Charlie Chan (Sidney Toler) is on two cases at once in "Shadows Over Chinatown", one is business, the other personal. The trail of the two investigations converge when it's learned that the missing person he is trying to locate once worked with the murder victim. Overshadowing the entire plot is an insurance fraud scheme involving the principals of an escort service.
In typical Monogram fashion, the story reveals a few interesting leads that go nowhere, such as the unlucky number thirteen, the number of people on a bus headed to San Francisco with Chan's party aboard. Charlie also exposes a pickpocket without revealing his identity to the rest of those on board, a ruse that works to his advantage later in the film.
We haven't seen Victor Sen Yung since the 20th Century Fox Series of Charlie Chan films, but he's back in this one as Number #2 Son Jimmy, along with chauffeur Birmingham Brown (Mantan Moreland). Moreland's screen time and comfort level progressed through the first few Monogram films, but here it seems like he's back to square one with a reduced role and not much to do except keep Jimmy company. He does get a good line in at one point when an unconscious Jimmy falls out of a closet - "Every time I open a door a dead body drops out".
The pieces of the puzzle eventually come together when a phony private detective is revealed to be in on the insurance scam with the head of the escort service. Chan enlists the aid of his missing person target, Mary Conover (Tanis Chandler), who agrees to seek her former job back at the agency. It's wrapped up pretty quickly, with Mary successfully reuniting with her boyfriend and grandmother.
In typical Monogram fashion, the story reveals a few interesting leads that go nowhere, such as the unlucky number thirteen, the number of people on a bus headed to San Francisco with Chan's party aboard. Charlie also exposes a pickpocket without revealing his identity to the rest of those on board, a ruse that works to his advantage later in the film.
We haven't seen Victor Sen Yung since the 20th Century Fox Series of Charlie Chan films, but he's back in this one as Number #2 Son Jimmy, along with chauffeur Birmingham Brown (Mantan Moreland). Moreland's screen time and comfort level progressed through the first few Monogram films, but here it seems like he's back to square one with a reduced role and not much to do except keep Jimmy company. He does get a good line in at one point when an unconscious Jimmy falls out of a closet - "Every time I open a door a dead body drops out".
The pieces of the puzzle eventually come together when a phony private detective is revealed to be in on the insurance scam with the head of the escort service. Chan enlists the aid of his missing person target, Mary Conover (Tanis Chandler), who agrees to seek her former job back at the agency. It's wrapped up pretty quickly, with Mary successfully reuniting with her boyfriend and grandmother.