Charlie Chan's Secret

Warner Oland is Charlie Chan in "Charlie Chan's Secret" from 1936.

Charlie is attempting to ascertain whether a man named Allen Colby is dead or alive. After seven years of being away, he's announced to his family that he is on his way home to claim the family fortune.

However, the ship that he is on sinks near Honolulu, and he is presumed drowned. But is he? Charlie sees in the journal Colby left behind that there have been attempts on his life. He heads for the family mansion.

There he sees the matriarch of the family (Henrietta Crosman) and other family members. Henrietta is involved with a psychic and has séances at her home to connect with her late husband.

During one séance, the body of Allen appears - dead. It's the actual body -- he arrived home, was murdered, and then hidden until the séance. Charlie has to find the killer.

It's not hard to figure out the killer, but that doesn't make the film any less entertaining. Warner Oland was a delightful Chan, cheerful and funny, with more energy than the older Sidney Toler. The rest of the acting, with the exception of Crosman, isn't very good - in fact, it's bad -- but Oland keeps it going.

Some nice spooky elements, some sinister-looking people, and a fun mystery.

From 20th Century-Fox and director Gordon Wiles. Chan (Oland) heads to the mainland from his home turf in Hawaii to help solve the mystery of a missing heir, and he gets wrapped up in the backstabbing of an eccentric, wealthy family involved in seances and other trappings of the paranormal.

Seances, ouija boards, voices from the beyond...it seems if a series goes on long enough, they have to do a spooky/horror entry, and Charlie Chan is no exception. He's dropped into a standard "old dark house" style mystery, with a big spooky house riddled with hidden passages, and a murderer on the loose. The supporting cast is capable if unmemorable. The mystery has enough twists to keep viewers guessing.

Warner Oland in classic mystery set in old house with secret passages. Lots of clues and comic relief done extremely well by Herbert Mundin as butler Baxter. Story has sufficient twists and turns to keep interest and keep ending unpredictable. Chan brings multitude of suspects together in room at end: `Motive for recent murders like tangle of many strings, ends of which held by persons in this room.' Like in most Chan films, the missing clue that cinches the case is not revealed until the guilty party is in custody. Good lighting makes the séance scenes even spookier.' Recommended.

A murder is revealed at a seance. All in attendance had motive and opportunity. There are a lots of nice tricks employed at the seance that Charlie has to figure out. Even after a plethora of red herrings, it still could be anyone when all are assembled in a typical ending in which Charlie pulls a surprise to reveal the criminal. There is no #1 or #2 son here, and Herbert Mundin, as the butler, who stands in for #1 and #2 to provide the laughs, is really annoyingly silly, more in the mode of Mantan Moreland in the later bad Chan films only minus the racism. However, he gives the crusty matriarch of the family a chance to deliver some rib-tickling lines at his expense. Listen for them. Oland is the best of the Chans and performs the role with dignity and some humor. You get the feeling that, although he isn't a Chinese actor, he respects the character. No "Confucius Say" here. I enjoy watching this film now and again and think anyone into old-style mysteries will too.

After many years' absence, Allen Colby is on his way home to reclaim his inheritance. But there seems to be someone who wants to make sure he doesn't make it. There are plenty of suspects - Aunt Henrietta Lowell and the rest of the extended family who have grown accustomed to living off the money, Professor Bowen and Carlotta the medium who stand to benefit greatly from the generosity of Henrietta Lowell, the caretaker Ulrich who blames Colby for his daughter's death, and the family's lawyer Warren Phelps who has enjoyed administering the family's estate. Any one of these people could have it in for Colby. When Colby's lifeless body turns up at a séance, its up to Charlie Chan to find the killer.

I'm not sure how other Chan fans feel about Charlie Chan's Secret, but for me, it's a real winner. It's got everything that I could ask for in one of these movies - Warner Oland at the top of his game, atmosphere, a house full of suspects, mediums and séances, an old house with secret passages, and on and on it goes. What fun! Sure, if you sit and think about the plot too hard, it starts to fall apart. But that's not the way to watch a movie like Charlie Chan's Secret. Just turn your mind off and let it entertain. For me, it's one of the better films in the series.

There are a number of special things or moments or people in Charlie Chan's Secret that I could discuss, but I'll limit this to mentioning Herbert Mundin who plays Baxter, the butler. With no Number 1 son in sight, Mundin essentially plays the role usually reserved for Keye Luke in these early Chan films. And he does so masterfully. His comic bumbling is the perfect counter to the straight-laced Oland. One scene I especially enjoy is when Mundin must cross in front of a window through which a bullet has just passed. It's a small moment, but it's played to perfection. It's a nice performance from a talented actor.