NOTES: Number 39 in the official 47-picture Charlie Chan series and the third last for Sidney Toler. VIEWER'S GUIDE: Despite the subject matter, okay for all.COMMENT: Despite a bit of surface gloss, this is one of the least interesting of Monogram's Charlie Chan series - chiefly due to a faulty script which depends too much on co-incidence to make its situations believable. The plot gets less and less credible as the story progresses, the characters are not made to be the slightest bit interesting (stock playing doesn't help) and little attempt is made to work up suspense or tension. The final unmasking is ridiculous (a pickpocket an undercover agent?) and only makes the situation even less credible and more confused. We cannot really blame the actors. They do what they can with indifferent material - Mantan Moreland doesn't even have that much, he has no material at all and is forced to pad out his footage with senseless chuckles and eye-rolling ad libs. Terry Morse's routine direction and Toler's slow-paced, heavy-handed performance complete the film's catalog of disasters.

This episode is a bit edgier. First of all, the murder being investigated is much more vicious than others. Charlie is working for an insurance company and is investigating this death but also is working on a personal interest missing persons case. We have here the reappearance of the Charlie's Number Two Son, Jimmy, who has much more personality than son Tommy. Mantan is there again to provide zaniness. That aside, there are several twists and turns in this plot that make it pretty entertaining. Charlie seems to take more of a personal interest in the results of this case because of the brutality of everything. As is always the case, there are some excellent suspects and a love story to boot

I really liked this Chan, it kept my interest all the way through. I found the plot complex, not hard to follow. I think that is why I really enjoyed it, there is a lot going on with lots of characters coming and going. Some people on here claimed the plot didn't make sense but let us be fair, a mystery isn't a mystery if you know what is going to happen from one scene to the next. I really have no complaints, this is one I want to watch again very soon. One thing I appreciate about the Chan movies is the fact that the producers tried to give you something a bit different from one film to the next. Sure, they recycle themselves after a while but some Chans really stand out...like this one. I just relax and watch all the events as they occur and let Charlie explain it all at the end! I guess some folks just like predictable films and turn up their noses at anything that doesn't follow the herd.

I didn't think much of this when I first saw it years ago, but upon re-watching it I don't think it's that bad. True, it's not as good as the first half-dozen Chans that Toler made at Monogram, but the chemistry between Chan, his son, and Birmingham Brown is still entertaining, and there are a number of interesting supporting characters (and red herrings). The cheap sets and drab visual style actually create a fitting mood for the film, and while it's easy to pick apart a film like this, Toler isn't around to make any more, so we should enjoy what there is to enjoy about the ones we have.If you are already a fan of the series, you'll probably want to see this--just don't be to critical of it while watching. If you haven't seen any of Toler's Monogram output, start with THE CHINESE CAT, THE JADE MASK, THE SCARLET CLUE, or IN THE SECRET SERVICE, and save this one and THE TRAP for later.