"Charlie Chan in Panama" from 1940 finds Charlie (Sidney Toler) undercover as a shop owner to stop an espionage plot that would take out part of the Panama Canal and trap a Navy fleet en route to the Pacific. No dearth of suspects here and everyone acts guilty.Among the cast are Sen Yung as Jimmy, Lionel Atwill, Mary Nash, Chris-Pin Martin, and Jack LaRue. Jimmy as usual gets into trouble, but he's also a big help.This is a lively story, with humor and drama, with a bit of a propaganda thrown in. At the end, Charlie reminds us that a strong military will insure the peace. Didn't work out that way, alas.

As the U.S. fleet prepares to move through the Panama Canal, a foreign agent known only as Ryner plans to blow-up part of the canal. However, Charlie Chan and #2 Son are on hand to stop Ryner's plot (and solve a murder or two in the process).Charlie Chan in Panama is a rock solid entry in the Chan catalogue. This was Sidney Toler's fifth outing as Chan, Victor Sen Yung's fourth appearance as Jimmy Chan, and Norman Foster's third directorial credit in the Chan series. These guys knew what they were doing. Throw in an excellent supporting cast (featuring the always enjoyable Lionel Atwill), excellent looking sets, suspicious characters, red herrings around every corner, and some decent comedy bits from #2 Son and you've got the makings for an enjoyable movie experience. I'm not usually a fan of Chan films that are spy centered, preferring the murder based plots instead. But here, it works. As others have pointed out, I appreciate that the mystery's resolve actually makes sense. It always makes things more enjoyable when you as the viewer can follow along with what Chan is saying. And, finally, I appreciate that for once Jimmy Chan actually serves a real purpose. In this one, he is directly responsible for saving Pop's life.Overall, an 8/10 from me. Charlie Chan in Panama is a must for fans of the series.

This is an extremely timely Charlie Chan movie as although the US was not yet at war, storm clouds were on the horizon and this film anticipated the importance of the Panama Canal to the future. Although the film never said that the Germans were planning on blowing up the canal, that's exactly what was very strongly implied--with a vicious foreign agent named 'Ryner'. The problem is that Chan and the military authorities have no idea what this agent looks like as well as exactly what this enemy agent's intentions are as well as how they'll go about doing it. So it's up to Chan and #2 Son to investigate.This film is better than average for the Fox version of Charlie Chan. Mostly this is due to the timeliness, the use of non-grainy and relevant stock footage as well as a dandy plot and mystery. It keeps you guessing up until the end--and I liked this very much.

This spy adventure is one of Sidney Toler's best Chan films. It is a very clever and exciting mystery with a lot of local atmosphere including a crypt. The supporting cast is excellent. There is a lot of humor, action, and suspense through out. The story was filmed before as "Marie Galante" in 1934 with Spencer Tracy. This is a much better version.