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Famed detective and government agent Charlie Chan is back again for this Monogram film where Charlie is trailing a suspect who may be involved with plans to steal radar equipment/secrets from our government for foreign spies and who has just killed aboard a ship. Chan and detective friend trace suspect back to a radio show and from there on Charlie helps at least three more people get killed with his investigation. This is an interesting Chan vehicle and gives Sidney Toler plenty of screen time to hone his Chan skills. Benson Fong and Mantan Moreland are back once again and lift the mundane to the amusing with their comic routines. Moreland, again, steals his scenes and gives the film a lot of vitality it would otherwise not have. I particularly like a couple of routines he does in the film with a guy he knows and neither one lets the other finish the sentence. The comic timing was first-rate! As for the mystery, it is not too terribly confusing though when the end is told no real explanation as to why and who did crimes is revealed fully. I enjoyed many of the characterizations of the show people. I thought the means of death were very inventive, and I loved the whole thing with the elevator. Very clever.

THE SCARLET CLUE is a fairly interesting Charlie Chan film from the '40s, depending on its humor for the performances of BENSON FONG as #3 son, MANTAN MORELAND as Birmingham Brown and BEN CARTER as Ben Carter. The mysterious deaths of people associated with a radio program that is a front for some sort of radar secrets espionage, is at the heart of the crimes Chan must solve.

SIDNEY TOLER was beginning to show signs of fatigue (he died two years later) and the sets and production values are noticeably reduced from what they were when the Chan films were being made by Fox. During the TCM showing of the film, Robert Osborne mentioned that it was Toler himself who brought the idea of furthering the Chan adventures to another studio after shopping the idea around.

VIRGINIA BRISSAC, JACK NORTON, JANET SHAW and HELEN DEVERELL are among the chief suspects. I recognized Miss Brissac from her performance as the hard of hearing Miss Seiffert from THE SNAKE PIT. She has quite a different role here.

Enjoyable fluff, not one of the best in the Chan series but a respectable enough entry from Monogram.

Favorite line: When son #3 tells his dad that he has an idea but then immediately forgets what he wanted to say, Chan replies: "It's now in solitary confinement."

"The Scarlet Clue" is a Charlie Chan mystery from Monogram starring Sidney Toler, Benson Fong as number three son Tommy, and Mantan Moreland as the chauffeur Birmingham. In this one, from 1945, Charlie is looking into the theft of government papers involving a radar. In doing so, Charlie not only runs into murder but also actors on the radio, as for some reason, there's a lab in the same building.

Delightful, often humorous Chan mystery, though incredibly dated today. Mantan Moreland is hilarious, and Chan has a great relationship with both son Tommy and Birmingham. Toler was a good Chan in very different, not very politically correct for these times. Enjoy them for what they are.

This was a nice entry in the Chan series [32/38], with Charlie, Tommy and Birmingham in fine comic form. The rest of the cast displayed no sense of humour at all.

Charlie was still working for the Government this time after a gang of murdering agitators who were after radar secrets from an "experimental" radio, television and radar broadcaster. They don't write radar shows like they used to ... A nice touch was that a suspect (who was responsible for the original apparently indelible clue) was last seen on the 2nd floor of the radio building, found dead on the 10th after falling from a great height. Convoluted! The sets were used thoroughly in the previous film The Jade Mask, the gas chamber being turned in this into an ante room for a weather chamber. Moreland excelled himself with this one, with endless solo wisecracks or even as part of a double act. Was it unacceptable in Hollywood back then for him to have taken his taxi driver cap off as it would have made him appear an equal?

A good Monogram Toler plus Moreland film, even if with more ridiculous intricacies in the plot than usual.

Some Charlie Chan movies by Monogram are just wretched. "The Scarlet Clue", however, is fairly well done. Lighting and camera angles make for a suitably mysterious atmosphere. The whodunit puzzle contains a well defined group of suspects. And the script is humorous, both the dialogue between Chan and his son, and the constant jabber of the wonderful Mantan Moreland.

But the film seems terribly dated. The plot, which involves WWII radar secrets in a radio station, is outmoded, and the scientific "equipment" belongs in a museum. Moreover, production values are almost nonexistent. There are some plot holes; and at the end, Chan never tells us how he deduced the identity of the killer.

Overall, for those who enjoy Charlie Chan movies, "The Scarlet Clue" is one of the better ones to watch. Everyone else will probably find this movie lame.

The Scarlet Clue finds our intrepid oriental detective Charlie Chan now working for the federal government on a spy case. He's trailing a suspect, but when Sidney Toler requests help from the local police, they bungle it and the suspect winds up dead. He certainly now can't help Toler find who's behind the plot to steal radar secrets.

But the roads seem to lead to a local radio station with a whole bunch of suspects from ham actors, to shifty technicians, and an owner who's right out of Rebecca. A few more murders occur before we find out who the master spy is.

Charlie is now breaking in number 3 son Benson Fong and if possible he's a bigger dunce and hence a bigger foil for Charlie's fortune cookie wisdom than before. By now Mantan Moreland as chauffeur Birmingham Brown has joined the series and his stereotypical role is one reason the series doesn't get much air now. But one thing this film does do is feature Ben Carter who worked a nightclub act with Moreland and two of their routines get into the film. They're pretty funny I will say.

What I also found fascinating here is that since this film was made in 1945, made for Monogram and hence made in a matter of days, I'm not sure whether the folks behind the spy ring are Communists or Nazis. It was left vague and I'm certain that was done deliberately.

So you might want to see the film and see if you can figure out who was running the radio spy ring.

This is a very good Monogram Pictures Chan that has snappy dialogue, a lot of funny lines from Sidney Toler (as Chan) who berates No.3 son Tommy more than any other of his prodigious offspring and a couple of scenes with Mantan Moreland and Ben Carter which are priceless!! The plot may stretch credibility a bit but the movie has a fast pace, good direction and sets that are above the norm for a Monogram Chan. Keep an eye out, as well, for the great elevator segment that is surprising and innovative. The banter between the actors in the broadcasting studio is also inspired and fun. Although not quite up to par with the Twentieth Century Fox Chan's this is damn close! Monogram Chan's get a bad rap sometimes but this again proves there was magic in the old detective series still. Check it out.

The mystery begins as Chan tracks a murderer across country to a radio/tv station. Once on the scene murder murders occur and Charlie, his son and Birmingham Brown almost meet their end in a rather novel way.

This reminds me of the great Frankie Darro/Mantan Moreland film Up in the Air which concerns murder in a radio station. That film moves better than this one in many ways since it never gets side tracked with the sleuthing of Number Three Son. Still this one has some novel twists in the means of murdering someone which keep this a watchable film.

I'm not entirely happy with the denouncement since events not long before it prove that the filmmakers were far from being fair.

Still for all its flaws its an enjoyable movie, especially with Moreland and his night club partner "not" saying anything

6 out of 10.

Loosely based on novels by Earl Derr Biggers, 20th Century Fox's Charlie Chan series proved an audience favorite--but when Japan attacked Pearl Harbor the studio feared audiences would turn against its Asian hero. This was a miscalculation: actor Sidney Toler took the role to "poverty row" Monogram Studios, where he continued to portray the character in eleven more popular films made between 1944 and his death in 1947.

20th Century Fox regarded the Chan films as inexpensive "B" movies, but even so the studio took considerable care with them: the plots were often silly, but the pace was sharp, the dialogue witty, and the casts (which featured the likes of Bela Lugosi and Ray Milland) always expert. The result was a kindly charm which has stood the test of time. Monogram was a different matter: Chan films were "B" movies plain and simple. Little care was taken with scripts or cast and resulting films were flat, mediocre at best, virtually unwatchable at worst.

Released in 1945, THE SCARLET CLUE is neither the best nor worst of the Monogram Chan films, certainly better than such dreadful entries as THE TRAP but a far cry from its 20th Century Fox counterparts. At the same time, however, the film has a certain interest due to its setting: a broadcast company. It would be a mistake to look to any Chan film for factual information, but the film does remind us--and quite effectively so--of that moment in time when radio still dominated even as television (which is repeated mentioned) began to make inroads with the public.

The story, such as it is, finds Chan (Toler) acting as a federal agent who is investing a murder involving radar secrets. When a stolen car leads him to a radio actress he soon finds himself in the middle of the broadcast company itself, where murderous communications are issued via teletype and elevators become instruments of death. It's all very flyweight stuff, but the details make the film watchable--as does the occasional actor, with Mantan Moreland a case in point.

In today's world the type of roles assigned to Moreland would be thought racist, but taken within the context of what was possible for an African-American actor at the time they remain remarkably charming. To it's credit, Monogram recognized Moreland's appeal, and always took care to give his name highly-placed credit in the cast lists. THE SCARLET CLUE is particularly interesting because it also allows us to see Moreland perform a few bits of his "interrupted talk" stage routine, performed here with Ben Carter--a bit of comedy that is every bit as clever as any thing you might find in Abbot and Costello's best work of the same period.

When all is said and done, THE SCARLET CLUE is indeed watchable, but it really is best left to hardcore Chan fans. Newcomers would do better to begin with the 20th Century Fox films, which are now at last becoming available on DVD.

GFT, Amazon Reviewer

Some Hollywood studios decided to stop making Charlie Chan films and Sidney Toler decided to convince Monogram Pictures to accept his legal terms to make more Charlie Chan films with Toler as the star. In this series you will notice a drop in the quality of film that is made and how costs were cut to keep a low budget. Mantan Moreland, (Birmingham Brown) played a big role as the chauffeur for Charlie Chan and he was a great comic rolling his eyes and aways being scared to death along with Number 3 son of Charlie Chan, Tommy Chan, (Benson Fong). Charlie Chan investigates a television station and also a Government Radar Company and he tries to work with the police and Government agents to catch spies trying to steal secret plans and papers vital to the American Defense. Jack Norton, who usually plays in drunk in most films during the 1930's and 40's appears in this film and performs on a television show and gives a great supporting role to this film. Virginia Brissac, (Mrs. Marsh) plays the owner of this radio and television studio and is a rather grump and nasty elderly lady. Enjoy.

Monogram Charlie Chan film with a plot that is a mix of a generic espionage mystery with murder at a radio station. It seems like maybe they took the plots to a couple of previous B murder mysteries (not even Charlie Chan ones) and combined them. Once again, Charlie gets help from comic relief sidekicks Benson Fong and Mantan Moreland. Fong plays Tommy Chan and he's as boring as ever. Charlie's a jerk to him throughout the movie and I honestly couldn't blame him. Tommy was clearly Charlie's least favorite son.

Mantan Moreland plays Birmingham Brown, who is a little more restrained here than his earlier Chan films. Also appearing a couple of times is Moreland's old vaudeville partner Ben Carter. The two do an amusing bit that was probably from their vaudeville days. It's basically a conversation between the two where neither ever finishes a sentence because the other seems to know automatically what he's going to say. It's funnier on screen than it reads here. In a lot of ways, it reminds me of Abbott & Costello's vaudeville routines. I have not been a fan of Mantan Moreland's character in the Charlie Chan series. However, if he had been more like he is in his scenes with Carter, I think I would have liked him more. Instead, he's usually just doing his bug-eyed "I'm afraid of spooks" garbage, complete with lots of double takes and talking to himself.

I also liked seeing pretty Janet Shaw. Something about her I always found appealing. There's an actor character called Horace Karlos, played by Leonard Mudie, who is supposed to be a parody of Boris Karloff. That's fun for fans. Altogether, it's not the greatest Charlie Chan or even a particularly strong one. But it's watchable with some enjoyable parts. Considering this was made during the dreadful Monogram years we should be thankful it isn't worse.

A foggy night: two old guys trail a suspect down to the docks. Charlie Chan quietly joins them and they board a boat, where they discover the dead body of the man they were following. Someone has stepped in his blood, leaving a bloody heel print—the scarlet clue.

This entertaining series entry is set primarily in a tall office building that holds a radar laboratory on one floor and a radio studio just below it. The radio acting company get in on the mystery and one scene even takes place during a television broadcast.

The murderer communicates using a teletype machine in one of the offices and also has installed a fiendish elevator trap door through which he drops his enemies.

Sidney Toler's Chan is assisted once again by Benson Fong as number three son Tommy, whose grinning enthusiasm is silly but harmless enough. (Chan: "Come, we must investigate slight case of murder." Tommy: "Murder! Well, here I come!")

Mantan Moreland also returns as chauffeur Birmingham Brown. The picture's highlights are a couple of great little exchanges between Moreland and comedian Ben Carter—their routine in which they interrupt and finish each other's thoughts is apparently borrowed from a stage show they did. The Moreland-Carter bits are brief buts lots of fun (and certainly better written and rehearsed than anything else in the picture).

Overall this one isn't too bad—it has a few laughs and the plot keeps you guessing.

Despite there being plot deficiencies all over the place, this is still fun. Once again, Charlie is called in because of goings on in the defense department. There is a murder early and the circumstances are confusing. It turns out there is some sort of central figure pulling strings as a group of gangsters carry out the instructions of this man. He communicates with a teletype machine so they don't recognize his voice. Anyway, it's the usual group of suspects, this time the cast of a radio show. We are also give a look at that new medium, television. Mantan Moreland and his vaudeville partner do their wonderful sketch where they finish each other's sentences. Tommy Chan is such a windbag and gets the full treatment from his father, although he does find some serious evidence. I liked this one quite a bit.

This is one of my favorite Chan movies. You have a good script which moves along. You have Benson Fong as Tommy. It is set in a radio studio which adds atmosphere. My favorite thing is Mantan Moreland and Ben Carter. Great comedians and perfect timing!

Charlie Chan is back once more in another one of B-studio Monogram Pictures' releases.

This time around Chan (Sidney Toler) along with No.3 son Tommy (Benson Fong) and series regular friend/assistant Birmingham Brown (Mantan Moreland) are at a radio station on the trail of a murderer and on the look out for someone who may be trying to steal governmental radar plans.

There is a lot more tasteful comedy this time around from Moreland, with his real-life double-act partner Ben Carter also appearing in a couple of scenes.

The scenes with the elevator are well made and well thought through, but I do have a small gripe in that when the killer is finally revealed there is no explanation who the person worked for or how Chan figured out who it was, but again you shouldn't think too much when it comes to low budget B-movies

'The Scarlet Clue' is probably the best I've seen up to now (bearing in mind I have only seen the Monogram Pictures releases and not the higher budgeted 20th Century Fox ones), The acting is of a better calibre than what I've seen in other episodes as it's nowhere near as wooden and stilted, There also seems to have been a lot more care put into the script and entire production this time around too - although it's still a low budget affair, and the same sets are used from earlier episodes - but this time around Monogram have put their restricted budget to better use.

*** out of *****

This is a typical Charlie Chan movie, wherein the World War Two spying angle is not a factor in the plot but simply period window dressing. Stolen radar plans and German spies are also a thematic nonfactor in 1945. Radar was no longer a secret and Germany was a weaken Axis power at this time in World War Two. There are some interesting scenes in the movie, however. The building in which the murders occur is both a radio station and an experimental television station. (Now there's a better secret!) There is an amusing television skit call the "Dance of the Spirits" in which Willy Rand (Jack Norton) performs as a drunken party goer. Unfortunately, the character dies immediately after the skit. "The Scarlet Clue" died much earlier.

Prime lead Raush (Charles Wagenheim) is a dead end. Now Charly and his standard entourage must use new tactics.

What the Radio station that also does T. V. is in the same building as the laboratory with missing radar plans.

The plot thickens involving a borrowed car, a shoe print, a teletype, a mysterious poison, and a partridge... oops, not that. Also, an elevated exit.

Looks like everything is so complex and with too many suspects that of course meet their demise.

So, is this going to be one of those movies with a twist or maybe even the last person you suspect?

Who knows?

I guess you will have to keep watching.

Charly puts it to you as "So many fish in fish market, even flowers smell the same."

See Benson Fong again in Flower Drum Song (1961).