I realize that there are many Charlie Chan fans who will rate this higher then my low rating (generous) 5 of 10. However, I was not a fan of this film. I like the distinctive detective character format and have watched it up until the 1970's shows with the various detectives like Cannon and Barnaby Jones, going back to the 30's to 50's I enjoy series like The Falcon, The Lone Wolf, Bulldog Drummond, Boston Blackie, Charlie Chan, Sherlock Holmes, and have watched some CC before but this was probably the first time I watched one with my wife. We had just watched "Shanghai Express" which has Oland in it and I thought this would be a neat double feature since Oland was pretty awesome in that 1932 action pic with Marlene Dietrich, a fairly ruthless half breed white/Chinese rebel military leader who also acts as a spy. I did not know this was his last entry in the series, I was drawn to the Monte Carlo aspect as I always joked with my wife about how we went to Monte Carlo (as part of a 2 hour cruise tour, lol), and we had binged watched some films set in 1930's French Riviera (Travels With My Aunt, awesome film), so Monte Carlo sounded like fun! Unfortunately I could tell right away that there would be zero Monte Carlo in the film when the title credits of Monte Carlo were a matte painting. Being in a "European" location also meant that there were a lot of American actors faking French accents, along with Oland doing Chan's accent! My hearing isn't the best so that detracted from it a bit, plus imagine playing this for someone who's not a die hard fan already, it wasn't much fun. The plot was gruesome as well, I was happy to see it end, and actually got a good laugh from it the way they did it, possibly from relief, but it wasn't something I expected to happen so it was humorous. Do not watch this as your first entry to the series, or to see Oland at his best, 5 of 10. Do watch Shanghai Express, I gave that a 10!

Charlie Chan (Warner Oland) and son Lee (Keye Luke)are in Monte Carlo for an art show but of course you know that somehow they are going to get mixed up in a murder or two. An oddity of this film is the extensive use of French without benefit of sub-titles.Victor Karnoff (Sidney Blackmer) and Paul Savarin (Edward Raquello) are rival financiers who are out to destroy each other. When Karnoff sends his courier to Paris with one million in metallurgy bonds, both the courier and Karnoff's chauffeur are murdered. After a harrowing ride with Louis Mercer and his taxi, Charlie and No. 1 son discover the crime and see Evelyn Grey's car driving away from the scene. Prefect of Police Joubert (Harold Huber, who could speak French fluently) leans on Charlie for his advice and assistance.We learn along the way that Evelyn although seemingly in love with Karnoff's secretary (Gordon Chase) she really is using the relationship to convey valuable information to Karnoff's rival Savarin. Meanwhile Karnoff's wife Joan is being blackmailed by sleazy bartender Al Rogers (George Lynn) over their previous relationship. Then Rogers is murdered and .............................................This film marked Warner Oland's final appearance as Chan. He had had a serious drinking problem that had become worse. His wife had divorced him in 1937 and he developed severe emotional problems. He walked off of the set of what was to be the next Chan feature and disappeared. He returned to his native Sweden where he appeared to have regained his health but developed pneumonia and died in early 1938.Although the series would continue with Sidney Toler as Chan, the Chans were never quite the same without Warner Oland.

Contrary to many of the reviews, I think this is one of the best Charlie Chan movies and one of my my personal favorites. It's wonderfully escapist, taking place as it does, in a fabled location over 70 years ago.The plot is a bit more sophisticated than many of the Chan films - no cigarettes that cause one to drop dead after one puff or poison gasses fabricated by Hollywood writers. The plot remains true to reality as valuable bonds pass from one set of slippery hands to another causing the murder of two people.The production is stylish and most of the actors do a great job. The hyperactive, super energetic #1 son is only minimally so in this film, however Harold Huber as the chief of police overdoes himself in his brash and noisy performance. He is on camera almost as much as Chan and quickly becomes an irritant. His French accented English is almost as bad as his Brooklyn accented French.Interestingly, all of the French characters speak French in the film - something one might expect in an art house film, but hardly in a B-movie. It certainly lends an air of authenticity but might be detracting to those who have not studied French.Automobiles of the era play a big part in the film, the star vehicle being the gorgeous Rolls convertible that is featured in several scenes. There are many scenes of various cars - from beat-up taxis to limos fit for a king. (Watch the limo that pulls up to Karnoff's villa to pick up the bank messenger.) Also it seems that the police ride around in convertibles in Monaco!

This movie offers a lot of 'comic' distraction that is not always welcome (the 'son n.1' bit is annoying, with the character being hyper and befuddled like he had drunk five liters of black coffee spiked with crack ), but in the end turns out better than other Chan movies in this respect. The plot follows the usual path of rounding up several suspects...but this time the real murderer isn't among the suspects. The general plot contrivance is good and provides good entertainment. Not the best Chan movie but not the worst by far; of course one has to love the cliché these movies follow. This one really offers interesting plot twists.