Charlie Chan in the Chinese Cat (1944) User Reviews

Another well-done Chan

[jonfrum2000 · 7/10 · 14 August 2010]

Son Tommy replaces his brother Jimmy, and for the better. Jimmy's bug-eyed, constantly interrupting persona was somewhat over the top, and Benson Fong's Tommy plays the role of sidekick just straight enough to take the cringe out of the character. Much of the comic relief is transferred to Mantan Moreland's Birmingham Brown, and Moreland was the man to carry it off. Unlike most of the Chan comic relief characters, Birmingham's antics are generally set apart from Charlie's detective work, and don't interfere so much with the unfolding of the mystery. And Moreland himself was just a better actor than the Chan sons or the various other characters who played the role.

The fun house is a classic crime setting, and its use here - though done on the cheap - fits right in to the series. The plot doesn't play out like many Chan movies - a good guy isn't revealed to be a bad guy, As a result, the end is less a reveal than a long action/danger scene. Nice change-up from the usual Chan. And while many prefer Warner Oland, Sidney Toler is Chan to me in this episode - one step ahead, as always.

Old Monogram Chan Film Like Diamond in Rough

[BaronBl00d · 6/10 · 26 March 2006]

Sidney Toler again reprises most honorable interpretation of Charlie Chan. This time Chan is helping a former police detective(now just a cop) and a beautiful woman out to clear her mother's name in the murder case of her step-father many months ago. It seems he was murdered in his study grasping a bishop from a chess set in the shadow of an ebony Chinese cat statue. Well, this film has a neat and tidy mystery - not too terribly clever or hard to grasp - but highly enjoyable nonetheless. Toler does his best in bringing charm and grace to the role of Chan with always a generous dose of subtle humour. Toler perhaps has too many clichés to throw out, but most of them in this film are amusing and some even telling. Benson Fong is back as #3 son. He and Toler have good chemistry, but he is even better when paired with cab driver/later to be chauffeur Birmingham Brown(played by a great, sometimes forgotten Mantan Moreland). Moreland is just wonderful in his portrayal of a witty, sometimes very blunt/direct working man playing against the characters of Chan and #3 son. Add to this that Moreland is just plain funny. He had me in stitches more than once in this film and every one of his scenes is a real hoot. All the acting is solid if not dazzling in any way. Ian Keith does a particularly solid job as a naysayer to Chan's gift of detection and John Davidson has a good time playing some weird twins Carl and Kurt. While not one of the best Chan films, Charlie Chan in The Chinese Cat is a very entertaining entry.

Nicely Plotted Mystery

[dbborroughs · 7/10 · 17 July 2004]

Monogram's Charlie Chan films tended to suffer towards the end by lack of caring. The plots ended up confused and messy aimed more at Birmingham Brown and the Chan son of the film being silly while Charlie said wise things. Here, thankfully, the film is blessed with a decent mystery, different sets than most of the others, and several good supporting performances, in particular by the always wonderful, and sadly not well known John Davidson.

Here we have the death of a chess expert and assorted other goings on that make this one of the better later Chan films. I don't want to say too much since the joy here is in the watching, and this film is certainly worth watching.

7 out of 10

Hey, Charlie, Lighten Up On The Kid

[ccthemovieman-1 · 31 March 2006]

These Sidney Toler "Monogram" Chan films, the last in the series, don't measure up to Warner Oland's earlier efforts but they are still very entertaining to me. Even with Mantan Moreland, who probably offends the sensibilities of a lot of people with his scared black-man routine. I can see where that's offensive, but if you just take him as a comedian and let it go, you can enjoy and even laugh with him.

The only thing I did NOT find funny in here, but I normally do, is Charlie's insults to his kid. In this film, Tolder insults "Number Three Son" (Benson Fong) so many times that it borders on downright mean-spiritedness.

Anyway, it was still a "decent" combination of mystery and comedy and the ending was cool, with Chan and his assistants chasing the bad guys around a "fun house." All the Charlie Chan movies are entertaining.

Charlie Chan in The Chinese Cat is a quite entertaining second Monogram entry in the series

[tavm · 7/10 · 24 February 2010]

This is my seventh review of a Charlie Chan movie in series chronological order during these consecutive days. It's also my first for the Monogram entries, of which this one is the second. In this one, a young woman's stepfather is murdered in a closed room. She enlists Charlie in the case through communicating with his "No. 3 Son" Tommy (Benson Fong) while both stay at a hotel. Also along for the ride, for only the second time, is cab driver Birmingham Brown (Mantan Moreland)...The noticeable changes from Fox to Monogram, besides more comic relief with both Fong and Moreland, is some more time for the music score to go along with some more action sequences near the end before we hear Charlie's assessment of the case. Also, the plotting isn't too serious and Chan's wisecracks to his son seem almost mean-spirited, like Abbott & Costello like, though one can take them with a grain of salt. And while Mantan's antics, especially his looks of fright, would probably not do in these politically correct times, he still can be entertainingly funny with what he does here and I don't think it reflects badly on his race at all since to me he's just a funny looking clown who's quite endearing, whatever the race. So on that note, I quite recommend Charlie Chan in the The Chinese Cat. P.S. Mr. Moreland was a native of Monroe in my now home state of Louisiana. And Sam Flint, who played Thomas P. Manning here, was another player in my favorite movie, It's a Wonderful Life. He was the relieved banker in Mr. Potter's office wiping his forehead during the run-on-the-bank sequence.

My First Charlie Chan

[essers · 7/10 · 2 April 2019]

I saw this when I was quite young. I hadn't heard of Charlie and his cast of characters --#2 son and Birmingham. They were quite enjoyable. The plot moved at a good pace. I particularly enjoyed the sequence where the bad guys were tracking Tommie and Birmingham in a deserted fun-house. After all these years, I still enjoy it.

Charlie Chan is forced to race the clock.

[michaelRokeefe · 6/10 · 16 January 2011]

This Charlie Chan B-feature from Monogram moves at a rather quick pace. The husband of a San Francisco socialite(Betty Blythe)is found dead in his study which is locked from the inside. Will a piece on his chess set be a clue? The local police give up on solving the case and several months later a scathing book is published with evidence the socialite killed her husband. Leah Manning(Joan Woodbury)still wants to know the truth about her stepfather's murder and summons the help of Oriental sleuth Charlie Chan(Sidney Toler)to solve the mystery. Due to a prior engagement the super detective only has 48 hours to bring the case to a proper close. He has some help, for what its worth, from #3 son Tommy(Benson Fong)and taxi driver Birmingham Brown(Mantan Moreland). Other players: Weldon Heyburn, Cy Kendall, John Davidson and T. Stanford Jolley.

a Monogram B film, need I say more?

[blanche-2 · 6/10 · 10 November 2011]

Sidney Toler is Charlie Chan in "Charlie Chan in the Chinese Cat," a 1944 film, part of the Monogram Chinese Chan series. These films were made for twenty cents and probably took a day to film. Nevertheless, they can be fun.

Charlie here is trying to solve a locked-door murder that the police gave up on; however, a book has been published all but accusing the victim's wife of killing him, and his stepdaughter (Leah Manning) begs Charlie to investigate before he moves on to his next case.

With the help (sort of) of taxi driver Birmingham Brown (Mantan Moreland) and Charlie's son #3 (Benson Fong), he sets out to find what really happened.

The Monogram Chan series is not as fun or as good as the Fox series, but when Fox dropped Charlie Chan, Sidney Toler took him to Monogram. Toler had gotten the rights from Earl Derr Biggers' widow. After Toler died, the role went to Roland Winters.

Some of the dialogue here is quite fun as Charlie berates his son's presence and ability, though #3 son ends up acquitting himself quite well. Mantan Moreland is good as Birmingham, in fact, he was one of the best things about the series, but he doesn't have much to do here. His usual character was that of the Chan chauffeur. Now he's a taxi driver who worked with Chan previously and comes back into the fold.

Just to show how quickly these were filmed, in one scene, Charlie breaks a numbered light series which shows what maze in a fun house is being used. One of the light bulbs remains intact, but they didn't re-film it.

Anyway, the mystery here is pretty good, and the fun house maze is entertaining. Recommended for Charlie Chan fans.

One of the better Chan films from Monogram

[NativeTexan · 10/10 · 10 October 2003]

Chan fans and film buffs will enjoy this better-than-average Monogram film. True, with the exception of "Charlie Chan in the Secret Service" none of the Monogram series comes close to the 20th C FOX entries, but the story is serviceable and enjoyable. Mantan Moreland shows his best Vaudevillian stage takes, and of note is Joan Woodbury, the Woodbury soap heiress, in at least her third appearance in the Chan series. The other two I know of are "Charlie Chan at the Opera" where she has no lines and dances on a table top during the opera, and "Charlie Chan on Broadway" where she is Douglas Fowley's love interest and performs what I call "the sashay dance."

Big Lunk of a Policeman Solves Nothing

[Hitchcoc · 7/10 · 18 January 2016]

Tommy Chan, Number Three Son, promises a young woman that her stepfather's killer will be apprehended by his father. The police have listed it as an unsolved crime and there seems little hope. We, of course, know better. Once again, Mantan Moreland, who is a cab driver in this one, assists out of fear for his safety. There seems to be something going on with Chinese cat statues and diamonds. A police detective, sort of a Neanderthal, who really knows nothing, has been demoted. He fell in love with the young woman in question and was seen as a liability. Actually, it turns out that he is. He knows nothing and contributes nothing to the solution. Charlie also gets into it with a mystery writing who thinks he can outdo the great Asian detective. Maybe a little too much funny stuff and some really stupid criminals. Kind of par for the course.

For hiding stolen things

[bkoganbing · 5/10 · 3 February 2013]

The second of Charlie Chan's Monogram Pictures finds Sidney Toler and number two son Benson Fong involved in a six month old homicide of a wealthy businessman and chess expert. As he dies the victim leaves the telltale clue of a lone bishop standing on the chessboard.

What brings Charlie into the case is Joan Woodbury on behalf of her mother Betty Blythe who was married to the deceased. A new book written by Ian Keith is casting aspersions on Woodbury and Blythe and as the case remained unsolved for six months there's lots of room for speculation.

Of course Keith has the facts all wrong and the case centers around a statue of a cat done by a noted artist who Charlie knows to put secret compartments in his product. That makes them useful for hiding things, stolen things.

This also makes the second appearance of Mantan Moreland who was introduced in the first Monogram Chan feature, Charlie Chan In The Secret Service. No wonder Charlie Chan had to hire Birmingham as a chauffeur, Birmingham's cab gets blown up when the crooks think Charlie is getting too close.

Fans of the series should appreciate it though when the series left 20th Century Fox and was picked up by Monogram, as Bob Hope would have said it was like exchanging filet mignon for hog's livers.

Mystery, Noir, Comedy - and it all goes together just fine!

[binapiraeus · 8/10 · 20 March 2014]

The second of the Monogram 'Charlie Chans' is a pure 'old-fashioned' murder mystery again, without spies (although the War was still going on, as Charlie reminds us when he accepts a bet and offers to pay the money to the Chinese War Relief Funds if he loses), but a classic 'murder behind locked doors' - with the exception of a secret panel which leads to the room of the murdered man's wife, so she's the only suspect, but due to lack of evidence and motive the case is dropped. But then, months later, a criminologist writes a novel about the murder, clearly pointing out the wife of businessman Manning as his murderer.

Manning's stepdaughter in her despair calls on the unique abilities of Charlie Chan to find the real murderer; during the investigations, she'd fallen in love with Detective Dennis and wants to marry him, but now the shadow of murder keeps hanging over her family... And since son Tommy once again beat his Pop to accepting the case, Charlie can't break a family promise, of course, and starts recreating the whole case - which very soon leads him to a whole collection of diamonds hidden in various Chinese decoration figures, and to the conclusion that Manning and his business partner Deacon were crooks involved in a big diamond theft months earlier. But when Charlie and Tommy, accompanied again by Birmingham (who's become a cab driver now, and just happened to get Charlie as a passenger - which made him feel immediately that he's in for murder again...), enter the 'lion's den' disguised as a fun house, the 'fun' very soon stops, and they're being treated just like any other detective in any Film Noir of the time...

Monogram's 'new Charlie Chan style' unfolds here in a most effective way: this movie actually manages to combine successfully murder mystery (complete with hints for crime solving fanatics, like the lone chess figure) with tough, gloomy and foggy Noir elements - and of course comedy! One example: there are twin brothers involved in the gang, and one of them is murdered - and every time the other identical twin brother turns up, Birmingham and Tommy think they're seeing ghosts...!

High-quality crime entertainment, providing fun as well as suspense, and at the same time certainly NOT to be overlooked for its cinematic value!

Good old Chan murder case

[LeRoyMarko · 6/10 · 20 June 2001]

Not the best Charlie Chan movie but still entertaining. By now, you know the type of movie this is: a couple of murders, a special atmosphere (in this one, it's a «fun house»), and Charlie Chan to the rescue.

I really liked the taxi cab character, Birmingham Brown, played by Mantan Moreland.

Out of 100, I gave it 69. That's ** on a **** stars rating system.

Seen at home in Welland, June 20th, 2001. Marko Roy.

Among the Best of the Monogram Chan Films--But That's Not Saying Much

[gftbiloxi · 5/10 · 10 June 2007]

Loosely based on novels by Earl Derr Biggers, 20th Century Fox's Charlie Chan series proved an audience favorite--but when Japan attacked Pearl Harbor the studio feared audiences would turn against its Asian hero. This was a miscalculation: actor Sidney Toler took the role to "poverty row" Monogram Studios, where he continued to portray the character in eleven more popular films made between 1944 and his death in 1947.

20th Century Fox had regarded the Chan films as inexpensive "B" movies, but even so the studio took considerable care with them: the plots were often silly, but the pace was sharp, the dialogue witty, and the casts (which featured the likes of Bela Lugosi and Ray Milland) always expert. The result was a kindly charm which has stood the test of time. Monogram was a different matter: Chan films were "B" movies plain and simple. Little care was taken with scripts or cast and resulting films were flat, mediocre at best, virtually unwatchable at worst.

Released in 1944, THE Chinese CAT finds Chan beset by son Tommy, who has promised the step-daughter of a murdered man assistance; they are joined in the investigation by cab driver Birmigham, who is not overeager to be reunited with the Chans given that murder tends to follow in their wake. Indeed, there will be three murders, stolen jewels, and a carnival fun house before the killers are captured. Like all the Monogram Chan films, the plot is trivial and the script even more so; unlike the worst of the Monogram Chan films, however, it does have the occasional touch of atmosphere and moves at a respectable pace.

Sidney Toler gives a nice reprise of Charlie Chan in this film, but as usual in the Monogram Chan films Mantan Moreland (Birmingham) is the real scene stealer. Changing times have led us to look upon Moreland's brand of comedy as demeaning to African-Americans, but he was an expert actor and comic, and taken within the context of what was possible for a black actor in the 1940s his work has tremendous charm and innocence.

Fans of the 20th Century Fox series are likely to find Monogram's Chan a significant disappointment and newcomers who like the Monogram films will probably consider them third-rate after encountering the Fox films. Like other Monogram Chan films, MEETING AT MIDNIGHT is best left to determined collectors. Three stars, and that's being generous.

GFT, Amazon Reviewer

Perhaps the best of the Monogram Chans.

[admjtk1701 · 6/10 · 16 April 2000]

"The Chinese Cat" was the second Chan film made by Monogram and also perhaps their best. It seems to have more life to it and the production values seem better. The story, acting and directing are also inspired, at least by Monogram's standards. Toler is more lively in the lead role, too. There are some fun, atmospheric sequences in a fun house. The working title was "Murder in the Fun House".

Charlie plays Cupid

[Spondonman · 7/10 · 24 July 2005]

The Monogram Chan's, apart from falling production values, were also marked by more and more action scenes with or without cliffhanger music and less on the explanatory dialogue so necessary with the Fox's. With the action came more non-sequiteurs or simply incongruous scenes - in this one take Tommy Chan being beaten to a pulp before his respected father's calm eyes! Great stuff for teenagers in 1944 but surely something of which the Charlie we know should have been thoroughly ashamed?!

Rich amateur chess player murdered six months previously, at the time to the utter bafflement of the police - Charlie has less than two days to research the case and solve it. And does he bring the rather impotent detective and the daughter of the murdered man together, and give the detective a promotion for doing nothing? I ain't saying! The climax in the Fun Two Corridors Cupboard And Room brings a baddies Wild West hideout suspiciously to mind, but what the Heck!

Well made (for Monogram) and enjoyable entry in the series.

"Every time I meet a Chan, I meet trouble."

[classicsoncall · 6/10 · 12 September 2004]

This second Charlie Chan offering from the Monogram Studios is an improvement over "Charlie Chan in the Secret Service". Back again are Sidney Toler in the Chan role, Benson Fong as #3 Son Tommy, and Mantan Moreland as Yellow Cab driver Birmingham Brown. Monogram remained true to the 20th Century Fox sense of continuity from film to film, as Birmingham refers to the last time he met the Chans in the previous movie.

What starts out as an unsolved murder case eventually winds up with two additional corpses. A few elements we haven't seen in prior Chan films occur - Charlie takes one on the chin from one of the baddies, and later gets physical himself, knocking out one of the villains with the butt of a gun. Additionally, Charlie places a bet on the outcome of the case, liking the odds of 10 to 1 given him by the doctor/author who claims to have solved the mystery himself in a book published following the original murder. The ending is rather lame, as son Tommy subdues two bad guys with nothing more than a fire extinguisher; I sure wouldn't want those two in my corner, good or bad!

The title of the film comes from a large statue of a black cat, which conceals a secret compartment with a stolen diamond. All in all, The Chinese Cat is a worthy addition to the Chan series, made more entertaining by the amiable presence of Mantan Moreland.

There's No Bigger Bonehead In This Movie Than Charlie Chan

[MovieGuy-10924 · 6/10 · 31 January 2023]

He finds the Chinese Cat, he finds the famous stolen diamond, then what does Charlie Chan do? He intentionally heads directly over to the murderers' hideout without first calling the police. Why?! What was to be gained? Only so that he could be put in a situation that the would have to escape from.

The rest of the movie had some fun aspects. There were the twins, the Chinese Cat, secret passageways, the wonderfully engaging and extremely personable cab driver, etc., but when Chan starts doing incredibly stupid stuff, then what's the point? Since he and his son can't die, you have to expect some Deus Ex Machina, which comes in the form of all the crooks running out of the room but leaving Chan and his son alone with a gun.

Then running through a funhouse at the end made this more of a Bowery Boys movie than Charlie Chan.

This movie proves the point that if you're going to cut the budget, cut the writing budget last. I can accept poor sets, unknown supporting actors, and other low budget actions, but Charlie Chan doing stupid stuff is something you just can't have.

Six Guilty Parties, Two Killed

[biorngm · 8/10 · 2 July 2018]

Review - Charlie Chan in The Chinese Cat, released 5-20-44 Monogram Pictures Corporation The story begins with a murder we witness as the perpetrator slips through police. The title references a statue atop the desk of the murdered man, with a secret compartment containing a stolen diamond. The murdered man had taken the gem from his partner and was killed as a result of double-crossing the partner. Subsequent killings occur because the victims were going to reveal the guilty party names to authorities. There are multiple guilty members involved in the theft of certain gems, hidden in other artifacts famous for having compartments cleverly made by a friend of Charlie Chan. The famous detective is able to round up all the guilty parties with the help from able bodied assistants Tommy Chan and Birmingham Brown. Greed plays an important factor in the murders and the capture of the guilty. Watch how Charlie moves through the sea of bad characters with help from those he is closest.

A damsel is distress comes to Charlie requesting help in exonerating her widowed mother from the clutches of a crooked step-father and his business partner. A self-appointed criminologist author has accused the widow of a crime without proof, baffling police in the process, and involving a certain Detective whose father Chan had known in another time and city. That certain detective comes to Charlie's rescue at the end of the story to learn how it is done by the best of crime fighters. A large home with a secret panel entrance and a fun house arcade are the two center stages shown in the film, with some hotel action as well. There are six guilty members, two that are killed, involved in the whole plot. See how it all unfolds culminating to be at the fun house with a thorough explanation provided by the master.

Charlie takes it on the chin

[Jim Tritten · 6/10 · 27 December 2020]

Other reviewers have covered this film well enough. I watched this on YouTube in order to finish all the the Chan series - still hunting for four more. I agree, one of the better Monogram films. I can't remember Charlie taking it on the chin in other entries, but I may have just forgotten. There are just enough clues for the very astute watcher to figure out the ending, but not all of the details. They are left for the typical "Charlie Chan" ending where all is revealed. Recommended.

More of a crime movie than a mystery

[gridoon2024 · 5/10 · 12 August 2017]

"The Chinese Cat" opens with a bang (literally), which soon turns into a snooze, as the film plods its way in the typical Monogram fashion. What gives it some distinction is that it plays more like a crime movie (with even Chan himself getting into some physical action) than a mystery, though there is one good clue: the last remaining piece on the chessboard. ** out of 4.

Great fun for Charlie Chan enthusiasts-pure entertainment

[mlraymond · 8/10 · 20 December 2007]

There are so many wonderful bits in this picture that make it a delight to watch. A nervous Birmingham Brown waits outside the deserted fun house in the fog, and turns on the car radio for some music, and instead tunes in an eerie voice advising him to turn the lights out, and laughing maniacally. Later, he runs into the twin brother of a dead criminal and takes him for a ghost. Tommy Chan, Number Three Son, deliberately sabotages the jigsaw puzzle he gave to his father. When Charlie discovers the trick, he warns, " Next time you pull stunt like this, you experience sudden collision in rear end of pants!"

A classic locked room mystery, multiple suspects, a gang of crooks using an abandoned amusement pier for their hideout, smuggled gems, a cryptic doctor who might be involved in the crimes, a love affair, a cat statue that conceals a vital clue, and many more elements are all crammed into a running time of little more than an hour. Corny humor, politically incorrect stereotyping, and cheap sets abound, but these very things are what make the Monogram Chan pictures so much fun to watch. This movie is sheer entertainment from beginning to end.

See man without head..He reminds me of you!

[kapelusznik18 · 5/10 · 27 June 2015]

***SPOILERS*** Charlie Chan's, Sidney Toler, bumbling and skipping classes from UCLA #3 son Tommy, Benson Fong, gets his dad involved in the unsolved murder case of Thomas Manning in promising his step daughter Leah, who mistook him for Charlie, that he'll get on it right away. With tickets for a Cleveland Indian New York Yankee double-header at stake, thats to take place over the weekend at Cleveland's Municipal Stadium, Charlie has to solve the case in 48 hours something the LAPD couldn't do in six months. Which as we on see turns out to be child's play for the great Hawaiian master detective Charlie Chan. It soon turns out that Manning's murder had to do with a stolen jewelry ring that his partner Harvey Dennis, Weldon Hayburn, was involved in. The fact that Charlie took on the case lead to Dennis himself being murdered which lead to a number of major complications.

Charlie also gets himself roughed up by this gang of hoods lead by Bud Kaplan who wanted to get his hands on the diamond shipments that have been hidden, in mostly Chinese novelty shops, all over L.A proper. This lead to not only Dennis' murder but also the person who the police as well as Charlie felt was responsible for it the creepy looking Karl or was it Kurt Karzos, John Davidson. Helping Charlie in this case is the goo-goo eyed and overly hyped up taxi driver Birmingham Brown, Mantan Morland, who's only reason for being there was the $5.00 or better yet, without a tip, $4.80 that he forgot to take from Charlie in him stepping on the gas and taking off with his cab before he could pay him. Who from his previous experience, in Washington D.C, with Charlie wanted nothing to do with his any of his future murder investigations!

***SPOILERS***As complicated as the plot was Charlie in the end, despite a few bumps and bruises, prevails as usual by not only solving Manning's murder but the two other murders, of Dennis & Karzos, that it lead to. Working against the clock with the Yankee-Indian double-header on the line Charlie was at his best in solving this very confusing multi murder case with the local police as usual providing the muscle. With Charlie doing all the brain work and by Charlie's #3 son Tommy by keeping his mouth shut, despite being brutally worked over by Kaplan's hoods, about his dad's plan of action until the police came to their rescue!

Charlie solves an old murder.

[Bernie4444 · 8/10 · 22 October 2023]

Yep, Charlie (Sidney Toler) is on the trail of a cold case murder. His nosing around invokes more murder and mayhem. There is even a closed-room murder. We know how it was done. But the question is why.

There are several overlapping story threads. And the Chinese cat(S) turns out to be sculptures. We get to see Charlie's number three son Tommy (Benson Fong) always putting his foot in his mouth and stumbling into trouble. However, he can be pretty tough when the chips are down. The real comic relief is Birmingham Brown, Taxi Driver (Mantan Moreland.)

Benson Fong was in several Chan's and acted well in over 50 films including Flower Drum Song (1961)

Okay Chan mystery passes quickly

[csteidler · 5/10 · 18 November 2016]

A man playing chess is shot by an unknown hand. The dying man sweeps the chess pieces off the board–but leaves a bishop standing. A clue?

Charlie Chan is eventually recruited to investigate, but he only has 48 hours before leaving town on government business. In that short time, his investigation leads to artsy figurines hidden in bread loaves, and opens secret compartments concealing diamonds in those same figurines.

Sidney Toler is steady as always in this modest Chan mystery. Benson Fong is energetic as son Tommy Chan, and the father-son back-and- forth includes the usual amount of moderately amusing banter:

Tommy Chan: "Pop, I got a case that will knock your hat off." Pop Chan: "Can remove hat without assistance, thank you."

Joan Woodbury is sadly wasted as the murder victim's stepdaughter. You'd think Woodbury would add some zip to a picture like this, but unfortunately she's stuck as a helpless hand-wringer rather than the spunky fast-talker she so often played. However, Woodbury's blandness is nothing compared with that of her detective boyfriend (Weldon Heyburn), who simply has nothing interesting to say or do the whole picture. Poor guy!

Thank goodness for Mantan Moreland, who livens up his scenes as taxi driver Birmingham Brown. Fong is also fun as the number three son (although he sure smiles a lot, even when he's just discovered a dead body).

Overall, it's not much of a plot but the familiar lead characters are always watchable.