PHILO VANCE'S SECRET MISSION

Alan Curtis and Sheila Ryan

PHILO VANCE'S SECRET MISSION (1947). Director: Reginald Le Borg.

Martin Jamison (Paul Maxey of The Sky Dragon), a publisher of lurid horror and mystery pulp magazines, wants to hire Philo Vance (Alan Curtis) to write a story based on a real-life murder case. The victim was the husband of widowed Elizabeth Phillips (Tala Birell), who is working for Jamison and faints when she discovers Vance will be investigating her late spouse's still-unsolved murder. Jamison announces that he already knows who did it -- and is later found dead in the trunk of a car. Aided by Jamison's cover model, Mona Bannister (Sheila Ryan), Vance attempts to discover who killed the late Mr. Phillips as well as Jamison. Other suspects include Paul Morgan (Frank Fenton of Hell Bound), Louise Roberts (Toni Todd of Philo Vance's Gamble), and others who worked for their deceased boss. Philo Vance's Secret Mission is an acceptable lower case mystery with a not-bad plot, even if the solution is somewhat obvious. Curtis makes a handsome and reasonably adept Philo and the others are all okay. Frank Jenks plays Philo's buddy and sort of-partner, Ernie, and James Bell is the sheriff. This is another PRC release.

Verdict: Passable time-passer. **1/2.

THE SKY DRAGON

Roland Winters in the final Chan film

THE SKY DRAGON (1949). Director: Lesley Selander.

In the final Charlie Chan picture (of the series that began with Warner Oland), Chan (Roland Winters) is aboard a plane when the pilot (Milburn Stone), co-pilot (Joel Marston), stewardesses and passengers are all knocked out with drugged coffee. So is a security guard named John Anderson (Paul Maxey) while his associate, Ed Davidson (Lyle Latell), is murdered. Fortunately Lee Chan (Keye Luke) can fly the plane but then a satchel with a quarter of a million dollars in it disappears. The suspects include the aforementioned pilots; the stewardesses Jane (Noel Neill of the Superman serial) and Maria (Elena Verdugo of The Lost Tribe); burlesque queen Wanda LaFern (Iris Adrian of Lady of Burlesque); her friend Andrew Barrett (Lyle Talbot); and others. Birmingham Brown (Mantan Moreland) dallies with Wanda's saucy maid, Lena (Louise Franklin) in a couple of cute sequences, and Eddie Parks makes an amusing Justice of the Peace, Tibbetts. Although the killer in this may be fairly obvious to many, The Sky Dragon is entertaining, has a number of clever aspects, and has a very satisfying and exciting wind-up with everyone back on a plane for the climax.

Verdict: A nice wind-up to the Charlie Chan series. ***.