*. Or Charlie Chan, Still In the Secret Service, in Mexico City. Mexico being evoked only by a single opening stock-footage shot and the presence of Fortunio Bonanova as a Mexican police inspector who gets to be Charlie’s sidekick. As usual Charlie has Benson Fong as Tommy Chan with him too, but this time Mantan Moreland’s Birmingham Brown has been replaced by Willie Best as Birmingham’s cousin Chattanooga Brown.
*. I don’t know how skilled a comic actor Best, also known as Sleep n’ Eat, was. He is stuck here doing the usual shtick of chasing after girls and being afraid of pretty much everything that moves. “My hair is getting tired,” he says at one point to Tommy, who responds “Your hair?” “Yeah, because for the last ten minutes it’s been standing on end.” Har-har.
*. It’s the usual wartime Charlie Chan plot. A scientist who is working on a new kind of super-atomic bomb using a previously unknown 95th element is killed and his research notes have gone missing. A group of suspects are assembled who are barely differentiated at all. When the killer is finally exposed your reaction is likely to be “Who’s he?”
*. Also following the usual script, especially in these later Chan films, is the killer’s method. “One shot heard, two bullets fired, but not from a gun, how can that be?” That is a puzzler. Indeed, it’s complicated to the point of being nearly impossible to make sense of, and seems like the killer’s plan could hardly manage to go right. You see, there’s a gimcrack device containing exploding bullets that gets surreptitiously placed on the victim and which is then remotely triggered by a wall-mounted relay. Or something like that. I’m honestly not sure how it was supposed to work.
*. There’s nothing good to say about this one. It’s just a dull, confusing mess. I suppose if you’re looking for a highlight it might be Charlie dancing the rumba. He does not dance well, but it’s nearly all this movie has going for it.
-
Follow
Following
Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
Alex on Film 
It’s just constant disappointment now with Chan it seems.
Yep. I think there’s another colourized one coming up. That’s all I’m looking forward to. They’re all bad now.
Right, I’ll need to speak to the social worker in charge here, this calls for an intervention!
These movies were recommended by social services. I get a hot meal if I sit through them.
Did they show you a badge or any ID? Sounds fishy.I’ll need to speak to Mr Trudeau about this…
He’s been in hiding since the the Brits started yelling mean things at him.
I realize you are doing this posterity, or something, but seriously, even you must have a limit of what you can take?
Well, I’m almost done. Don’t want to give up now.
I thought you still had double digits to go?
I think a dozen to go. But considering how far I’ve come . . .
“I am in blood Stepped in so far that should I wade no more. Returning were as tedious as go o’er.”
Gotcha. So you are somewhere in the intestines by now and just want to get pooped out. No point climbing out of the mouth of this beast any more.
Um. Yes. That’s it.
See, when a wordsmith such as myself deals with the issue, it puts a whole new spin on the situation 😀
Boba Fett?
….. is the correct answer!