Charlie Chan in the Secret Service (1944)

User Rating:

6.8/10   

Director:

Phil Rosen

Writers:

Earl Derr Biggers (characters)
George Callahan (writer)

Release Date:

14 February 1944 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Crime | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

The screen's most daring sleuth!

Plot:

Charlie Chan is an agent of the U.S. government assigned to investigate the mysterious death of an inventor.

Plot Keywords:

Charlie Chan | Inventor | Invention | Secret Service | Investigation

Cast

Sidney Toler	...	Charlie Chan
Mantan Moreland	...	Birmingham Brown
Arthur Loft	...	Inspector Jones, Secret Service
Gwen Kenyon	...	Inez Arranto
Sarah Edwards	...	Mrs. Hargue, Housekeeper
George J. Lewis	...	Paul Arranto (as George Lewis)
Marianne Quon	...	Iris Chan
Benson Fong	...	Tommie Chan
Muni Seroff	...	Peter Laska
Barry Bernard	...	David Blake
Gene Roth	...	Luis Philipe Vega aka Von Vegan (as Gene Stutenroth)
Eddy Chandler	...	Lewis, Secret Service (as Eddie Chandler)
Lelah Tyler	...	Mrs. Winters

Runtime:

63 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

USA:Approved (Certificate #9732) | USA:Not Rated (DVD)

Filming Locations:

California, USA

Company:

Monogram Pictures

Trivia:

First film to introduce Mantan Moreland as Birmingham Brown.

Goofs:

Errors in geography: Also, while Charlie is riding in a cab to the murdered doctor's house in "Washington, DC", he goes through a neighborhood full of houses with red tile roofs and palm trees in the yard!

Quotes:

Charlie Chan: Detective without curiosity is like glass eye at keyhole. No good.

Movie Connections:

Follows Charlie Chan in Reno (1939)

In the Secret-Unravelling Service

I'm pretty sure there wasn't a Chan film made that I didn't like: I preferred Oland to Toler and Fox to Monogram but am more than happy (maybe even keen!) to watch a Toler Monogram effort. They all transported you to a world of more or less cultured baddies, each hiding a thousand secrets which Charlie (and us of course) has to work his way through. Usually, as in this case, to find the murderer from a roomful of shifty twitching eyes.

Electrical scientist murdered and the secret plans stolen, Charlie with a little ... help from offspring Tommie and Iris has to decide which of the house guests did it. The Monogram house's hanging drapes and thick carpets lend a nice atmosphere to the mystery. Only gripes: the incongruously brash and childish music track and the continual visual reference to a Watching Evil Eye from a Dark Place.

Watched from the Chanthology DVD and with the widescreen TV set to mild zoomview meant it was like the first time again for me seeing this, an experience I'd have to recommend and one I want to repeat with the other titles in the set.