The Golden Eye (1948)

Director:

William Beaudine

Writers:

Earl Derr Biggers (characters)
Scott Darling (writer)

Release Date:

29 August 1948 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Crime | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

Death lurks at every step...as your oriental super-sleuth stalks a desperate killer -- below the surface of the earth!

Plot:

A gold mine in Arizona, that was formerly losing a lot of money, suddenly turns into a veritable money-making machine...

Plot Keywords:

Arizona | Gold Mine | Chinese Hero | Charlie Chan | Asian Detective

Cast

Roland Winters	...	Charlie Chan
Wanda McKay	...	Evelyn Manning
Mantan Moreland	...	Birmingham Brown
Victor Sen Yung	...	Tommy Chan
Bruce Kellogg	...	Talbot Bartlett
Tim Ryan	...	Vincent O'Brien / Lt. Mike Ruark
Evelyn Brent	...	Sister Teresa
Ralph Dunn	...	Mr. Driscoll
Lois Austin	...	Mrs. Margaret Driscoll
Forrest Taylor	...	Mr. Manning
Lee 'Lasses' White	...	Pete
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Herman Cantor	...	(scenes deleted)
Sam Flint	...	Dr. Groves (credit only)
Richard Loo	...	(scenes deleted)
Sam McDaniel	...	Undetermined Role (scenes deleted)
Tom Tyler	...	(scenes deleted)
Barbara Jean Wong	...	(scenes deleted)

Also Known As:

Charlie Chan and the Golden Eye (USA) (poster title)
The Mystery of the Golden Eye (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

69 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Company:

Monogram Pictures

Movie Connections:

Followed by The Feathered Serpent (1948)

The franchise is gasping for its last breath!!

This is one of the last of the Monogram series of Charlie Chan films. By 1948, the series had been around for many years--since the late 1920s. Through the decades, Warner Oland and Sidney Toler had made a ton of these fun murder mysteries. By the death Toler in 1946, it was obvious that the series had been gasping for life for several years. However, instead of calling a halt to the films, Monogram plodded along with several more Chan films that starred Roland Winters. Now Winters wasn't too bad--after all, with makeup he was able to look like Chan and his delivery was rather Chan-like (though a bit rapid). However, the wit of the Sidney Toler version was noticeably absent. Another problem is that by 1948, the movies just weren't as interesting and were usually written in such a hasty manner that plot holes abounded--and this one looked rather Swiss cheesy at that! I know this to be so because I have seen all of the Fox Charlie Chan films that are in existence and almost all the Monogram ones--the slide is obvious.

Charlie is out west to investigate how a supposedly played out gold mine is suddenly brimming with gold. During the investigation, the man who hired Chan is supposedly hurt and his entire face is wrapped in gauze and doctors won't let anyone in to see him. It's so completely obvious to anyone with half a brain that either this isn't the man or he's being drugged. Oddly, Chan allows this ruse to continue for some time--even though someone's life might be at risk. Even when the nurse/nun who is caring for him reveals she's an idiot and practically knows nothing about medicine, Chan does nothing.

In addition to lots of inaction, the film is brimming with dull and awkward performances. About the only one who comes off reasonably well is Tommy Chan--who oddly was re-named Tommy even though he'd been Jimmy in the earlier films and was still played by the same actor (Victor Sen Yung). Even the usual comic relief from Mantan Moreland seems very subdued in this film. There simply is no energy or life to this film and a few really broad performances sink the film further.

The bottom line is that there isn't much of a mystery and Chan could easily get to the bottom of it. Instead, the amazingly subdued Chan sits back and lets the film go on for some time until the conclusion. Dull and uninspired.