Charlie Chan's Secret (1936)
*** (out of 4)
Charlie Chan (Warner Oland) is investigating the death of a man but it turns out that he's actually alive. However, shortly after Chan finds this out the man is murdered. By the man really being dead a large group of people will lose out on a sum of money so soon others begin getting murdered to cover something up.
CHARLIE CHAN'S SECRET was certainly a major rebound from the previous entry in the series and while there are some flaws here, overall this is a very strong entry into the series thanks in large part to the screenplay, the strong supporting cast and some nice touches by the director. There are some very effective moments to be found in this entry including the ending, which I obviously won't spoil for people who haven't seen the film but it's a great one. Also worth noting is a terrific sequence at the start of the film during a psychic reading where a body appears. How many films from this era featured a psychic reading? Well, this here might be the very best of the bunch.
The story itself is quite strong and allows for some pretty good suspects to come into play. Another plus is that the performances are so good with OIand once again hitting a grand slam in the role of Chan. The supporting players are just as good including Henrietta Crosman in the role of the leader of the family. Jonathan Hale is also a stand out as is Rosina Lawrence and Herbert Mundin as a scared butler.
CHARLIE CHAN'S SECRET manages to build up quite a few memorable moments making it one of the best in the series.
*** (out of 4)
Charlie Chan (Warner Oland) is investigating the death of a man but it turns out that he's actually alive. However, shortly after Chan finds this out the man is murdered. By the man really being dead a large group of people will lose out on a sum of money so soon others begin getting murdered to cover something up.
CHARLIE CHAN'S SECRET was certainly a major rebound from the previous entry in the series and while there are some flaws here, overall this is a very strong entry into the series thanks in large part to the screenplay, the strong supporting cast and some nice touches by the director. There are some very effective moments to be found in this entry including the ending, which I obviously won't spoil for people who haven't seen the film but it's a great one. Also worth noting is a terrific sequence at the start of the film during a psychic reading where a body appears. How many films from this era featured a psychic reading? Well, this here might be the very best of the bunch.
The story itself is quite strong and allows for some pretty good suspects to come into play. Another plus is that the performances are so good with OIand once again hitting a grand slam in the role of Chan. The supporting players are just as good including Henrietta Crosman in the role of the leader of the family. Jonathan Hale is also a stand out as is Rosina Lawrence and Herbert Mundin as a scared butler.
CHARLIE CHAN'S SECRET manages to build up quite a few memorable moments making it one of the best in the series.