Charlie Chan in Panama (1940) User Reviews

An Answer To Racism

[boblipton · 6/10 · 12 February 2019]

We don't see Sidney Toler as Charlie Chan until ten minutes into this entry in Fox' long-running B series. First we are treated to a group taking a plane to the Canal Zone, talking about how it is a city of spies. As a result, when we see Lieutenant Chan of the Honolulu Police selling hats under an assumed name to one of the plane's passengers, exchanging recognition codes, we know we're in a spy thriller. When the buyer drops dead, we're happy to see familiar territory.

The pleasures of the old Charlie Chan series are many. Victor Sen Yung plays one of the great detective's innumerable offspring. Charlie speaks in proverbs. And, of course, there's the pleasure of the many character actors: Lionel Atwill and Jean Rogers and Mary Nash are near the top of the credits. Further down, we get Chris-Pin Martin and Kane Richmond. Even the uncredited payers include interesting names like Franklyn Farnum and Edward Gargan. That's because Charlie Chan pictures were a sure money-maker for Fox, and they spent their money cannily.

People nowadays think that the Charlie Chan series were an exercise in racism. I see them as just the opposite. Charlie is world-famous in the pictures, always the smartest man in the room, and his kids are thoroughly Americanized. How less racist can you be?

`No, he's Ryner.'

[Jim Tritten · 6/10 · 23 June 2002]

In his last making of a Chan film, director Norman Foster re-makes the 1934 film `Marie Galante' with good success. Sidney Toler by now has five of the Chan series under his belt and he has clearly hit his stride in the role. Good supporting acting by Lionel Atwill and Sen Yung. George Zucco did much better as the suspicious scientist in `Charlie Chan in Honolulu` than does the Lionel Royce in this film. Jean Rogers is better remembered as Dale Arden in the `Flash Gordon' films.

By 1940, American audiences were being conditioned to the threat from saboteurs, such as Ryner, and a nation in arms. Chan exclaims `Intelligent defense of nation best guarantee for years of peace.' There are sufficient clues, cleverly disguised, and lots of misdirection, but the keen observer will be able to keep up with Chan during this case. Recommended.

One of the Best Sidney Toler Chan Films

[utgard14 · 8/10 · 4 March 2014]

Although made before the U.S. had entered World War II, this one feels totally like a World War II picture. Charlie Chan (Sidney Toler) goes undercover in Panama to root out a saboteur (and murderer) known as Ryner. Exceptionally good supporting cast, solid plot, and tense direction make this one of the better Toler Chan films. Victor Sen Yung is back as "Number Two Son" Jimmy Chan and is fun as always. His comical antics are dialed back a bit here to make room for the sabotage story, which is treated with the utmost seriousness. Lionel Atwill, Addison Richards, Jean Rogers, Mary Nash, and Jack La Rue are all very good. Interesting that Charlie doesn't show up until ten minutes into the movie. Good story and the saboteur's identity was a genuine surprise to me. Definitely a Charlie Chan film I would recommend.

A nice entry in the Chan series

[Schlockmeister · 20 June 2001]

Sidney Toler did really well in this outing as Detective Charlie Chan, undercover in Panama City in order to help the U. S. Government capture spies. Since one of Charlie Chan's signature parts of his outfit is his Panama Hat, it was only logical that his cover be as a proprietor of a Panama Hat shop.

As in most Chan movies, we see very atmospheric locales, many shady characters, and Chan, ever calm, solving the mystery. Lionel Atwill is a part of the shady cast and does a great job. Victor Sen-Yung who plays #2 son, Jimmy will be a familiar face to TV watchers, he played Hop Sing the Chinese cook on Bonanza for years. He does a great job here as the over eager son who wants to help Charlie but usually ends up in the way. He does provide good comic relief in this story.

All in all, a good entry in the Chan series. The solution to the mystery is a little clearer than it often is in this series, many times with Charlie Chan films when he explains the solution at the end, you just have to throw up your hands and trust that Charlie knows what he is talking about, it isn't always very clear. The telling of the story makes sense, making this a good introduction to the series if you are new at it.

Recommended!!!

Charlie Chan in Panama is a quite entertaining mystery

[tavm · 7/10 · 11 March 2021]

As the title implies, the famous detective is in the country of Panama disguised as a hat salesman in order to expose a spy in the vicinity. Along for this ride is his son Jimmy (Victor Sen Yung) who, as usual, gets into some scrapes but, as always, is once again willing to help his Pop along on a case. I'll just now say this was quite exciting to watch during the hour and seven minutes it was running. So I say, give Charlie Chan in Panama a chance.

One of Toler's Best!

[admjtk1701 · 9/10 · 19 April 2000]

This spy adventure is one of Sidney Toler's best Chan films. It is a very clever and exciting mystery with a lot of local atmosphere including a crypt. The supporting cast is excellent. There is a lot of humor, action, and suspense through out. The story was filmed before as "Marie Galante" in 1934 with Spencer Tracy. This is a much better version.

"In Panama, walls equipped with eyes as well as ears."

[classicsoncall · 7/10 · 16 April 2005]

Prior to having his cover blown midway through the film by overzealous Number #2 Son Jimmy (Victor Sen Yung), Sidney Toler masquerades as Panama Hat shop owner Fu Yuen, approached by U.S. government agent Godley (Addison Richards) on the trail of an enigmatic spy known only as Ryner. When Godley dies in Fu Yuen/Chan's hat shop after inhaling a poisoned cigarette, the stage is set for a fairly entertaining mystery, more of an espionage thriller than a murder who-done-it, although the body count does reach three before it's all over.

Lionel Atwill provides an enigmatic presence as English novelist Cliveden Compton, though I feel he was better suited to portray Dr. Rudolph Grosser (Lionel Royce), a Viennese scientist and expert on tropical diseases and plague, who is later discovered by son Jimmy to be harboring "Twenty Rats Bubonic Infected 7/12". Compton becomes victim number two in the story, shot by the same gun that the murderer intended to use on Chan himself until Jimmy's baseball throwing right arm properly found it's mark.

The colorful cast also includes cabaret owner Manolo (Jack La Rue), Chicago school teacher Miss Finch (Mary Nash), cabaret singer with a secret Kathi Lenesch (Jean Rogers), and Richard Cabot (Kane Richmond), superintendent for the Miraflores Power Contol.

With the clock ticking, Chan and son are pressured to locate an explosive device that threatens the Panama Canal Zone planted by agent Ryner. The hunt eventually brings them to a cemetery and tomb of the still very much alive Egyptian tobacco shop owner Achmed Halide (Frank Puglia). In a clever ruse, agent Ryner still under wraps, has the Chan party and himself (herself?) trapped in the tomb while accomplice Manolo plants the device right in the Power Control complex. Shortly after, Chan does a little trapping of his own, as he seals the suspects in the same room with the bomb, until Ryner identifies himself (herself?) attempting to get away.

Charlie Chan in Panama rates highly in the Chan series with it's exotic locale, lush sets and atmospheric scenes. Though some of the story aspects are retreads we've seen before and after (handgun appears from behind a screen, lights out scene to cover confusion), it's still done well enough to be entertaining. And the payoff is just clever enough without seeming forced, the revelation of agent Ryner who gives away his (her?) identity with one word - "nitroglycerine".

Panamá Revisited

[EdgarST · 9/10 · 8 July 2011]

Among the war propaganda motion pictures made during the II World War, "Charlie Chan in Panama" is one of the best, and a fine entry in the Charlie Chan series, with Sidney Toler in the leading role. It is a likable and very amusing recreation of Panamá in the 1940s (and I may say rather accurate), with the Canal Zone US military bases, the swinging life of night clubs in the city of Panamá, the seedy port "cantinas" in the colonial section of the city, its Chinatown section, and the characteristic presence of people from all over the world, a trait still present today. Chan does not disappoint, as he works for the US Armed Forces and tries to discover who is trying to destroy the Panama Canal. A remake of "Marie Galante", much better than the original.

Another pleasing entry in the Chan saga!

[JohnHowardReid · 7/10 · 20 December 2017]

Charlie Chan in Panama is also a remake, but not of a Chan picture this time or even a Biggers book, but of Marie Galante (1934), a Jacques Deval novel, screen-played by Reginald Berkeley.

While he cannot compete with Spencer Tracy, Toler handles his secret serviceman with customary stoicism, while the lovely Jean Rogers (her Kathi Lenesch somewhat uneasily combines two roles) certainly gives Ketti Gallian and Helen Morgan a run for their money.

Sen Yung, of course, has the Ned Sparks knockabout part, while Frank Puglia steps very, very neatly into Leslie Fenton's shoes.

While it cannot be compared budget-wise, this entry certainly has its share of excitements. Admittedly, director Norman Foster is nowhere in the same class as Henry King, but he keeps his film moving along with both pace and style. The action spots are handled with finesse and even Chris-Pin Martin's labored comedy relief comes over as reasonably amusing. In fact, viewers who have not seen the Tracy version will have little to complain about.

one of the best

[pbalos · 8/10 · 27 May 2000]

back lot Hollywood provides a rather convincing Panama City of the 40's.Overall a fine plot of a mystery that works evenly with a surprise ending.One of Tolar's better movies, if not the best, with an excellent cast of characters.Well done !

Serious and suspenseful spy thriller with a bit of comedy

[csteidler · 7/10 · 7 August 2012]

"At least we're getting off to an exciting start," comments school teacher Mary Nash to mystery author Lionel Atwill. "Like one of those blood and thunder novels you write." New arrivals in the high-security Panama Canal zone, they have just watched two sailors chase a guy with a camera off the end of a dock.

Murder and espionage are afoot in this tense mystery set on the brink of WWII; the U.S. fleet may be attacked as it passes through the Canal, and it falls to Charlie Chan and his colleagues to prevent the attack—and identify the master spy behind the plot.

Among others on hand are Jack LaRue, owner of a shady café; Kane Richmond as an engineer working for the government; and Jean Rogers, airplane stewardess turned nightclub singer and possible spy.

Sidney Toler is at his best in this efficient thriller that is more of an espionage picture than your typical Chan murder mystery; Lieutenant Chan masterfully manages some pretty high stakes dramatic situations—but also manages to fit in a few laughs with number two son Lee. Sen Yung is also strong as Lee, as much valuable assistant as comic relief.

Between the great lineup of suspects—everyone is suspicious as can be—and the fine performances from Toler and Yung, this is an entertaining and exciting series entry.

Plus it includes at least one great Chan aphorism: "Bad alibi like dead fish. Cannot stand test of time."

Timely and better than average

[planktonrules · 8/10 · 19 April 2009]

This is an extremely timely Charlie Chan movie as although the US was not yet at war, storm clouds were on the horizon and this film anticipated the importance of the Panama Canal to the future. Although the film never said that the Germans were planning on blowing up the canal, that's exactly what was very strongly implied--with a vicious foreign agent named 'Ryner'. The problem is that Chan and the military authorities have no idea what this agent looks like as well as exactly what this enemy agent's intentions are as well as how they'll go about doing it. So it's up to Chan and #2 Son to investigate.

This film is better than average for the Fox version of Charlie Chan. Mostly this is due to the timeliness, the use of non-grainy and relevant stock footage as well as a dandy plot and mystery. It keeps you guessing up until the end--and I liked this very much.

"Young brains like grass, need dew of sleep"

[hwg1957-102-265704 · 7/10 · 8 August 2017]

Another good Charlie Chan mystery with the detective being involved with murder, espionage and sabotage in Panama. Going undercover as a seller of Panama hats he has to discover who is the spy Ryner who is pulling the strings. Panama City is paranoid about spies but Charlie in his measured and intelligent way untangles the real from the false. Helping and hindering him is number two son Jimmy. The ending is suspenseful and surprising. Norman Foster directs with a steady hand.

Sidney Toler is very good as usual as Chan and Sen Yung is lively as his son Jimmy. They are supported flawlessly by Lionel Atwill, Mary Nash, Chris-Pin Martin and Jack La Rue to name just a few of the fine cast. Chan utters several great Chan-isms as usual.

Sixty-seven minutes of absorbing entertainment.

Bad alibi like dead fish...cannot stand the test of time.

[blanche-2 · 7/10 · 27 March 2015]

"Charlie Chan in Panama" from 1940 finds Charlie (Sidney Toler) undercover as a shop owner to stop an espionage plot that would take out part of the Panama Canal and trap a Navy fleet en route to the Pacific.

No dearth of suspects here and everyone acts guilty.

Among the cast are Sen Yung as Jimmy, Lionel Atwill, Mary Nash, Chris-Pin Martin, and Jack LaRue. Jimmy as usual gets into trouble, but he's also a big help.

This is a lively story, with humor and drama, with a bit of a propaganda thrown in. At the end, Charlie reminds us that a strong military will insure the peace. Didn't work out that way, alas.

One of the best of the series

[dbborroughs · 8/10 · 24 October 2009]

Another war tinged mystery involving that favorite Hollywood target the Panama Canal.

One of the better Chan films, this film works because it has a great deal going on. There is more here than the just the a murder mystery, there are political implications that help to flesh out the tale. Also helping things along is the large number of colorful characters that Charlie and his son Jimmie come in contact with. These are a bit more than your stock mystery suspects and it really elevates everything that is going on. This doesn't seem like a stock off the rack mystery but something new and exciting.

I really like this film and its one of the better films.

Charlie Chan's humble hat shop

[greenbudgie · 7/10 · 23 March 2021]

Charlie Chan takes on the guise of a hat shop owner in Panama City. He dons that subterfuge to try and catch a spy called Reiner who he has intelligence on but doesn't known the identity of by sight. This mysterious Reiner would seem to be intent on causing disruption to the American Fleets who need to pass through the Panama Canal. The film opens with a seaplane full of suspects who are heading for a stop-off in Panama City. The watch a pauper fisherman being chased into the sea by police officers.

Among the suspects the most villainous-looking is the Viennese scientist Dr Grosser who deals in tropical diseases. He's experimenting with bubonic-infected rats. Then there's the cafe owner Manolo who is pressurizing his floor singer Kathi who is forced to go along with his demands because she is a refugee. She seems inquisitive about the movements of American ships passing through the Panama Canal. Also there's the fez-wearing Halide who sells exotic cigarettes opposite Charlie's hat shop.

I'm a little disappointed with Lionel Atwill's role in this as his Clivedon Compton doesn't feature in the story as much as I would have liked. And I have to say I guessed the murderer. There is a fair bit of suspense towards the end as Chan tricks the killer to show themselves seemingly putting everyone in danger. And there's a great shot of Jimmy Chan falling backwards through a concealed door that unexpectedly opens as he leans against it.

Red Alert for the US Fleet!

[binapiraeus · 8/10 · 15 March 2014]

Disguised as humble Chinese hatter 'Fu Yuen', Charlie Chan assists the Secret Service way down in Panama, close to that so very important, narrow and vulnerable pathway between North and South America: the Panama Canal. And there are indications that there will be great danger for the US Fleet that is bound to pass through the Canal the next day: the dangerous international spy known only as "Ryner" probably is on the spot and planning something catastrophic - connected with anything from rats infected with bubonic plague to containers filled with nitroglycerin...!

Charlie very soon closes in on Ryner: he must have been on board the small airplane that takes passengers across the Canal, because one of his colleagues, who was also on the plane, dies right in Charlie's shop while they're discussing the case from a poisoned cigarette - but his cigarettes had been perfectly alright before he and the other passengers boarded the plane... And so we've got a shady night club owner, a young European fugitive singer without a passport, a strange scientist, an elderly lady teacher, an Egyptian who owns a tobacco shop - but Ryner's VERY clever, so Charlie (aided by son Jimmy even down in Panama - because while the cruise ship he was working on was stopping near the Canal, he took some photos of the forbidden military zone and ended up in jail...) has got to employ ALL his wits and cunningness in order to uncover him and save the US Fleet...

Another very nice piece of mystery entertainment, murder mixed with espionage this time - a GREAT challenge for fans who like to follow the story and find out the culprit even before the detective does; because in this case, for those who pay attention, it IS possible! Besides that, the Latin American atmosphere is very nice (it was hugely popular at the time), and the cast is great, so the movie flows very smoothly - but not without some sudden shock effects in between, of course... A great B movie classic, VERY worth watching.

Nerves make time go backwards

[kapelusznik18 · 6/10 · 29 October 2014]

****SPOILERS*** Charlie Chan, Sidney Toler, working for the US Government as undercover hat store owner Fu Yean works against time in finding out and preventing a sinister plot to sink the entire US Atlantic Fleet while docked at the Panama Canal. This is being planned by a number of German saboteurs in what seems like Nazi Germany's efforts, in early 1940, to get the US involved in WWII! This making FDR's, in running for re-election that year, job a lot easier. That by him getting the American people who were as much as 95% against it,at the time, to go along with him in getting the US into WWII.

It's Charlie's bumbling #1 Son Jimmy, Victor Sen Yung, who after messing things up for Charlie ends up saving his life in preventing, by hitting him with a tobacco can, one of the saboteurs from assassination his pop. It's when Charlie along with #1 Son Jimmy and a number of the cast, including the head Nazi saboteur, are trapped in a cave that he realized were the explosives, a two gallon bottle of nitroglycerin, was hidden: at the Panama Canal power station.

***SPOILERS*** Breaking out of the cave and heading for the power station to prevent a catastrophe from happening It's the saboteur him or herself who ended up exposing himself in knowing just what kind of explosive was to be used. Something that only Charlie the police and the saboteur himself could have known. As usual as in most pre-WWII movie before the US got involved in the saboteur's identities or nationalities were kept from the public. But it didn't take a genius to figure who they were working for with the pretty Jean Rogers playing a refugee from fascism with the Slavic sounding name Kathi Lenesch being from a Nazi occupied, Poland or Czechoslovakia, at that time country.

"Bad alibi like dead fish - cannot stand test of time."

[bensonmum2 · 8/10 · 16 September 2014]

As the U.S. fleet prepares to move through the Panama Canal, a foreign agent known only as Ryner plans to blow-up part of the canal. However, Charlie Chan and #2 Son are on hand to stop Ryner's plot (and solve a murder or two in the process).

Charlie Chan in Panama is a rock solid entry in the Chan catalogue. This was Sidney Toler's fifth outing as Chan, Victor Sen Yung's fourth appearance as Jimmy Chan, and Norman Foster's third directorial credit in the Chan series. These guys knew what they were doing. Throw in an excellent supporting cast (featuring the always enjoyable Lionel Atwill), excellent looking sets, suspicious characters, red herrings around every corner, and some decent comedy bits from #2 Son and you've got the makings for an enjoyable movie experience. I'm not usually a fan of Chan films that are spy centered, preferring the murder based plots instead. But here, it works. As others have pointed out, I appreciate that the mystery's resolve actually makes sense. It always makes things more enjoyable when you as the viewer can follow along with what Chan is saying. And, finally, I appreciate that for once Jimmy Chan actually serves a real purpose. In this one, he is directly responsible for saving Pop's life.

Overall, an 8/10 from me. Charlie Chan in Panama is a must for fans of the series.

They're Paranoid in Panama

[bkoganbing · 6/10 · 8 April 2013]

Charlie Chan In Panama begins with Sidney Toler being undercover as a haberdasher in Panama City. With war in Europe and the possibility of the USA being dragged in, everyone is on high alert as far as protecting the Panama Canal. In fact they're positively paranoid.

There is also rumor of an international agent of mystery who is in the pay of the dictatorships in Europe. That's who the Panamanian and US law enforcement is after.

At one point Victor Sen Yung actually saves his father's life and for once Charlie Chan is grateful for the presence of one of his offspring who usually are getting in all kinds of trouble. He still does in this film, but one act erases all.

There's a nice little stew of suspects as to who the master agent. I will only say it is the most unlikely one in the film.

This Charlie Chan mystery will have you wanting to see more of them.

Prewar Paranoia

[Hitchcoc · 9/10 · 11 January 2016]

The U.S. Naval fleet must be able to get through the Panama Canal. This is a narrow spot for possible sabotage. Anyway, the military is seeing spies everywhere. In the city, Charlie is selling Panama hats and mixing with the local baddies. When a man who is giving him information (and vice versa) dies as he smokes a poison cigarette, the game is afoot. Who should show up but Number Two Son. Charlie is trying to find a suspect who no one can identify, but who is a really bad character. There is a night club owner, a guy who is experimenting with deadly diseases, a guy from Egypt who runs around in a fez, a girl who is using a false name and a couple others as well. There are some very good scenes. It's interesting that this movie was made a year before it all hit the fan in Pearl Harbor. It made me think how important this canal probably was as the Americans entered the war. I wasn't expecting much but this is a nicely put together episode.

That Foreign Sabotage Theme

[Lechuguilla · 5 May 2010]

A master saboteur named Ryner is on the loose in the Panama Canal Zone, with evil intent. Naturally, "Ryner" now goes by another name, and could be either male or female. I counted eight suspects. And one of them is Ryner.

This film has a delightful international flavor in the cast of characters, the visuals, and music. B&W lighting is competent and contributes to a noir style with lots of atmospheric shadows. Production design is surprisingly robust.

The identity of the killer is not too hard to figure out. The plot takes lots of liberties with details. For example, hotel rooms are conveniently unlocked, so that Chan (Sidney Toler) and company can easily investigate. The foreign sabotage theme is a tad stale. Lord knows that writers got a lot of mileage out of it during the 1940s.

Charlie's son Jimmy (Victor Sen Yung) keeps interfering in the investigation. He pops up numerous times, presumably as comic relief, but also to provide details that advance the plot. His idiocy is quite annoying, and every time he appears, I cringe.

Though not one of the better stories in the Chan series, the film is still worth watching, but only for viewers enamored of the whodunit element.

More war intrigue in another exotic hotspot.

[mark.waltz · 6/10 · 16 September 2023]

Even though the United States had not yet entered the war, the movies reflected what was going on around the world to warn of the existence of spies and Nazi supporters. In Panama, the canal is considered a great spot for sabotage, and Charlie and Jimmy Chan find themselves up to their silk hats in intrigue, especially with the murders of suspected spies revealing one real enemy spy as the guilty party for murder and espionage, especially with the U. S. navy fleet getting ready to head through the canal.

While his antics are age appropriate for his over-the-top behavior, Victor Sen Yung comes off a bit buffoonish in a majority of his scenes in this one, a fault of the script, not his acting, but it gives Sidney Toler some great retorts. Lionel Atwill is a suspect simply by the nature of many other villain roles, joined by Jean Rogers, Mary Nash and Kane Richmond in support. Nash gets the best material as a prim and proper school teacher. Great sets and an exotic feel are the best elements of this programmer, although it's obvious that the series by this time was strictly a B.

Honolulu sleuth called upon to serve America.

[michaelRokeefe · 8/10 · 14 February 2011]

World War II is in progress and the honorable Charlie Chan(Sidney Toler)is incognito hired by the American government following up a reliable tip that there is a plot to blow up the Panama Canal. A small plane lands in Panama City carrying more than enough suspects that just could be an elusive master saboteur known only as Rymer. Charlie's Number Two son Jimmy(Victor Sen Yung)shows up as usual wanting to help in the case. Who is the most suspicious...Emil Manolo(Jack La Rue), Dr. Grosser(Lionel Royce), Cliveden Compton(Lionel Atwill)or are they just red herrings. Time is not on Chan's side as American ships are ready to enter the canal. This film has everything you would want in a mystery. Others in the cast: Jean Rogers, Kane Richmond, Chris-Pin Martin and Mary Nash.

Espionage and Sabotage

[sober-eye · 9/10 · 21 January 2017]

Charlie Chan in Panama, 1940 film

Photography is banned in the Panama Canal Zone by the US Army. Two soldiers watch a fisherman on a dock. They stop him, he dives into the water. People talk about themselves. Some will fly instead of traveling by ship across the Zone. They view the Panama Canal from the air. A store sells Panama hats. Washington received a tip about sabotage. One enemy agent, Reiner, is believed to be in Panama. The man who gave this tip soon collapses in the hat store. Cigarette smoking? The police arrive. Fu Yen is taken into custody. That ship's steward is later released. Charlie Chan deduces how the poisoning happened. Chan looks at the airplane passenger list. Jimmy Chan watches Dr. Grosser leave, then goes to his rooms to look around. Chan visits Manolo's Cabaret. That singer is curious about the arrival of the fleet! She doesn't want to answer questions. Charlie Chan's identity is revealed, he leaves the Cabaret. Jimmy tells what he found in Dr. Grosser's room. But those rats are now missing!

Charlie Chan asks for information about a British novelist, then goes to a hotel and finds a surprise there. Chan finds a hidden passport and a military map. Next there is a visitor who tells about her background. Jimmy opens a closet door and finds a surprise! Charlie calls the military police. Jimmy lights a cigarette and offers one to Manolo, who throws it down and quickly leaves. Chan found the murder weapon. They go to the graveyard and search a tomb. Who locked the door? The US Navy is sending its ships through the canal to reinforce the Pacific fleet. Can they break out of the tomb? Someone opens the door. There is a shot, Manolo is stopped! They go to search the power house to search for a bomb. The locks won't work without power. The building is evacuated. Chan holds the group and explains why he did this. It works, the guilty party is revealed! (Were you surprised too?)

This is a good mystery story whose location adds to the drama. Is the least suspicious person likely to be the guilty party? The story tells of the culture of the era. A business suit and hat in that hot damp climate? Note how World War II is reflected in this story. The "Sherlock Holmes" movies would also be placed in a modern setting.