Customer Reviews

Charlie Chan in The Chinese Cat

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Monogram Pictures, one of the smaller Hollywood studios, really tried to make its Charlie Chan mysteries competitive with major-studio product, and this time it worked. "The Chinese Cat" (1944) has everything audiences had come to expect from the series: a capable cast of familiar character actors (Cy kendall, Ian Keith, Joan Woodbury, and at least four favorite serial performers), good direction (by the normally uninspired Phil Rosen), and striking photography (by veteran cameraman Ira Morgan). The story concerns an unsolved murder, and a muck-raking novelist whose latest book hits too close to home. Sidney Toler and Mantan Moreland are always enjoyable, and number-three son Benson Fong has more to do than usual (he defies the criminal mastermind in a memorable scene). Charlie Chan fans will enjoy this; followers of the Monogram corpus will applaud this fine companion piece to "The Shanghai Cobra" and "The Scarlet Clue." This is one "B" that gets a solid "A" for effort.

For some reason, the second Monogram Chan movie is a bit slow moving during the first half of the film. Mantan Moreland's comedy material is not very good this time, but would improve in The Scarlet Clue and The Shanghai Cobra. Chan and Number 3 son Tommy get captured and roughed up this time, unusual in a Chan film. I would call this a middling effort from Monogram. Classic Chan line is "Expert is merely man who make quick decision--and is sometimes right."

THE CHINESE CAT is a surprisingly good war-time film by Monogram. Sidney Toler is back as Charlie and Benson Fong has the role of Tommy Chan. Tommy is Charlie's number three son. Manton Moreland as Birmingham Brown begins the movie as a cab driver and ends up as Charlie's chauffeur. Some of the best scenes take place in a fun house.

A man is working on a chess game. Someone enters and fires two shots; Thomas Manning is found dead in a locked room. There are no clues, and the case is dropped. Miss Manning visits to ask Charlie Chan for help. A novel was written that accuses her mother of the crime. [There are jokes sprinkled in the dialogue for amusement. The prices date this picture.] A telephone call summons Chan to give him information about the murder. But a stranger makes sure he will tell no tales. Detective Dennis shows up, he was trailing Chan. They discover statues hidden away in loaves of bread. Chan talks to Dr. Paul Rechnick about his book Mrs. Manning was alone in the house at the time of the murder. Next they visit the murder room; there is a secret panel and door to another room. Somebody places a bomb in Chan's taxi, but Chan escapes this attempt.

Chan visits Wu San, the artist who created those hidden statues. There are gems hidden inside! When Chan visits Manning's partner they discover new facts. When this man is found dead there are no clues. Somebody uses a poison gas in their hotel room, but it is discovered in time. Three murders by three different methods seems puzzling. But Chan figures out a solution based on the wrong pieces for a jigsaw puzzle. Chan returns to the closed "Fun House" and is found by the criminal gang. After some adventures and threats (more comic than serious) the murders are solved. The last minutes explain the murders. One of the gang tried a double-cross, and this started the reaction.

The first pictures in this series were murder mysteries with some comic or witty remarks. This film has too much comedy to be a murder mystery, and too many murders to be a comedy. Yet the success of this series says they met the needs of the audiences.

Another clever picture with the "hard not to like" Mr. Chan

Charlie Chan and the Chinese Cat was a bit sub-standard production of Monogram Pictures and since it was a later show, probably that's why the predictable script and story. Still, Charlie's sense of humor as acted by Sidney Toler was really well done.

Plot: The story centers around a chess expert who is shot to death in a locked room but has a secret panel. The case remains unsolved for six months! Still, the crooks are about and are not happy that Chan is reopening the case.

As with the earlier Chan tales, we have to have some comic relief at the expense of his Number Three son and his cab driver Buchanan - typical racial stereotypes of the time may offend modern audiences and really there was no need for a sidekick. Apparently Buchanan has been on other adventures with Chan as they seem to know each other well.

While clearing up the family name (the papers think his wife did it) we have lots of driving and investigating and not a lot of action until near the end when the case is solved. The comic relief is rather stupid - there is a twin brother involved, one of whom is dead, and these guys think it's a ghost rather than a twin or a double. Duh!

The Chinese Cat in question was used as a smuggling device, disguising jewel heists, but it was unclear how this was done. Also little statues were also used but again not much info about the crooks or who was involved. The ending was somewhat predictable.
Not the best Chan film, but it was in foggy San Francisco and the editing and music are typical fare for the time. Rental.

I am an advid Charlie Chan fan. I have collected all DVD's except for six that I have been told over and over again that they are considered LOST. I have several DVD's where the quality is not acceptable to me. If you have very good quality for the movies I have listed, I would be interested.
1-Charlie Chan Carries On in "English"
2-Charlie Chan in the "Red Dragon"
3-Charlie Chan in "Sky Dragon" aka "Murder in the Air"
4-Charlie Chan in "The Chinese Ring"
5-Charlie Chan in tht "Docks of New Orleans'
6-Charlie Chan in "The Shanghai Chest"
7-Charlie Chan in "The Golden Eye"
8-Charlie Chan in "The Feathered Serpent"
9-Charli Chan in "Sky Dragon"

If you have any of these in the quality of the movie I purchased I would be interested in buying them.

Benson Fong ("Tommy", #3 son) and Mantan Moreland ("Birmingham Brown") return.
Thomas Manning (Sam Flint) has been shot in his study, but by whom? The door is locked. We see their is a hidden panel in the wall that was opened. Upstairs at the time of the murder is Mrs. Manning (Betty Blythe). Leah (Joan Woodward) is concerned about the door being locked and Thomas not answering. Mrs. Manning shows Leah and Carolina the maid a secret way to get into the study from upstairs. They make it into the study by the secret passageway. They discover Mr. Manning dead.
Leah asks Charlie Chan (Sidney Tolar) to solve the case. He only has 48 hours.

Also in the cast: Ian Keith, Cy Keendall, Anthony Wade, John Davidson, Dewey Robinson, Luke Chan.

The black woman who played "Carolina" was not given credit.

Running time: 65 minutes.

Sidney Tolar in his 13th appearance as "Charlie Chan".

Next mystery: Charlie Chan in Meeting at Midnight (1944). Also known as Charlie Chan in Black Magic (1944).

This was as good as I remembered from childhood, maybe even better I appreciate it more now. This should be on a classic list...very funny!

These Sidney Toler "Monogram" Chan films, the last in the series, don't measure up to Warner Oland's earlier efforts but they are still very entertaining to me. Even with Mantan Moreland, who probably offends the sensibilities of a lot of people with his scared black-man routine. I can see where that's offensive, but if you just take him as a comedian and let it go, you can enjoy and even laugh with him.

The only thing I did NOT find amusing in here, but I normally do, is Charlie's insults to his kid. In this film, Tolder insults "Number Three Son" (Benson Fong) so many times that it borders on downright mean-spiritedness.

Anyway, it was still a "decent" combination of mystery and comedy and the ending was cool, with Chan and his assistants chasing the bad guys around a "fun house." All the Charlie Chan movies are entertaining.