Toler joined forces with Monogram for several B-picture entries in the series.

CHARLIE CHAN IN THE SECRET SERVICE follows the pattern precisely, even giving us a final gathering of suspects from which to venture our own guess as to the identity of the murderer. As usual, it's at your own risk for it seldom turns out to be the most obvious.

Once again, Toler plays it close to the vest without giving the audience much of a hint as to which suspect he's onto. The story gets off to a fast start with the murder of an inventor of a torpedo plan murdered in his own home being guarded by secret service bodyguards.

Chan gets the call to solve the case and discovers that the inventor's plans are missing. "No one leaves until case ends satisfactorily," he tells the police. Chan is soon joined by two of his eldest children, who are no help at all in solving the crime. Nor is MANTAN MORELAND as Birmingham Brown, wild-eyed with fear as still another murder occurs.

The explanations are strictly a wild concoction by the screenwriter who has left no stone unturned to make sure that the old cliché about "the least obvious suspect" is once again a truism.

Summing up: Good for a few chuckles, but it doesn't play fair with the clues.

This movie has some of the best film noir photography I have seen in all the Charlie Chan entries. This is one I am still waiting to have issued on DVD, so I can enjoy those visuals.

Storywise, it's a decent story with an interesting cast of suspects. My complaint is fairly minor: it is a little below-average in the amount of humorous Charlie Chan proverbs that we Chan fans love so much. Otherwise, I enjoyed the movie.

Although not Charlie's official chauffeur-assistant in here as he was in most of these Monogram Chan films, Mantan Moreland ("Birmingham Brown") plays his usual role as a guy helping out and adding humor. He's a likable guy as are all of Charlie's kids, two of them joining in this mystery. We get Number Three Son "Tommie" (Benson Fong) and daughter "Iris" (Marianne Quon. Chan's kids are always nosy, goodhearted and, in the latter-day films, not that helpful.

A few quick action scenes help keep things rolling and, as usual, we get Charlie's summary of the case at the end in which our hero exposes the crook. Overall, is this a great Charlie Chan film? No, it's average....but just average is still good to me. I love these films and hope all of them eventually are available on disc.

Not the best Charlie Chan, but sill enjoyable. The short running time of just 64 minutes is a plus. It doesn't take long (not more than 5 minutes) to be in the ambiance. A murder has been committed, nobody leaves the house. Charlie is on his way and his power of deduction will be on display. There's a sense of déjà-vu with the setting and the plot, but Charlie's funny remarks make for a good watch: "Dead man's actions still need explanation". In this one, we learn that Charlie has 14 kids! Son #3 and daughter #2 appear in this movie. Good comic relief from Mantan Moreland in his first appearance of the series. He's good but he'll be better in future films. A drawback: the actors sometimes look like they forgot their lines.

Seen at home, in Toronto, on February 25th, 2005.

71/100 (**)