Charlie Chan in the Secret Service

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Russ G Charlie solves a drawing room mystery on the cheap courtesy of Poverty Row studio Monogram Pictures. It's peppered with various implausible plot devices but it moves along at a breezy pace. Our Oriental Sleuth fends off unneeded assistance from Number Two Daughter and Number Three Son. Rated 1/5 Stars •  Rated 1 out of 5 stars 03/14/25 Full Review Ted B 3.0 stars; A wartime (1944) take on a Charlie Chan mystery, including spies and secret weapons. A number of red herrings and clever methods of murder highlight the plot. Rated 3/5 Stars •  Rated 3 out of 5 stars 12/29/24 Full Review Audience Member A detective without curiosity is like a glass eye and key hole...no good. Charlie Chan is an agent for the secret service that hoped to go on a trip with his children when a huge case falls in his lap. He needs to solve a murder of another agent and his children find him in the field. Chan and his family work together to solve the case. "Did Confucius say that, pop?" "No. I say that." Phil Rosen, director of Call of the Jungle, the Jade Mask, Spooks Run Wild, Paper Bullets, Murder by Invitation, the Deadly Game, and Phantom of Chinatown, delivers Charlie Chan in The Secret Service. The storyline for this picture is classic murder mystery with witty one-liners and some entertaining character interactions. The cast delivers entertaining performances and includes Sidney Toller, Mantan Moreland, Benson Fong, and George Lewis. "Mr. Chang, what are they saying?" "All Chinese to me." I recently found this on Netflix and added it to my wish list. This was entertaining and fun to watch unfold. There is a lot of cliché comedy in this, but I still laughed here and there. This is only worth seeing if you are a fan of the classics. "Always someone trying to stick fly in ointment." Grade: C Rated 2.5/5 Stars •  Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 01/19/23 Full Review Audience Member A Consultant for the T Men--Who dunit? Who cares? Rated 3/5 Stars •  Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/22/23 Full Review Audience Member 1.5: Hmm. I was prompted to watch these by an article in The New Yorker that I read a year or two ago. I wasn't expecting them to be outstanding, but I was expecting something better than this. I have now seen essentially every Charlie Chan film, or at least all that were made between 1931 and 1947 (29 films). What struck me most is that these really have more in common with a television show than a feature film. Each film is essentially the same except for the "location." I guess it makes sense as they serve essentially the same purpose. One can essentially watch every film on auto-pilot comfortable in the knowledge that one knows exactly which characters will pop up and that everything will be satisfactorily resolved in the end. They are "C" picture at best. Sidney Toler is pretty good; Warner Toland is somewhat acceptable; and the other two one picture no-names are either inconsequential or awful. It is rather ludicrous that they didn't allow an actual Asian actor to play the role, but the portrayal of African-American's is much more heinous. They certainly pale in comparison to just about every other detective picture/TV series I've ever seen. None of the films rate an individual review so this will have to suffice for all 29. Rated 1.5/5 Stars •  Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars 02/14/23 Full Review Audience Member Decent mystery. Not a lot more. My Dad loves these, I enjoyed it enough. Rated 3/5 Stars •  Rated 3 out of 5 stars 01/17/23 Full Review Read all reviews

Charlie Chan in the Secret Service

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