Charlie Chan en el Servicio Secreto

This was Monogram Pictures very first Charlie Chan movie, and for a first attempt you expect better. This is basically a "locked room" mystery with the suspects all in a house and Chan is brought in to find the murderer of an inventor. This was in 1944, World War II was still in full swing and the inventor is a sort of Oppenheimer who is in the process of developing bigger and better bombs. Mantan Moreland is there as comic relief and this is his introduction to the Chan series as Birmingham Brown. The movie is just okay. There is inappropriate and somewhat distracting uses of music here (especially in a scene where Chan is seen merely walking around, getting into a cab and then getting out of the cab and walking into the murder scene mansion..why did they need to add driving, suspenseful music here?). There is a typical suspicious looking cast and the solution will seem, as in many Chan movies, far-fetched, but you go into a Chan Movie almost expecting this. Worth watching if you are a fan of the Chan series, if you are not familiar with the Charlie Chan movies, don't be discouraged if this is your first .. there are much better movies in this series.

A house full of guests is the setting for this mystery story, wherein a scientist is murdered. Charlie Chan (Sidney Toler) investigates, along with his two irksome kids. The wonderful Mantan Moreland plays a bug-eyed Birmingham Brown, a role inserted presumably to add comic relief.

This sixty-three minute film contains about fifty minutes of story. The rest is filler, mostly in the film's first half. The story, about a secret WWII torpedo plan, is simple and direct. It's the kind of film I can envision as being typical for a 1940's Saturday afternoon matinée. There's a stage play quality to it, in that most of the scenes take place in three or four rooms. As with other films in the Chan series, the production design here is minimal and cheap looking. The emphasis is on the whodunit puzzle, but that's what counts most for murder mystery fans.

And the script does provide a good puzzle. The killer is camouflaged amid well thought out red herrings, in a way that makes solving the puzzle not real easy.

For Charlie Chan fans, this is one of the better mysteries in the Monogram series. For everyone else, the film has little or nothing to offer.

I'll say one thing for these Charlie Chan films. There's never a shortage of murder suspects and the clues are always readily apparent to the master sleuth but not to the audience. At least, that's the usual pattern, even when Sidney Toler joined forces with Monogram for several B-picture entries in the series.

CHARLIE CHAN IN THE SECRET SERVICE follows the pattern precisely, even giving us a final gathering of suspects from which to venture our own guess as to the identity of the murderer. As usual, it's at your own risk for it seldom turns out to be the most obvious.

Once again, Toler plays it close to the vest without giving the audience much of a hint as to which suspect he's onto. The story gets off to a fast start with the murder of an inventor of a torpedo plan murdered in his own home being guarded by secret service bodyguards.

Chan gets the call to solve the case and discovers that the inventor's plans are missing. "No one leaves until case ends satisfactorily," he tells the police. Chan is soon joined by two of his eldest children, who are no help at all in solving the crime. Nor is MANTAN MORELAND as Birmingham Brown, wild-eyed with fear as still another murder occurs.

The explanations are strictly a wild concoction by the screenwriter who has left no stone unturned to make sure that the old cliché about "the least obvious suspect" is once again a truism.

Summing up: Good for a few chuckles, but it doesn't play fair with the clues.

After a two year hiatus, the Charlie Chan series moved over to Monogram from 20th Century Fox and the production values dropped accordingly. Continuing as Charlie Chan was Sidney Toler who with one exception would confine his thespian activities to playing the shrewd Oriental detective who spoke in fortune cookie aphorisms. Assisting Charlie in a manner of speaking are two offspring Benson Fong as number 2 son Tommy and Marianne Quon as number 1 daughter.

Charlie Chan In The Secret Service, the title does say it all. Charlie is called in as a consultant on a murder case by the Secret Service which was guarding a scientist/socialite who worked at home upstairs and threw parties downstairs. At one of those parties he winds up quite dead with no outward appearance of homicide. He also would not allow any bodyguards inside the house. That was a bit much, the President of the United States can't override their presence much less a scientist.

Toler deduces first that it was a murder, second the method used, and lastly who did it. Then his culprit also is killed with a silent gunshot and Charlie then has to find the accomplice.

This was one of the only Chans at least in the Monogram films that had a wartime related plot to it. Amazing how many foreign nationals could get close to a scientist working on a government project with no kind of clearance.

The film has one very large red herring as the plot lets you in on a secret one of the suspects has. Because the secret is divulged early you know this can't be the culprit. The real culprit will surprise you though.

The character of Birmingham Brown is introduced who in two films later would wind up employed as the Chan family chauffeur. For now he's the chauffeur of one of the invited guests and apparently Toler deduced early on he wasn't the murderer because he gets in on the investigation, albeit reluctantly with the Chan kids.

A lot of plot holes, typical of a Monogram Picture are in this one. But I did like the ending.

Good WWII concept for a mystery story and the script is not bad except for a bit of routine mystery-movie padding typical of the era. This film is crisply and professionally edited, better than most low-budget films. And there are a few surprisingly good cinematography highlights.

The discount supporting cast does a good job although you may not recognize some of them, and you will notice that Sarah Edwards develops a watchable odd character who has custody of all the keys to the house. Mantan Morland has some poorly written throw-away dialog but his comedy timing is perfection and his performance is very polished as he does a great job.

Sidney Toler gives us a first rate Charlie Chan. The remarkable 70-year old is vigorous, keeping the proceedings moving as he strides briskly and confidently through all the scenes.

Moves at a good pace and held my attention throughout. What more can you ask for in a murder mystery?