By this point, the Charlie Chan series seemed to be going on autopilot: neither the director nor the cast (save maybe for Mantan Moreland) were showing much enthusiasm for the proceedings. In "Golden Eye", about half of the "action" takes place inside a mine, which makes the film look even cheaper and more underlit than usual. It's a bargain-basement and sleep-inducing production, and there aren't even any memorable lines for Chan! There is, however, (precisely) one scene that I did like: Wanda McKay grabbing a fake "nun/nurse" from behind and struggling a gun away from her; such initiative from a woman in a 1940s movie is uncommon to see. *1/2 out of 4.

This is a VERY unusual entry in the 'Charlie Chan' series: it starts, like most of the movies starring Roland Winters, in a clearly 'Noirish' atmosphere, with a man being mysteriously followed through the dark streets of Chinatown and a little later being shot at through the window in a shop - whose owner is Charlie's cousin, and the man called Manning came here to ask Charlie for help: in the past months, there have been made several attempts at his life. Manning's a rancher from Arizona, and he owns the 'Golden Eye' mine, which has been producing quite a lot of gold lately. So it's off to the 'Wild West' for Charlie, Tommy and Birmingham! And here, immediately the comedy element sets in: Tommy and Birmingham dress up for the occasion as 'real' cowboys... When they reach the ranch, which is also a big bungalow park, Charlie very soon meets an old acquaintance of his: Lt. Mike Rourke, who's playing the 'drunkard' in a MORE than convincing way to cover up for the investigations he's already making here; there DOES seem to be something wrong with the mine and its sudden gold production... Then Charlie gets to know Mr. Driscoll, the mine superintendent, and his wife, and young metal expert Bartlett - but just a little later, Manning meets with a very serious accident in his mine, falling down 40 feet and fracturing his skull, so that his whole head has to be bandaged and he's brought home to bed in a coma. Then, while everybody's waiting for Manning to recover, an old prospector turns up and gives Charlie a hint to a secret tunnel into the mine - but when Charlie and his assistants enter that tunnel, they find the old miner dead; so now they DEFINITELY know that there's some kind of foul play going on in that mine...A pretty strange environment for Charlie Chan, the big city gentleman - but a very effective one: by day, the cheerful atmosphere at the bungalow park lightens up the atmosphere; while the nightly scenes down in the mine shafts are EXTREMELY suspenseful. A VERY well-done piece of crime entertainment, with Roland Winters in his fourth appearance as Charlie Chan already obviously feeling very much at ease with his role!

Oriental sleuth Charlie Chan(Roland Winters), Tommy Chan(Victor Sen Young)and chauffeur Birmingham(Mantan Moreland)head to Arizona at the request of a Mr. Manning(Forrest Taylor), owner of The Golden Eye mine. Manning finds it very odd that his mine losing a lot of money for a good while suddenly has become a gold bonanza. Lt. Mike Ruark(Tim Ryan) is also investigating Manning's mine manager Driscoll(Ralph Dunn)on a different matter that may help Chan's investigation of the situation at The Golden Eye. This mystery franchise is nearing its end and you can tell by the lack of any scenery and flat dialog. But this is a Charlie Chan flick, man. Just not one of the best. Other players: Wanda McKay, Evelyn Brent and Bruce Kellogg.

This episode in the Chan series features skimpy sets - not rare in the later Chans - and a weak role for the usually entertaining Mantan Moreland, but some Chan is better than none. Roland Winters does a perfectly serviceable job as Charlie - lacking the warmth of Warner Oland, but also lacking the harshness of Sidney Toler in his father/son interactions. The plot is pedestrian, but the series is about Charlie and assistants, not the stories, so a less than perfect plot is OK. This movie lacks the beautiful women in gowns we often get in Chans, and not much of a love affair, so some of the classic Chan features are missing. By this late time, they were spending very little money on the series, and milking it for the value of the franchise. One can imagine that it was a perfectly good way to spend an hour on a Saturday in post-war America.I noticed that after crediting Roland Winters and one woman actress, Mantan Moreland and Victor Sen Young came next. In spite of the fact that a white man was playing Chan, clearly a black man and a Chinese man came next in popularity with audiences. For some reason, this fact is never credited. The theme of racist America is just to popular to be spoiled by such facts.