Charlie Chan a Chinatown

This CHAN entry is a little different from the opening. First, there is a sequence in the Missing Persons Bureau with an off-screen narrator explaining the goings on. Then the "torso killings"--shades of the Black Dahlia. I don't recall such gruesome deaths in the earlier Chans, although here they are only spoken of. The plot is pure Monogram Chan for better or worse(a scorecard would come in handy with this outing as well as most of the others). The interaction between Toler, Sen Yung and Mantan Moreland is as always fun to watch. Much has been made of Moreland's parts in these films and their supposed "racist" overtones. Maybe so, but IMNTBHO him playing a scared bumbler is no different than Lou Costello playing a scared bumbler in one of the A&C flicks---and they are both super at it. If all else fails there is beautiful Tanis Chandler to ogle! Why she never became a true star is beyond me--she's a sight.

This episode is a bit edgier. First of all, the murder being investigated is much more vicious than others. Charlie is working for an insurance company and is investigating this death but also is working on a personal interest missing persons case. We have here the reappearance of the Charlie's Number Two Son, Jimmy, who has much more personality than son Tommy. Mantan is there again to provide zaniness. That aside, there are several twists and turns in this plot that make it pretty entertaining. Charlie seems to take more of a personal interest in the results of this case because of the brutality of everything. As is always the case, there are some excellent suspects and a love story to boot

I really liked this Chan, it kept my interest all the way through. I found the plot complex, not hard to follow. I think that is why I really enjoyed it, there is a lot going on with lots of characters coming and going. Some people on here claimed the plot didn't make sense but let us be fair, a mystery isn't a mystery if you know what is going to happen from one scene to the next. I really have no complaints, this is one I want to watch again very soon. One thing I appreciate about the Chan movies is the fact that the producers tried to give you something a bit different from one film to the next. Sure, they recycle themselves after a while but some Chans really stand out...like this one. I just relax and watch all the events as they occur and let Charlie explain it all at the end! I guess some folks just like predictable films and turn up their noses at anything that doesn't follow the herd.

Charlie Chan takes a bus trip with number two son Jimmy Chan and chauffeur Birmingham Brown. They stop at a bus station where a passenger notices he's been robbed. The station door is slightly ajar and a mysterious hand pokes a revolver through and shoots Charlie Chan. Luckily, the bullet hits his watch and he is uninjured. Could the robbery and shooting be connected?

It doesn't always make perfect sense but there's plenty going on in this lightweight Charlie Chan entry. As the picture starts, Chan is already expressing interest in a gruesome murder case ("Torso Victim Unidentified," says the newspaper headline) and is soon also investigating a phony bus driver, a Marine straggler, and a pickpocket, as well as promising little old lady Mary Gordon to help find her missing granddaughter.

Mantan Moreland is consistently funny as Birmingham Brown, and Victor Sen Yung returns to the series as Jimmy Chan (replacing number three son Benson Fong). Yung is brash and earnest as always; Jimmy and Birmingham provide Pop Chan with approximately equal amounts of assistance on the case and comic relief.

The plot's a little convoluted but I suppose there's a chance it would all add up correctly if one set out to understand it....however, if anything holds the picture together it's not the great plot but rather Sidney Toler's usual steady presence as the great detective.

Favorite scene: Father and son sit in a restaurant and Jimmy Chan orders chop suey. Charlie Chan: "I shudder to think what Confucius say to that." Jimmy Chan: "Aw, it's good stuff, Pop. You oughta try it sometime."

You'll find all sorts of gems by noodling around in films of the 30s and 40s. Some absolute treasures await you in unlikely places. One of these is in various experiments in the detective story that were being conducted at the time.

And sometimes a series in this period yields riches in how it evolves. But I can tell you that except in one respect this film is so poor in content and interest, you should avoid it. I'm not talking about production values here or even questions about the sense of the mystery.

We've never let them get in the way before if there is a core that rewards.

Everyone seems tired here (except for that one element I'll mention below). Toler was in his seventies and can merely grimace. The Confucianisms that were clever in a few Chan movies are rote and childish here. The plot bumps about until it tumbles down all the stairs allotted to it.

The one bright light is Mantan Mooreland. The series is, after all, about how one race, the Chinese, have gifts — inscrutable insight and some wisdom. Its always been peppered by the caveat of race by the comical black man. Mantan plays this man, the childish chauffeur (usually called a driver).

He's terrified, a coward. And he's ignorant. Combining these two with minstrel characteristics and you get a stuttering, bug eyed foil that easily is well over the line in offensive.

And yet. He is such an artist. His timing is so sublime, that you have to just watch him in awe. He's a star, a great actor. If we don't burden Brando by thinking that he is actually his characters, why should we do so here?

He's in more watchable films, and just as appealing in how he connects. But if you happen to accidentally be watching this, he'll give some relief.

Ted's Evaluation -- 1 of 3: You can find something better to do with this part of your life.