Charlie Chan (Sidney Toler) is in Rio de Janeiro to arrest a woman suspected of killing a man in Honolulu. When the woman is murdered, Charlie must investigate along with "Number Two Son" Jimmy (Victor Sen Yung). Pretty much a remake of The Black Camel. Adorable Iris Wong is fun as the murdered woman's maid. Her scenes with Jimmy are the movie's highlights. Harold Huber makes his last Charlie Chan appearance. Toler and Sen Yung are good as usual. Rest of the cast includes Victor Jory, Kay Linaker, and Hamilton MacFadden (who directed The Black Camel, interestingly enough). It's a pleasant and enjoyable entry in the series. Not one of the best or worst. This is the second-to-last Chan film at Fox before the dreadful Monogram series begins.

With performers like Carmen Miranda and Cesar Romero on its roster, and with Don Ameche, Linda Darnell, and Tyrone Power looking as if they could be from South America, Cuba, Mexico, Spain, etc., Fox did lots of films purportedly set in these exotic locales. "Charlie Chan in Rio" from 1941 is one of these, though a lot of stock footage is used to give the illusion of actually being in Rio.Charlie and son Jimmy are in Rio and go to a nightclub with the police chief to arrest a nightclub singer, Lola Dean. Dean is suspected of killing her married lover in Honolulu. Charlie decides it would be better to arrest her at home. However, she is found dead, and her jewels have been stolen.As usual, there are too many suspects, among them a man (Victor Jory) who does prognostics, a sort of mystical mind-reading, Lola's wealthy fiancée, a woman in love with said fiancée, a no-nonsense friend (Mary Beth Hughes) and her boyfriend, Lola's ex-husband, and a butler.It falls to Charlie to sort all this out, but along the way he and the police chief have a little fun with Jimmy, questioning under the mystic's potion, which puts his subject under hypnosis. Why did he fail math? It was too early to get up in the morning for class.It seems not only Lola had a secret in her past -- there's plenty else to be learned.Good fun, with a cute ending.

Sidney Toler as Chan is in Rio to arrest Lola Dean for murder. Before he can do it, she is stabbed in the back, but why and by whom? Sen Yung playing his No. 2 son Jimmy and a straight Harold Huber as the `Delgado' or Chief of Police of Rio aid Chan.The action in this who-done-it comes at a fast but steady pace without a lot of character development. There are plenty of misleading clues left by the real murderer and the writers. Unfortunately this is one of those films that the detective knows much more than the viewer thus denying us the ability to solve the full mystery along with Chan. `Long experience teach until murderer found, suspect everybody…'As in some other Chan films, the names of the characters do not match their on-screen roles. Ted North clearly plays the part of Clark Denton yet is credited at the end with having played Carlos Dantas. We leave Charlie in Rio having just opened a communication from his wife telling Jimmy that he has been drafted in the military. `Good policy to have murderer consider detective dope.' Fair and just barely recommended.

in Rio, but a really well thought out Chan film. A very interesting and familiar array of characters.One can almost feel the breeze coming in off the S.Atlantic.One of the better films for Jimmy Chan (Victor Sen Yung).It's easy to watch over again.