biorngm Review - Charlie Chan in The Chinese Cat, released 5-20-44 Monogram Pictures Corporation The story begins with a murder we witness as the perpetrator slips through police. The title references a statue atop the desk of the murdered man, with a secret compartment containing a stolen diamond. The murdered man had taken the gem from his partner and was killed as a result of double-crossing the partner. Subsequent killings occur because the victims were going to reveal the guilty party names to authorities. There are multiple guilty members involved in the theft of certain gems, hidden in other artifacts famous for having compartments cleverly made by a friend of Charlie Chan. The famous detective is able to round up all the guilty parties with the help from able bodied assistants Tommy Chan and Birmingham Brown. Greed plays an important factor in the murders and the capture of the guilty. Watch how Charlie moves through the sea of bad characters with help from those he is closest. A damsel is distress comes to Charlie requesting help in exonerating her widowed mother from the clutches of a crooked step-father and his business partner. A self-appointed criminologist author has accused the widow of a crime without proof, baffling police in the process, and involving a certain Detective whose father Chan had known in another time and city. That certain detective comes to Charlie's rescue at the end of the story to learn how it is done by the best of crime fighters. A large home with a secret panel entrance and a fun house arcade are the two center stages shown in the film, with some hotel action as well. There are six guilty members, two that are killed, involved in the whole plot. See how it all unfolds culminating to be at the fun house with a thorough explanation provided by the master.

csteidler A man playing chess is shot by an unknown hand. The dying man sweeps the chess pieces off the board–but leaves a bishop standing. A clue? Charlie Chan is eventually recruited to investigate, but he only has 48 hours before leaving town on government business. In that short time, his investigation leads to artsy figurines hidden in bread loaves, and opens secret compartments concealing diamonds in those same figurines. Sidney Toler is steady as always in this modest Chan mystery. Benson Fong is energetic as son Tommy Chan, and the father-son back-and- forth includes the usual amount of moderately amusing banter: Tommy Chan: "Pop, I got a case that will knock your hat off." Pop Chan: "Can remove hat without assistance, thank you." Joan Woodbury is sadly wasted as the murder victim's stepdaughter. You'd think Woodbury would add some zip to a picture like this, but unfortunately she's stuck as a helpless hand-wringer rather than the spunky fast-talker she so often played. However, Woodbury's blandness is nothing compared with that of her detective boyfriend (Weldon Heyburn), who simply has nothing interesting to say or do the whole picture. Poor guy! Thank goodness for Mantan Moreland, who livens up his scenes as taxi driver Birmingham Brown. Fong is also fun as the number three son (although he sure smiles a lot, even when he's just discovered a dead body). Overall, it's not much of a plot but the familiar lead characters are always watchable.

binapiraeus The second of the Monogram 'Charlie Chans' is a pure 'old-fashioned' murder mystery again, without spies (although the War was still going on, as Charlie reminds us when he accepts a bet and offers to pay the money to the Chinese War Relief Funds if he loses), but a classic 'murder behind locked doors' - with the exception of a secret panel which leads to the room of the murdered man's wife, so she's the only suspect, but due to lack of evidence and motive the case is dropped. But then, months later, a criminologist writes a novel about the murder, clearly pointing out the wife of businessman Manning as his murderer.Manning's stepdaughter in her despair calls on the unique abilities of Charlie Chan to find the real murderer; during the investigations, she'd fallen in love with Detective Dennis and wants to marry him, but now the shadow of murder keeps hanging over her family... And since son Tommy once again beat his Pop to accepting the case, Charlie can't break a family promise, of course, and starts recreating the whole case - which very soon leads him to a whole collection of diamonds hidden in various Chinese decoration figures, and to the conclusion that Manning and his business partner Deacon were crooks involved in a big diamond theft months earlier. But when Charlie and Tommy, accompanied again by Birmingham (who's become a cab driver now, and just happened to get Charlie as a passenger - which made him feel immediately that he's in for murder again...), enter the 'lion's den' disguised as a fun house, the 'fun' very soon stops, and they're being treated just like any other detective in any Film Noir of the time...Monogram's 'new Charlie Chan style' unfolds here in a most effective way: this movie actually manages to combine successfully murder mystery (complete with hints for crime solving fanatics, like the lone chess figure) with tough, gloomy and foggy Noir elements - and of course comedy! One example: there are twin brothers involved in the gang, and one of them is murdered - and every time the other identical twin brother turns up, Birmingham and Tommy think they're seeing ghosts...!High-quality crime entertainment, providing fun as well as suspense, and at the same time certainly NOT to be overlooked for its cinematic value!

mlraymond There are so many wonderful bits in this picture that make it a delight to watch. A nervous Birmingham Brown waits outside the deserted fun house in the fog, and turns on the car radio for some music, and instead tunes in an eerie voice advising him to turn the lights out, and laughing maniacally. Later, he runs into the twin brother of a dead criminal and takes him for a ghost. Tommy Chan, Number Three Son, deliberately sabotages the jigsaw puzzle he gave to his father. When Charlie discovers the trick, he warns, " Next time you pull stunt like this, you experience sudden collision in rear end of pants!"A classic locked room mystery, multiple suspects, a gang of crooks using an abandoned amusement pier for their hideout, smuggled gems, a cryptic doctor who might be involved in the crimes, a love affair, a cat statue that conceals a vital clue, and many more elements are all crammed into a running time of little more than an hour. Corny humor, politically incorrect stereotyping, and cheap sets abound, but these very things are what make the Monogram Chan pictures so much fun to watch. This movie is sheer entertainment from beginning to end.