DOCKS OF NEW ORLEANS

John Gallaudet and Roland Winters

DOCKS OF NEW ORLEANS (1948). Director: Derwin Abrahams.

Simon LaFontanne (Boyd Irwin of The Invisible Killer) comes to Charlie Chan (Roland Winters) for help when he fears for his life. Watch out -- whenever someone comes to Chan or any other Great Fictional Detective afraid they'll be killed, you know their hours are numbered! Sure enough, LaFontanne is killed by poison gas in his own office. Suspects include the bitter chemist Oscar Swenstrom (Harry Hayden); LaFontanne's partners in the chemical syndicate, Von Scherbe (Stanley Andrews) and Castanaro (Emmett Vogan); the officer manager, Thompson (Rory Mallinson); and the mysterious Countess Aguirre (Carol Forman) and her sinister associates, Grock (Douglas Fowler) among them. Chan is assisted in the case by Capt. Pete McNally (John Gallaudet), who is involved with the victim's niece, Rene (Virginia Dale). If there's anything wrong with the film, it's that it's essentially a remake of the first Mr. Wong [!] movie, Mr. Wong, Detective, and even has the same killer [with a minor added twist]. Mantan Moreland and Victor Sen Yung are along for the ride, and we even have Birminghan Brown's cousin, Mobile Jones (Haywood Jones), although their antics are kept to a minimum. Roland Winters seems less Oriental than Toler and Oland, but he's quite effective as Chan. Of the rest of the cast, the best impression is made by Carol Forman of The Black Widow.

Verdict: Okay if it hadn't been recycled. **.

THE INVISIBLE KILLER

THE INVISIBLE KILLER (1939). Director: Sam Newfield.

Lt. Jerry Brown (Roland Drew) and his partner, Pat (William Newell) are called in when a gambler takes a hit from a bullet -- but the gunshot isn't the cause of death. There are other murders as well, and hot on the trail is gal reporter Sue Walker (Grace Bradley), who happens to be engaged to Brown. Other characters include Cunningham (Boyd Irwin), who hates gambling and is horrified to learn that many of the buildings he owns have become gambling dens without his knowledge; his daughter, Gloria (Jean Brooks), whom Sue helps out of more than one jam; District Attorney Sutton (Crane Whitley); and businessman Arthur Enslee (Alex Callam). As the bickering romantic couple, Drew and Bradley are acceptable, personable leads for this cheap PRC release with a no-name cast. Jean Brooks [herein billed as "Jeanne Kelly"] probably made more of an impression in Val Lewton's The Seventh Victim and The Leopard Man but she's fine in this. The Invisible Killer moves fairly fast but works up almost zero suspense as to the identity of the killer or killers.

Verdict: A short programmer you can easily miss. **.