THE FLAME

John Carroll and Vera Ralston

THE FLAME (1947). Director: John H. Auer. Colorized. 

George MacAllister (John Carroll of Zorro Rides Again) is in love with a nurse named Carlotta (Vera Ralston), who happens to be looking after George's supposedly dying brother, Barry (Robert Paige of Hellzapoppin). Carlotta marries Barry with the full approval of George, who is hoping to wrest his brother's fortune away from him. Complicating matters are another gal pal, Helena (Constance Dowling), and a guy with a big crush on her, Ernie (Broderick Crawford of All the King's Men). Then there's the termagant Aunt Margaret (Blanche Yurka), who casts a dim eye on Carlotta and Barry's marriage. Which of the two brothers will Carlotta ultimately wind up with, and which will be alive at the end? 

Robert Paige and Ralston

The Flame is an interesting if flawed bit of film noir from Republic Studios starring Ralston, the wife of the studio head. She seems to give a more convincing performance in this than in other films, although she'll never be seen as another Barbara Stanwyck. Carroll is excellent, however; Paige is somewhat less notable but good enough, Yurka scores as the aunt, and Crawford and Dowling nearly walk off with the movie. Crawford proves that there's much more to him than Highway Patrol, and Dowling does a snappy and sexy song and dance number in a nightclub. The generally unpredictable film keeps throwing curveballs at the viewer when it comes to the inter-relationships of the characters. Victor Sen Yung is a breath of fresh air and is very effective as George's manservant, Chang. There's also good work from Henry Travers as a doctor and Hattie McDaniel as a cheerful domestic. Reggie Lanning's cinematography and Heinz Roemheld's score are added attractions. It is never specified exactly what is wrong with Barry and he never seems to be "dying" or even ill. Much of the story takes place at Manhattan's tony Hampshire House on Central Park West, which is still standing today. 

Verdict: Some more character development might have helped, but this is intriguing enough in its own way. **3/4. 

FORBIDDEN

FORBIDDEN (1953). Director: Rudolph Mate.

"There isn't one thing about you that I've ever forgotten."

In post-WW2 Macao, Eddie Darrow (Tony Curtis) comes looking for his lost lady love, Christine (Joanna Dru). A bitter Darrow is being paid money to bring Christine, who is the widow of a notorious gangster, back to the United States to help with a deal for one of her late husband's associates, but the truth is that she knows too much. Darrow comes to the aid of nightclub-casino owner Justin Keit (Lyle Bettger), who is assaulted in the street, and winds up staying in his home, ultimately learning that Christine is Keit's fiance. With Keit and his men on one side, and her husband's associates on the other, will Eddie and Christine live long enough to enjoy their rekindled romance? Forbidden takes all of the stock elements from much better pictures, tosses them around, and comes up with a brisk, entertaining, but forgettable romantic adventure. The performances are all good, with Curtis' dead-commonness not getting in the way of his characterization (such as it is); Dru attractive if a bit tame as the femme fatale; and Bettger [The Sea Chase] walking off with the movie as her dangerous fiance. Victor Sen Yung [Charlie Chan in Honolulu] gets to play two stereotypes: the inscrutable Oriental coming out with pithy sayings, and the philosophizing piano player. Arguably Curtis' best performance was in Sweet Smell of Success. Not to be confused with Macao.

Verdict: Call this Gilda once over lightly. **1/2.

THE BREAKING POINT

Patricia Neal and John Garfield

THE BREAKING POINT (1950). Director: Michael Curtiz.

"A man alone ain't got no chance."

NOTE: Some plot points are revealed in this review.

Harry Morgan (John Garfield) is married to a loving wife named Lucy (Phyllis Thaxter) and has two adorable little girls. Harry is trying his best to keep his charter fishing business afloat, but it doesn't help when one client takes off and stiffs him, leaving behind his girlfriend of the moment, Leona (Patricia Neal). Harry resists Leona's charms, but he can't resist getting into criminal activity to pay his bills, and after an interlude with some smuggled Chinese, winds up using his boat as a getaway in a robbery. But will anybody get away with anything? The Breaking Point is the second (and apparently more faithful) version of Hemingway's To Have and Have Not, and for much of its length plays like gritty if meandering film noir. Patricia Neal makes the most of her few scenes, but she seems thrown in for little purpose except to test the anti-hero's resolve -- at least one scene seems completely contrived. Garfield is good, while Thaxter perhaps underplays too much as his wife. Wallace Ford [The Mummy's Hand] is memorable as a slimy lawyer who offers Harry less kosher jobs when he needs the money, and Victor Sen Yung [Charlie Chan in Honolulu], formerly one of Charlie Chan's sons, scores in a sinister role as a man smuggling his fellow Chinese but who doesn't give a damn about them. One of the most notable performances comes from William Campbell [Dementia 13] as a smart-talkin' hood with an itchy trigger finger. Juano Hernandez is also fine as Wes, Harry's ill-fated deck hand who tries to keep his boss and friend out of trouble to his ultimate regret. The final shot of the film, showing Wes's little boy all alone on the dock wondering where his father is, is absolutely heart-breaking, reminding the audience of the tragic cost of  Harry's actions. It is an unusual way to end the film, as generally the lives and deaths of supporting (especially minority) characters were forgotten by the closing credits. The Breaking Point is imperfect, but it may be the best adaptation of Hemingway ever. Superior cinematography from Ted D. McCord. Composer Max Steiner was clearly not allowed to break out all the stops but he should have been.

Verdict: Absorbing, generally well-acted melodrama with an extra layer of depth. ***.

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. **.

SHANGHAI CHEST

Parsons, Sen Yung, Moreland and Winters

SHANGHAI CHEST (1948). Director: William Beaudine.

Judge Armstrong (Pierre Watkin) is stabbed in his study by a shadowy figure. More murders follow, but what is odd is that the fingerprints of an executed man keep showing up at the crime scenes. Charlie Chan (Roland Winters) is on the case! Suspects and others include the judge's secretary, Phyllis (Deannie Best); the butler, Bates (Olaf Hytten); Armstrong's nephew, Victor (John Alvin); the lawyer Seward (Tristram Coffin); and Walter Somervale (Erville Alderson). Birmingham Brown (Mantan Moreland), Charlie's chauffeur, and his son, Tommy (Victor Sen Yung/Young), get involved in the action [such as it is] along with Lt. Mike Ruark (Tim Ryan of Who's Guilty?). There's also a snarky funeral director played by the ever type-cast Milton Parsons. This is a mediocre mystery, but as usual the darn thing is nevertheless entertaining. Aside from the regulars, the supporting cast in this is especially obscure.

Verdict: Chan soldiering on. **1/2.

THE GOLDEN EYE

Mantan Moreland as Birmingham Brown

THE GOLDEN EYE (1948). Director: Willam Beaudine.

Someone takes a shot at Manning (Forrest Taylor of Manhunt of Mystery Island), an old friend of Charlie Chan's (Roland Winters), and realizes that his life is in deadly danger [uh oh!]. With Birmingham (Mantan Moreland) and Tommy Chan (Victor Sen Yung/Young) in tow, Chan goes out to a ranch and the adjacent Golden Eye mine near Mexico, which is inexplicably producing much more of the golden nuggets than expected. Bandaged like a mummy, Manning, who had an "accident" in the mine, is guarded over by a sinister nun (Evelyn Brent). Lt. Mike Ruark (Tim Ryan) pretends to be a dissipated playboy drunk so he can investigate things in secret. Other suspects and characters include Manning's daughter, Evelyn (Wanda McKay of The Monster Maker); her boyfriend, Talbott (Bruce Kellogg); grave Dr. Graves (Sam Flint); foreman Driscoll (Ralph Dunn of Confessions of Boston Blackie); and his wife, Margaret (Lois Austin). There's a gang with guns who are involved in gold smuggling and a brief cat fight with a "nun," Birminghman and Tommy are still amusing, but this is distinctly minor-league Chan. Tim Ryan really scores in his expert and entertaining drunk act.

Verdict: Only for devotees. **.

THE FEATHERED SERPENT

Keye Luke, Victor Sen Yung and Mantan Moreland

THE FEATHERED SERPENT (1948). Director: William Beaudine.

Charlie Chan (Roland Winters) and both of his sons, Lee (Keye Luke of The Green Hornet) and Tommy (Victor Sen Yung) -- their first time together in any Chan movie -- are down in San Pablo, Mexico with chauffeur Birmingham Brown (Mantan Moreland). Two professors who were searching for the "ancient Aztec Temple of the Sun" have disappeared, but one of them, Scott (Erville Alderson), staggers out of the desert only to be murdered. This entry starts out well, but soon deteriorates into tedium despite hidden chambers in the temple, another murder, and the like. The biggest problem with The Feathered Serpent is that the identity of the mastermind behind the plot is revealed about halfway through the movie, dissipating all possibility of suspense. [The unmasking of an additional killer at the very end is too little, too late.] Carol Forman of The Black Widow is criminally under-utilized. Nils Asther [The Man in Half Moon Street] and John Livingstone play two younger professors. Beverly Jons is the nominal heroine and makes little impression. Keye Luke as Lee Chan had not been seen in a Charlie Chan picture for eleven years.

Verdict: Not much of a mystery. *1/2.

CHARLIE CHAN IN RIO

Victor Sen Yung, Harold Huber, and Sidney Toler

CHARLIE CHAN IN RIO (1941). Director: Harry Lachman.

Charlie Chan (Sidney Toler) and his irrepressible son, Jimmy (Victor Sen Yung), have come to Rio where Charlie plans to arrest a woman from Honolulu who is wanted for murder; meanwhile Jimmy hopes to learn the mambo either from singer Lola Dean (Jacqueline Dalya) or her cute maid, Lili (Iris Wong). Alas, Lola is the woman wanted for murder, but she herself is killed before Charlie can put the cuffs on her. Suspects include Lola's baffled fiance, Clark (uncredited); Morana, the Indian mystic (Victor Jory of Cat-Women of the Moon); Ken Reynolds (a strangely unrecognizable Richard Derr of The Invisible Avenger); his wife, Joan (Mary Beth Hughes of Rockin' in the Rockies); friend Bill Kellogg (Hamilton MacFadden); the bitter Grace (Cobina Wright Jr.); Lola's efficient secretary, Helen (Kay Linaker); and even the butler, Rice (Leslie Denison). This is an entertaining mystery, but it lacks the tension and suspense of superior entries in the series. The acting is generally good, however, with Toler and Sen Yung in fine form. Harold Huber once again plays a police inspector, but is more relaxed and appealing than usual. Kay Linaker and Iris Wong were also in previous Chan pictures. Truman Bradley, who was in the last entry Dead Men Tell, is listed in the cast but I couldn't spot him in this and can't even remember the character!

Verdict: Acceptable Chan vehicle. **1/2.

CASTLE IN THE DESERT

CASTLE IN THE DESERT (1942). Director: Harry Lachman.

Charlie Chan (Sidney Toler) receives a note from a woman named Lucy Manderley (Lenita Lane of The Bat) that asks him to come immediately to her castle located in the Mojave Desert in California. Once he arrives, Charlie learns that Lucy never sent the note, but there has apparently already been one murder. Lucy is a descendant of the notorious Lucrezia Borgia, and when a victim or two winds up poisoned, naturally suspicion falls upon her. But there are other suspects: Carl Detheridge (Richard Derr of When Worlds Collide), who worked with Charlie on a previous case; Lucy's husband (Douglass Dumbrille of Alimony), half of whose face is hidden due to a scar; sculptor Watson King (Henry Daniell), who wants to do a bust of Lucy; cadaverous Arthur Fletcher (Milton Parsons), who has a few secrets; the weird fortune teller Madame Saturnia (Ethel Griffies); and others. As the deaths occur, Charlie and the others, including son Jimmy (Victor Sen Yung), are trapped in the castle without a car or a telephone. There's an apothecary in the basement that contains numerous poisons as well as a torture chamber. Castle in the Desert gets a little silly at times, but it has a good story and is well acted by the principals. Derr and Griffies appeared in previous Chan films but played different characters. This was the last Charlie Chan film produced by Twentieth Century-Fox.

Verdict: Good fun in a creepy castle. ***.

SHADOWS OVER CHINATOWN

Mantan Moreland and Sidney Toler

SHADOWS OVER CHINATOWN (1946). Director: Terry O. Morse.

There's thirteen people on a bus driving through a rain storm to San Francisco, where passenger Charlie Chan (Sidney Toler) hopes to find the identity of a torso murderer. At a way station, someone takes a shot at Charlie. Does the body of a dismembered woman belong to a missing heiress, or the grand-daughter (Tanis Chandler) of Mrs. Conover (Mary Gordon of Bonnie Scotland)? While Charlie investigates -- with the help of Jimmy Chan (Victor Sen Yung back as Number Two Son); chauffeur Birmingham Brown (Mantan Moreland), and Chief Lannigan (George Eldredge) -- there are more murders and a lot of confusion. Suspects include pickpocket Cosgrove (Jack Norton); private eye Hay (John Gallaudet); crook Mike Rogan (Paul Bryar); Marine colonel Tilford (Bruce Kellogg); and others. Shadows Over Chinatown has a basically good story and is quite entertaining, but there are some gaping holes in the plot. Who exactly took that shot at Charlie? How did Mrs. Conover's friend Miss Johnson (Myra McKinney) manage to locate her grand-daughter's apartment when only a short while before Charlie discovered the young woman working as a waitress? Who knows? The identity of the killer in this is no great surprise, but the film is still fun. Terry Morse also directed Unknown World with Bruce Kellogg, who was equally mediocre in both movies. 71-year-old Toler made two more appearances as Charlie Chan that year before his death in 1947. An interesting prologue deals with the Department of Missing Persons.

Verdict: Chan is not missing in this even if some of the script is. ***.

DEAD MEN TELL

Truman Bradley as the mysterious Captain Kane

DEAD MEN TELL (1941). Director: Harry Lachman.

Charlie Chan (Sidney Toler) is invited to participate in a treasure hunt for sixty million dollars on Coco's Island, a hunt presided over by the elderly Patience Nodbury (Ethel Griffies). Poor Patience is found dead on the docked ship, the Suva Star, whose Captain Kane (Truman Bradley of The Night Before the Divorce) does his best to keep out of sight as the other passengers embark. Tales of a pirate's ghost give Jimmy Chan (Victor Sen Yung) the willies when an unknown peg-legged man goes about causing mischief. Other suspects besides the captain include prison escapee Lydig (George Reeves); pretty typist Kate (Sheila Ryan of Great Guns); the weird Gene LaFarge (the ever-cadaverous Milton Parsons); perky Laura Thursday (Kay Aldridge); and Dr. Bonney (Lenita Lane of The Mad Magician); among others. If there's any problem with Dead Men Tell it's that the ship never leaves the dock and there's no action on the aforementioned island at all. Still, this has interesting aspects and is well-acted by everyone. Ethel Griffies [Vigil in the Night] is the cast stand-out even if she isn't around too long. As a running gag, Jimmy falls into the water perhaps once too often.

Verdict: More Jimmy hijinks with "Pop." **1/2.

MURDER OVER NEW YORK

Ricardo Cortez, Victor Sen Yung and Sidney Toler

MURDER OVER NEW YORK (1940). Director: Harry Lachman.

When Hugh Drake (Frederick Worlock), formerly of Scotland Yard and now with Military Intelligence, is found dead of gas poisoning, Charlie Chan (Sidney Toler) goes into [relative] action, while son Jimmy (Victor Sen Yung) kibbitzes. A strange man named Paul Narvo is involved in the murder plot, but even his wife, Pat (Marjorie Weaver of The Great Alaskan Mystery) -- from whom she ran away -- doesn't know who or where he is. Suspects and other characters include the butler Boggs (Leyland Hodgson); Inspector Vance (Donald MacBride); Drake's friend, Kirby (Ricardo Cortez); stockbroker Richard Jeffery (John Sutton); David Elliot (Robert Lowery), special friend of Pat's; the obnoxious Britisher Herbert Fenton (Melville Cooper); and Ralph Percy (Kane Richmond); who is involved with experimental aircraft that may be subject to sabotage. Junior Coghlan [The Adventures of Captain Marvel] has a nice bit as a club employee who helps Chan, and Shemp Howard [Brideless Groom] has an amusing turn as Shorty, who pretends to be the "Great Rashid." The exciting climax has many of the characters in a death-trap on a plane miles high in the air. With Richmond, Lowery, and Cortez in the cast -- as they were in many other Charlie Chan films -- this practically comprises the Charlie Chan Stock Company.

Verdict: Death-traps are always fun! ***.

CHARLIE CHAN AT THE WAX MUSEUM

Victor Sen Yung and Sidney Toler

CHARLIE CHAN AT THE WAX MUSEUM (1940). Director: Lynn Shores.

Convicted criminal Steve McBirney (Marc Lawrence of Jigsaw) manages to escape from the court room, where he makes his way to a wax museum run by crazy Dr. Cream (C. Henry Gordon). With plans to dispose of him, Cream invites Charlie Chan (Sidney Toler) to participate in a radio program of unsolved cases wherein Chan and Dr. Von Brom (Michael Visaroff) will try to determine if a man named Rocke was wrongly executed years ago. Naturally the program is to be broadcast from the wax museum, where son Jimmy (Victor Sen Yung), who faints more than once, keeps confusing his real father with the wax duplicate. Then someone turns up dead, killed by a poison dart. Suspects, besides McBirney and Cream, include reporter Mary Bolton (Marguerite Chapman of Man Bait); lawyer Carter Lane (Archie Twitchell); old caretaker Willie (Charles Wagenheim of Meet Boston Blackie); engineer Edwards (Harold Goodwin); radio man Agnew (Ted Osborne); Lily Lattimer (Joan Valerie); and the creepy Mrs. Rocke (Hilda Vaughn). This is an entertaining but somewhat oddball Charlie Chan movie with confusing elements that don't quite jell, and the fact that most of it takes place in one closed-in setting doesn't help much, either. Still, it's fun.

Verdict: Charlie and Jimmy among the cobwebs. **1/2.

CHARLIE CHAN IN PANAMA

Kane Richmond and Jean Rogers

CHARLIE CHAN IN PANAMA (1940). Director: Norman Foster. 

Charlie (Sidey Toler) and number two son (Victor Sen Yung) are in Panama, which is a nest of secret agents. A man is about to tell Charlie (who is in disguise as hat seller Fu Yen) the true identity of the spy named "Reiner," when this contact suddenly dies from smoking a poisoned cigarette. Charlie learns that the mysterious Reiner is out to sabotage the fleet going through the Panama canal. Suspects include Dr. Grosser (Lionel Royce), who keeps plague-carrying rats; Richard Cabot (Kane Richmond), who works in the nearby plant; Kathi Lenesch (Jean Rogers of Secret Agent X-9),  a dancer who catches Cabot's eye; Manolo (Jack La Rue of The Story of Temple Drake), who owns the club where Kathi dances; the somehow- sinister Compton (Lionel Atwill of The Devil is a Woman); school teacher Jennie Finch (Mary Nash); and others. There's a creepy scene in a cemetery with a dank tomb and a hidden room, and the climax has all of the suspects held captive by a bomb about to go off. 

Verdict: Lots of fun. ***. 

THE GROOM WORE SPURS

Joan Davis and Ginger Rogers

THE GROOM WORE SPURS (1951). Director: Richard Whorf.

Cowboy star Ben Castle (Jack Carson) owes 60,000 dollars to a gambler named Harry (Stanley Ridges of Black Friday), so attorney Abigail (Ginger Rogers) tries his best to make a settlement. Ben winds up getting married to Abigail, but he fears it's all just part of the deal. Later there's a murder and an unfunny business with a plane going out of control on the runway. In the meantime, most of the minimal laughs have to do with Alice (Joan Davis), who wears a short chic hairstyle and thinks Abby is a little nuts. Carson and Rogers are adept, Davis is as lively as ever, but the script is pretty bad. James Brown is a pilot named Steve who would probably make a better match than lunkhead Carson, and Ross Hunter [All I Desire] is Austin Tindale, a banker who seems to have a hankering for Alice. Mira McKinney [Young Fugitives] is fun as a termagant cook, as is Victor Sen Young as Carson's butler, although he's unfortunately asked to speak fractured Chinese.

Verdict: Davis deserves much better, which is usually the case. **.

CHARLIE CHAN IN RENO

Cute couple: [Victor] Sen Yung and Iris Wong

CHARLIE CHAN IN RENO (1939). Director: Norman Foster.

Charlie Chan (Sidney Toler) arrives in "the biggest little city in the world" after a hateful woman named Jeanne Bently (Louise Henry) is murdered in a hotel occupied by ladies awaiting their divorces. Sheriff Fletcher (Slim Summerville) is convinced that the culprit is Mary Whitman (Pauline Moore), whose husband, Curtis (Kane Richmond) ,was dumping her for Jeanne; Curtis knows Charlie and importunes him to intervene. Suspects and others involved in the case include Mrs. Russell (Kay Linaker), who owns the hotel; Dr. Ainsley (Ricardo Cortez of The Big Shakedown), who is the hotel's doctor; Wally Burke (Robert Lowery), who was jilted by Jeanne; Chief of Police King (Charles D. Brown); Vivian Wells (Phyllis Brooks), who despised Jeanne; a talkative cab driver (Eddie Collins); and the victim's ex-husband, Bently (Morgan Conway of Dick Tracy), who is hiding out in a ghost town. Meanwhile number two son Jimmy (Victor Yen Sung) is investigating/screwing up with the help of the dead woman's pretty maid Choy (Iris Wong). Toler, Yung and most of the cast are very adept, Summerville is terrific, and the movie is fun, if not necessarily one of the better Chan mysteries. This was followed by the excellent Charlie Chan at Treasure Island.

Verdict: Chan and company always amuse. **1/2.

CHARLIE CHAN IN HONOLULU

 [Victor] Sen Yung and Sidney Toler

CHARLIE CHAN IN HONOLULU (1938). Director: H. Bruce Humberstone.

"What a wonderful gift for science your brain would make, Mr. Chan." -- Dr. Cardigan

"I prefer to keep it for myself." -- Charlie Chan

Back home in Honolulu with his very large family, Charlie Chan (Sidney Toler) is awaiting the birth of his first grandchild. His oldest son, Lee, has gone to New York to study art [!] and his love of mystery-solving has been passed on to brother Jimmy (Victor Sen Yung), not to mention little Tommy (Layne Tom Jr). When a murder occurs on a freighter with passengers, these two set off to solve it while Papa is at the hospital; eventually Charlie takes over. Suspects and other characters include secretary Judy Hayes (Phyllis Brooks of The Shanghai Gesture), a witness to the crime; seaman Randolph (John King), who has special feelings for Judy; Carol Wayne (Claire Dodd of Babbitt), who is busy keeping secrets; animal trainer, Hogan (Eddie Collins) who is transporting beasts to the San Francisco Zoo and has a pet lion named Oscar; Dr. Cardigan (George Zucco), who in a weird development keeps a "living brain" in his cabin; Joe Arnold (Richard Lane), a cop who is escorting the prisoner Johnny McCoy (Marc Lawrence); Inspector Rawlins (Paul Harvey), who is Chan's somewhat befuddled boss; and Captain Johnson (Robert Barrat), who only wants everyone to get off of his ship so he can finally set sail with his cargo. Sidney Toler took over the role of Charlie Chan after Warner Oland's death, and he is excellent, if more grandfatherly, which is appropriate as Chan becomes a grandfather in this film [Phlip Ahn plays his son-in-law Wing Foo]. Sen Yung is a memorable addition to the Charlie Chan cast, and has a lot to do in the movie. Charlie Chan films had always had comedy relief, but in this film there is so much humor that it has to be considered a comedy-mystery, and it is very, very funny at times. A notable sequence has Chan testing Cardigan's deafness by throwing a coin on the ground behind him, which Cardigan turns to pick up. "When money talks," says Chan, "few are deaf." Zucco is especially good in this, but the whole cast is on top of things. Cardigan brings up the notion that the retina of the eye retains the image of the last thing the dead person saw a la Four Flies on Grey Velvet, but Chan debunks this theory immediately. ["All I see are reflections of self."] The movie boasts consistently amusing dialogue and has a generous amount of suspense as well.

Verdict: A very auspicious debut for Toler and Sen Yung. ***.

TRADER TOM OF THE CHINA SEAS

Khan (Jan Arvan) confers with Trader Tom ( Harry Lauter)

TRADER TOM OF THE CHINA SEAS (12 chapter Republic serial/1954). Director: Franklin Adreon.

In what is supposed to be the China seas but looks more like the coast of California, Trader Tom (Harry Lauter) is importuned to take over from a murdered special agent, James Dean (William Hudson), who was investigating smugglers who are trying to foment revolution in an Asian country by stirring up the natives; the leader of these bad guys is Tarent (Lyle Talbot, as professional and bland as ever). Captain's daughter Vivian (Aline Towne) joins with Tom to discover Tarent's hide-out and secret cache of munitions, which includes a deadly poison gas. The interesting thing about this serial is that Tom and Vivian are equal partners; she's just as brave as he is and just as likely to pull out a gun and start shooting at everyone, and Tom just seems to take it as a matter of course. When the action doesn't take place at sea or underwater -- in chapter three Tom must fight off a fat murderous fellow as his air supply is running out -- it's in the mythical country where Tom has a secret meeting with the leader Khan (Jan Arvan). This is one of the last of the Republic serials, and it's as smooth, fast-paced and entertaining as most of their product, if decidedly on the minor side. "Handsome" Harry Lauter is fine as the hero, Towne is game for anything, and Robert Shayne, Tom Steele, and Victor Sen Yung are also in the cast. Lauter had about a zillion credits and Towne was also busy, appearing in such serials as Don Daredevil Rides Again and Radar Men from the Moon.

Verdict: Standard Republic serial is nevertheless fun. **1/2.

CHARLIE CHAN'S MURDER CRUISE

Charlie Chan (Toler) meets Ming the Merciless (Middleton)

CHARLIE CHAN'S MURDER CRUISE (1940). Director: Eugene Forde.

When Inspector Duff (Montague Shaw) comes to tell Chan  that he needs his help in finding a strangler who has already claimed several innocent lives, Chan (Sidney Toler) only seems to turn his back for a minute and Duff himself becomes the next victim! Since Duff had narrowed the identity of the mysterious strangler to one of several passengers on a cruise ship, Chan joins the cruise and tries to ferret out who the killer might be. The suspects include: Dr. Suderman (Lionel Atwill), who doesn't seem to hold Chan's abilities in high regard; Susie Watson (Cora Witherspoon of The Bank Dick), a spirited high-society dowager; her playful friend James Ross (Don Beddoe); Professor Gordon (Leo. G. Carroll); wealthy Gerald Pendleton (Leonard Mudie); dreamy Dick Kenyon (Robert Lowery) and his pretty gal, Paula (Marjorie Weaver); the gloomy religious fanatics Mrs. Walters (Claire Du Brey) and her husband (Charles Middleton); and others. Jimmy Chan (Victor Yen Sung) is along for the ride as well. The cast consists of old pros who know just how to play this amusing, suspenseful material. Toler is in top form, Sen Yung as charming as ever, and Atwill, Middleton, Mudie and Witherspoon are all in fine fettle. It's worth the price of admission just for the scene when Toler confronts Middleton and you realize that Chan is having a chat with Ming the Merciless from Flash Gordon! This has a good mystery plot with a few surprises as well.

Verdict: Utterly delightful! ***.

TERRY AND THE PIRATES TV

TERRY AND THE PIRATES TV show. 1952.

This fair-to-middling television show based on Milton Caniff's famous comic strip only lasted for 16 episodes. John Baer is perfect in both good looks and demeanor for Terry Lee, while William Tracy, in an atrocious rug, is also good as his partner, "Hotshot" Charlie. The two fly planes to and from Hong Kong for a shady character named Chopstick Joe (Jack Reitzen). The Dragon Lady, played to perfection by the sexy Gloria Saunders, appeared in almost all of the episodes, and was usually up to some hijinks. Burma (first Mari Blanchard, and then Sandra Spence) appeared with less frequency. The show wasn't terribly riveting -- although cute, appealing Baer and super-slinky Saunders must have had their fans -- but there were a few decent episodes. Pamela Duncan (Attack of the Crab Monsters) appears in "Black Market for Death," in which Terry assumes that the Dragon Lady is behind the theft of an important serum; this one has a good twist at the end. In "Extra Cargo" the boys foil the D L's plot to assassinate a maharajah with a bomb on a plane [Burma is in this episode as well]. The corpse of a wealthy man is held for ransom in "Chinese Coffin" and a boy prince (little Stephen Wong) is kidnapped in "Little Mandarin." "Tea Hee" has an old lady buying a special blend of tea from the Dragon Lady which has valuable jewels hidden inside. Series guest-stars include Tristram Coffin, Lyle Talbot, Phyllis Coates and Victor Sen Yung. Baer also appeared in Night of the Blood Beast. 12 years earlier William Tracy actually played a younger Terry Lee in the Terry and the Pirates serial.

Verdict: Attractive leads certainly don't hurt. **1/2.