The Scarlet Clue (1945) User Reviews

"That's easy Pop, the murderer will be the one with the guilty look."

[classicsoncall · 5/10 · 20 September 2004]

The Scarlet Clue takes it's name from a bloody footprint found at the scene of the first murder in this film, which takes place on a suitably mysterious docked boat. The action resumes at the Cosmo Radio Center, where a host of suspects and victims interact with Inspector Charlie Chan as he goes about solving the case.

In two wonderful segments, Chan's chauffeur Birmingham Brown (Mantan Moreland) carries on a spirited dialog with Ben Carter, each interpreting the other and finishing each other's sentences, leaving Number #3 Son Tommy (Benson Fong) totally confused.

There's an interesting segue near the middle of the film when Charlie Chan meets a former Shakespearean actor, now radio personality named Horace Karlos; could this be a tribute to Boris Karloff?

By the time the film ends, there are four victims, all having been murdered for being too close to the identity of the criminal attempting to steal government radar plans. In a clever scheme, two of the victims are dispatched via the pitch of a radio broadcast that shatters a vial containing a gas that lethally interacts with nicotine when the victims puff on a cigarette. As in many Charlie Chan films though, you don't see the identity of the guilty party coming, it's only revealed at the end with a neat wrap up by the Oriental detective.

I Got a LIFT Out of This Chan Film

[BaronBl00d · 6/10 · 27 March 2006]

Famed detective and government agent Charlie Chan is back again for this Monogram film where Charlie is trailing a suspect who may be involved with plans to steal radar equipment/secrets from our government for foreign spies and who has just killed aboard a ship. Chan and detective friend trace suspect back to a radio show and from there on Charlie helps at least three more people get killed with his investigation. This is an interesting Chan vehicle and gives Sidney Toler plenty of screen time to hone his Chan skills. Benson Fong and Mantan Moreland are back once again and lift the mundane to the amusing with their comic routines. Moreland, again, steals his scenes and gives the film a lot of vitality it would otherwise not have. I particularly like a couple of routines he does in the film with a guy he knows and neither one lets the other finish the sentence. The comic timing was first-rate! As for the mystery, it is not too terribly confusing though when the end is told no real explanation as to why and who did crimes is revealed fully. I enjoyed many of the characterizations of the show people. I thought the means of death were very inventive, and I loved the whole thing with the elevator. Very clever.

good Chan

[blanche-2 · 6/10 · 16 March 2011]

"The Scarlet Clue" is a Charlie Chan mystery from Monogram starring Sidney Toler, Benson Fong as number three son Tommy, and Mantan Moreland as the chauffeur Birmingham. In this one, from 1945, Charlie is looking into the theft of government papers involving a radar. In doing so, Charlie not only runs into murder but also actors on the radio, as for some reason, there's a lab in the same building.

Delightful, often humorous Chan mystery, though incredibly dated today. Mantan Moreland is hilarious, and Chan has a great relationship with both son Tommy and Birmingham. Toler was a good Chan in very different, not very politically correct for these times. Enjoy them for what they are.

Sidney Toler moves to Monogram for this one...

[Doylenf · 6/10 · 10 June 2008]

THE SCARLET CLUE is a fairly interesting Charlie Chan film from the '40s, depending on its humor for the performances of BENSON FONG as #3 son, MANTAN MORELAND as Birmingham Brown and BEN CARTER as Ben Carter. The mysterious deaths of people associated with a radio program that is a front for some sort of radar secrets espionage, is at the heart of the crimes Chan must solve.

SIDNEY TOLER was beginning to show signs of fatigue (he died two years later) and the sets and production values are noticeably reduced from what they were when the Chan films were being made by Fox. During the TCM showing of the film, Robert Osborne mentioned that it was Toler himself who brought the idea of furthering the Chan adventures to another studio after shopping the idea around.

VIRGINIA BRISSAC, JACK NORTON, JANET SHAW and HELEN DEVERELL are among the chief suspects. I recognized Miss Brissac from her performance as the hard of hearing Miss Seiffert from THE SNAKE PIT. She has quite a different role here.

Enjoyable fluff, not one of the best in the Chan series but a respectable enough entry from Monogram.

Favorite line: When son #3 tells his dad that he has an idea but then immediately forgets what he wanted to say, Chan replies: "It's now in solitary confinement."

Won't let you down

[Spondonman · 7/10 · 4 June 2006]

This was a nice entry in the Chan series [32/38], with Charlie, Tommy and Birmingham in fine comic form. The rest of the cast displayed no sense of humour at all.

Charlie was still working for the Government this time after a gang of murdering agitators who were after radar secrets from an "experimental" radio, television and radar broadcaster. They don't write radar shows like they used to ... A nice touch was that a suspect (who was responsible for the original apparently indelible clue) was last seen on the 2nd floor of the radio building, found dead on the 10th after falling from a great height. Convoluted! The sets were used thoroughly in the previous film The Jade Mask, the gas chamber being turned in this into an ante room for a weather chamber. Moreland excelled himself with this one, with endless solo wisecracks or even as part of a double act. Was it unacceptable in Hollywood back then for him to have taken his taxi driver cap off as it would have made him appear an equal?

A good Monogram Toler plus Moreland film, even if with more ridiculous intricacies in the plot than usual.

Above Average For Monogram Pictures

[Lechuguilla · 6/10 · 2 April 2004]

Some Charlie Chan movies by Monogram are just wretched. "The Scarlet Clue", however, is fairly well done. Lighting and camera angles make for a suitably mysterious atmosphere. The whodunit puzzle contains a well defined group of suspects. And the script is humorous, both the dialogue between Chan and his son, and the constant jabber of the wonderful Mantan Moreland.

But the film seems terribly dated. The plot, which involves WWII radar secrets in a radio station, is outmoded, and the scientific "equipment" belongs in a museum. Moreover, production values are almost nonexistent. There are some plot holes; and at the end, Chan never tells us how he deduced the identity of the killer.

Overall, for those who enjoy Charlie Chan movies, "The Scarlet Clue" is one of the better ones to watch. Everyone else will probably find this movie lame.

The Radio Spy Ring

[bkoganbing · 4/10 · 11 June 2008]

The Scarlet Clue finds our intrepid oriental detective Charlie Chan now working for the federal government on a spy case. He's trailing a suspect, but when Sidney Toler requests help from the local police, they bungle it and the suspect winds up dead. He certainly now can't help Toler find who's behind the plot to steal radar secrets.

But the roads seem to lead to a local radio station with a whole bunch of suspects from ham actors, to shifty technicians, and an owner who's right out of Rebecca. A few more murders occur before we find out who the master spy is.

Charlie is now breaking in number 3 son Benson Fong and if possible he's a bigger dunce and hence a bigger foil for Charlie's fortune cookie wisdom than before. By now Mantan Moreland as chauffeur Birmingham Brown has joined the series and his stereotypical role is one reason the series doesn't get much air now. But one thing this film does do is feature Ben Carter who worked a nightclub act with Moreland and two of their routines get into the film. They're pretty funny I will say.

What I also found fascinating here is that since this film was made in 1945, made for Monogram and hence made in a matter of days, I'm not sure whether the folks behind the spy ring are Communists or Nazis. It was left vague and I'm certain that was done deliberately.

So you might want to see the film and see if you can figure out who was running the radio spy ring.

Another fun Monogram Charlie Chan

[mjshannon · 8/10 · 4 September 2000]

This is a very good Monogram Pictures Chan that has snappy dialogue, a lot of funny lines from Sidney Toler (as Chan) who berates No.3 son Tommy more than any other of his prodigious offspring and a couple of scenes with Mantan Moreland and Ben Carter which are priceless!! The plot may stretch credibility a bit but the movie has a fast pace, good direction and sets that are above the norm for a Monogram Chan. Keep an eye out, as well, for the great elevator segment that is surprising and innovative. The banter between the actors in the broadcasting studio is also inspired and fun. Although not quite up to par with the Twentieth Century Fox Chan's this is damn close! Monogram Chan's get a bad rap sometimes but this again proves there was magic in the old detective series still. Check it out.

Good mystery, run of the mill Chan

[dbborroughs · 6/10 · 25 July 2004]

The mystery begins as Chan tracks a murderer across country to a radio/tv station. Once on the scene murder murders occur and Charlie, his son and Birmingham Brown almost meet their end in a rather novel way.

This reminds me of the great Frankie Darro/Mantan Moreland film Up in the Air which concerns murder in a radio station. That film moves better than this one in many ways since it never gets side tracked with the sleuthing of Number Three Son. Still this one has some novel twists in the means of murdering someone which keep this a watchable film.

I'm not entirely happy with the denouncement since events not long before it prove that the filmmakers were far from being fair.

Still for all its flaws its an enjoyable movie, especially with Moreland and his night club partner "not" saying anything

6 out of 10.

Among the Better Monogram Chans

[gftbiloxi · 5/10 · 3 February 2008]

Loosely based on novels by Earl Derr Biggers, 20th Century Fox's Charlie Chan series proved an audience favorite--but when Japan attacked Pearl Harbor the studio feared audiences would turn against its Asian hero. This was a miscalculation: actor Sidney Toler took the role to "poverty row" Monogram Studios, where he continued to portray the character in eleven more popular films made between 1944 and his death in 1947.

20th Century Fox regarded the Chan films as inexpensive "B" movies, but even so the studio took considerable care with them: the plots were often silly, but the pace was sharp, the dialogue witty, and the casts (which featured the likes of Bela Lugosi and Ray Milland) always expert. The result was a kindly charm which has stood the test of time. Monogram was a different matter: Chan films were "B" movies plain and simple. Little care was taken with scripts or cast and resulting films were flat, mediocre at best, virtually unwatchable at worst.

Released in 1945, THE SCARLET CLUE is neither the best nor worst of the Monogram Chan films, certainly better than such dreadful entries as THE TRAP but a far cry from its 20th Century Fox counterparts. At the same time, however, the film has a certain interest due to its setting: a broadcast company. It would be a mistake to look to any Chan film for factual information, but the film does remind us--and quite effectively so--of that moment in time when radio still dominated even as television (which is repeated mentioned) began to make inroads with the public.

The story, such as it is, finds Chan (Toler) acting as a federal agent who is investing a murder involving radar secrets. When a stolen car leads him to a radio actress he soon finds himself in the middle of the broadcast company itself, where murderous communications are issued via teletype and elevators become instruments of death. It's all very flyweight stuff, but the details make the film watchable--as does the occasional actor, with Mantan Moreland a case in point.

In today's world the type of roles assigned to Moreland would be thought racist, but taken within the context of what was possible for an African-American actor at the time they remain remarkably charming. To it's credit, Monogram recognized Moreland's appeal, and always took care to give his name highly-placed credit in the cast lists. THE SCARLET CLUE is particularly interesting because it also allows us to see Moreland perform a few bits of his "interrupted talk" stage routine, performed here with Ben Carter--a bit of comedy that is every bit as clever as any thing you might find in Abbot and Costello's best work of the same period.

When all is said and done, THE SCARLET CLUE is indeed watchable, but it really is best left to hardcore Chan fans. Newcomers would do better to begin with the 20th Century Fox films, which are now at last becoming available on DVD.

GFT, Amazon Reviewer

Chan Films Go More Comedic With Moreland

[ccthemovieman-1 · 8/10 · 31 October 2006]

This was my first look at Charlie Chan's, or should I say Sidney Toler's assistant "Birmingham Brown" (Mantan Moreland.) He certainly changed the face of these movies, and I don't mean that as some sort of racial pun. What I mean is Moreland added silliness to these films, although he's such a likable guy I didn't mind. Many times he even made me laugh out loud.

Also new to me at the time of my first viewing of this (sometime in the 1990s) was Number Three Son "Tommy," played by Benson Fong. I liked him a lot, but then I have liked all of Charlie's kids.

Anyway, with the addition of Moreland - who was strictly added for comedy - with Chan's witty proverbs, the repartee between father and son, and so on.....these Mongram Charlie Chan movies turned out to be almost more comedy than mystery.....but they still entertained.

The most memorable scene in this movie had to be something shocking and violent, the opposite of how I've been describing these latter-day Chan films. In that scene, a trap door in an elevator suddenly sends a man plummeting to his death. Most of the film is talk but it's okay. This whodunit had a surprise ending. I guessed wrong, but that's nothing new.

Chan Switches to Monogram Pictures

[whpratt1 · 6/10 · 12 June 2008]

Some Hollywood studios decided to stop making Charlie Chan films and Sidney Toler decided to convince Monogram Pictures to accept his legal terms to make more Charlie Chan films with Toler as the star. In this series you will notice a drop in the quality of film that is made and how costs were cut to keep a low budget. Mantan Moreland, (Birmingham Brown) played a big role as the chauffeur for Charlie Chan and he was a great comic rolling his eyes and aways being scared to death along with Number 3 son of Charlie Chan, Tommy Chan, (Benson Fong). Charlie Chan investigates a television station and also a Government Radar Company and he tries to work with the police and Government agents to catch spies trying to steal secret plans and papers vital to the American Defense. Jack Norton, who usually plays in drunk in most films during the 1930's and 40's appears in this film and performs on a television show and gives a great supporting role to this film. Virginia Brissac, (Mrs. Marsh) plays the owner of this radio and television studio and is a rather grump and nasty elderly lady. Enjoy.

Even Tommy's dad didn't like him very much

[utgard14 · 5/10 · 14 March 2014]

Monogram Charlie Chan film with a plot that is a mix of a generic espionage mystery with murder at a radio station. It seems like maybe they took the plots to a couple of previous B murder mysteries (not even Charlie Chan ones) and combined them. Once again, Charlie gets help from comic relief sidekicks Benson Fong and Mantan Moreland. Fong plays Tommy Chan and he's as boring as ever. Charlie's a jerk to him throughout the movie and I honestly couldn't blame him. Tommy was clearly Charlie's least favorite son.

Mantan Moreland plays Birmingham Brown, who is a little more restrained here than his earlier Chan films. Also appearing a couple of times is Moreland's old vaudeville partner Ben Carter. The two do an amusing bit that was probably from their vaudeville days. It's basically a conversation between the two where neither ever finishes a sentence because the other seems to know automatically what he's going to say. It's funnier on screen than it reads here. In a lot of ways, it reminds me of Abbott & Costello's vaudeville routines. I have not been a fan of Mantan Moreland's character in the Charlie Chan series. However, if he had been more like he is in his scenes with Carter, I think I would have liked him more. Instead, he's usually just doing his bug-eyed "I'm afraid of spooks" garbage, complete with lots of double takes and talking to himself.

I also liked seeing pretty Janet Shaw. Something about her I always found appealing. There's an actor character called Horace Karlos, played by Leonard Mudie, who is supposed to be a parody of Boris Karloff. That's fun for fans. Altogether, it's not the greatest Charlie Chan or even a particularly strong one. But it's watchable with some enjoyable parts. Considering this was made during the dreadful Monogram years we should be thankful it isn't worse.

Surprisingly effective Chan mystery with fair amount of humor

[csteidler · 7/10 · 6 September 2017]

A foggy night: two old guys trail a suspect down to the docks. Charlie Chan quietly joins them and they board a boat, where they discover the dead body of the man they were following. Someone has stepped in his blood, leaving a bloody heel print—the scarlet clue.

This entertaining series entry is set primarily in a tall office building that holds a radar laboratory on one floor and a radio studio just below it. The radio acting company get in on the mystery and one scene even takes place during a television broadcast.

The murderer communicates using a teletype machine in one of the offices and also has installed a fiendish elevator trap door through which he drops his enemies.

Sidney Toler's Chan is assisted once again by Benson Fong as number three son Tommy, whose grinning enthusiasm is silly but harmless enough. (Chan: "Come, we must investigate slight case of murder." Tommy: "Murder! Well, here I come!")

Mantan Moreland also returns as chauffeur Birmingham Brown. The picture's highlights are a couple of great little exchanges between Moreland and comedian Ben Carter—their routine in which they interrupt and finish each other's thoughts is apparently borrowed from a stage show they did. The Moreland-Carter bits are brief buts lots of fun (and certainly better written and rehearsed than anything else in the picture).

Overall this one isn't too bad—it has a few laughs and the plot keeps you guessing.

The Government is in the need of Chinese detective.

[michaelRokeefe · 6/10 · 3 March 2007]

Methodical Charlie Chan feature. Little suspense. No intrigue. But, I still find it cool to watch. Chan is called on to investigate the murder of a suspect in a plot to steal top secret information concerning the Government's planned use of radar. The investigation takes Chan to a radio station, where he has a studio full of suspects and knows one of them is a killer. But who...the station manager(I. Stanford Jolley), a soap opera owner(Virginia Brissac)or maybe one of two actresses(Janet Shaw and Victoria Faust). Helpful or not, Charlie has the help of one of his sons(Benson Fong)and his comical chauffeur(Mantan Moreland). Right away we know that Chan's first major clue is a shoe print. But, there are others of course...this is a Charlie Chan mystery isn't it?

Pretty good Charlie Chan 40's B-Pic - One of the better Monogram releases. *** out of *****

[WelshFilmCraze · 6/10 · 15 February 2010]

Charlie Chan is back once more in another one of B-studio Monogram Pictures' releases.

This time around Chan (Sidney Toler) along with No.3 son Tommy (Benson Fong) and series regular friend/assistant Birmingham Brown (Mantan Moreland) are at a radio station on the trail of a murderer and on the look out for someone who may be trying to steal governmental radar plans.

There is a lot more tasteful comedy this time around from Moreland, with his real-life double-act partner Ben Carter also appearing in a couple of scenes.

The scenes with the elevator are well made and well thought through, but I do have a small gripe in that when the killer is finally revealed there is no explanation who the person worked for or how Chan figured out who it was, but again you shouldn't think too much when it comes to low budget B-movies

'The Scarlet Clue' is probably the best I've seen up to now (bearing in mind I have only seen the Monogram Pictures releases and not the higher budgeted 20th Century Fox ones), The acting is of a better calibre than what I've seen in other episodes as it's nowhere near as wooden and stilted, There also seems to have been a lot more care put into the script and entire production this time around too - although it's still a low budget affair, and the same sets are used from earlier episodes - but this time around Monogram have put their restricted budget to better use.

*** out of *****

It pains me to say that I'm not a fan of this installment in the Chan series

[bensonmum2 · 4/10 · 28 September 2005]

When I was little, my brother and I would stay up late at night any time Charlie Chan was on the midnight movie schedule on one of the local television stations. So I've been a fan for 35 years. And even though there are a few moments I enjoy, The Scarlet Clue has always been among my least favorite of the Chan series. Far too much time is spent on Number 3 Son and Birmingham Brown and not enough is spent on Charlie interviewing suspects and gathering clues. What clues Chan does find are so obvious that any detective should have been able to piece the mystery together. The script gives the killer too much leeway in the rigging of intricate electric devices used for murder. Surely someone would have noticed a trap door being installed in the elevator. And the whole Chan working for the government against the Nazis in WWII is not my cup of tea. Give me a big old house full of suspicious looking suspects, each with a motive for murder.

To each his own though. I'm sure that my list of favorite Chan films would include some that fans of The Scarlet Clue would consider among the worst.

Espionage Leads to Murder

[biorngm · 9/10 · 4 June 2018]

Review - The Scarlet Clue, released 5-11-45 A good story plays well right through for our mystery movie with Sidney Toler as Charlie Chan. This time number three son, Tommy Chan and Birmingham Brown, appear, to help the detective solve the crimes. Worth a watch, due to plenty of characters and unique murders; clues gradually open the case toward the end, as Charlie Chan solves this one, with the help from a few police officials.

The suspect list is plentiful, until some are mysteriously killed. The police chemist, the police technician and a voice impersonator are made a part of the investigation. Certain precautions are taken by Chan, which are revealed when the killer is found near the movie-end. There was no risk to the documents being stolen, for Charlie had them put in a safer place early on and the daffy office cleaning lady was really a government operative, requested by Chan, watching the traffic through the experimental radar laboratory. It was Chan's intention to catch the suspected killer alive, but an error in judgement brought the killer to a fatal end. She was killed in the same manner as an earlier suspect, i.e. a fall down an elevator shaft from the seventh floor through a trap door.

Charlie's mission is made clear early on in the plot when he meets his friend, police Captain Flynn, who has overindulged his efforts tracking a known espionage suspect. He is scolded by Chan, for Charlie simply wanted the man to be located, in order for the police to determine all the players, i.e. catching the ring leader stealing the radar secrets. The police make their presence known to the suspect, who manages to get himself killed by another conspirator, unbeknownst to Charlie Chan. A car seen leaving the first murder scene provides a clue, as does a right-shoe print, left from stepping in the victim's blood; i.e. the scarlet clue is the print found at the scene and later found at another location. The car belonged to an actress, reporting it stolen, only to have it returned the same evening, coincidentally, around the same time as the murder. Following the vehicle clue to its owner brings Charlie to a radio station in the same building as the radar laboratory. After discussing her vehicle reported stolen, now returned, Charlie steps out of the radio studio, only to notice another right-shoe print matching that left at the murder scene. Charlie observes the killer is someone who walked here recently, perhaps someone we have all seen. Chan adds, a most interesting place, will visit here again tomorrow. They will return to the studio building many times during the movie, in order to find the killer and the ring-leader. Charlie gathers information, piecing together available evidence after two members of the radio entertainers are killed under similar circumstances. He eventually tracks the perpetrator to the studio's building, after receiving assistance from the police forensics team. The movie is complete with mystery, unusual crime methods, and a surprise ending with the capture of the espionage ring-leader. Watch the movie from the beginning, not missing any clues, you won't be disappointed. I recommend this Charlie Chan movie nearing the end of Sidney Toler's career and life.

Don't Smoke That Cigarette

[Hitchcoc · 7/10 · 20 January 2016]

Despite there being plot deficiencies all over the place, this is still fun. Once again, Charlie is called in because of goings on in the defense department. There is a murder early and the circumstances are confusing. It turns out there is some sort of central figure pulling strings as a group of gangsters carry out the instructions of this man. He communicates with a teletype machine so they don't recognize his voice. Anyway, it's the usual group of suspects, this time the cast of a radio show. We are also give a look at that new medium, television. Mantan Moreland and his vaudeville partner do their wonderful sketch where they finish each other's sentences. Tommy Chan is such a windbag and gets the full treatment from his father, although he does find some serious evidence. I liked this one quite a bit.

Not One of the Better Chan Efforts

[monticellomeadow · 4/10 · 11 October 2007]

The Scarlet Clue could have been so much better had the writers written a tighter plot. First, in 1945 why be so indirect as to who the bad guys worked for? They were, obviously, German agents. Yet all we had to go on were some references to name changes of the spies from German to English. And one of the plotters seemed absolutely clueless as to who he was working for and what was going on. The ending lacked punch - why did we see one of the agents fall to his death in the trick elevator, but not the Dark Mistress who was behind it all, at the conclusion? Audiences always want to see the "Most Evil One" get his/hers, even in 1945! Not just, "Oh, yes, she's the one. Here's her body. She fell down the elevator shaft." And the "cigarette + gas" thing had me going "huh?" Now Foster and Moreland were excellent, reprising their vaudeville routine. And Sidney Toler did a decent Chan. But overall this plot and writing left much to be desired, even for a Charlie Chan picture.

Beware of elevators...

[binapiraeus · 8/10 · 22 March 2014]

Being a genuine murder mystery, this movie starts - with a murder: Rausch, a dangerous enemy agent, is stabbed by his own accomplices. Charlie Chan, on the case already (the gang is trying to steal a new radar that hunts down enemy planes), discovers the body, and a stolen car and a bloody shoe print (the 'scarlet clue') lead him and his assistants Tommy and Birmingham to the Cosmo Radio Center, where, as Charlie finds out very soon, the head of the ring must be found: on the floor there's an identical shoe print, and the car was reported stolen by radio actress Diane Hall...

And WE soon find out that Brett, the manager, is a member of the gang: he makes strange conversations over the phone, getting his answers and orders only over a teletype device... Meanwhile, Diane's friend Gloria finds out that it was Brett who stole the car and blackmails him - which doesn't do her good at all: during the next broadcast, she suddenly feels dizzy, then asks for a cigarette, and after the first puff she drops dead. Then Charlie finds Brett's shoe, which is the one that left the 'scarlet clue', Brett panics and asks his unknown boss for protection - but he gets something entirely different instead...

This is a REALLY classic 'whodunit', immensely suspenseful, but also entertaining: we get a glimpse into the 40s' world of radio broadcasting and also into the technological innovations of the time - and especially 'Birmingham' Mantan Moreland is at his BEST again providing us comical relief amid all the thrills and scares; the scenes where he 'communicates' with a friend of his in half-finished sentences are absolutely wonderful!

But BEWARE: screenwriter Callahan invented a VERY unusual and creepy elevator trick for this thriller that'll make people who suffer from elevator phobia take the stairs for weeks...!

exciting

[Cristi_Ciopron · 7/10 · 16 February 2015]

A mystery movie crafted with gusto, there's something of Brando in Toler's role, MGM teases us a bit with electric gadgets and a monster mask, there is a heartfelt interest in the technology (teletype, elevator, early TV, radar, 'death capsules' for the ingenious poisoning, also moments of radio and early TV broadcasting, the weather simulation tunnel) in this merry espionage story with a grim body count (two spies, two comedians), Toler's role foretells Brando (also in the quiet but sharp humor), Birmingham Brown is very funny, and the _janitress seems intriguing and nice, possibly handsome; but Birmingham Brown is the most likable character. The script was neat: a set of suspects, the puzzle plot doesn't get lost in humorous banter, the storyline is dynamic and the sets, appealing; though the denouement has the randomness known from these mystery movies they made 75 yrs ago.

Incidental spying

[dexter-10 · 3/10 · 14 December 2000]

This is a typical Charlie Chan movie, wherein the World War Two spying angle is not a factor in the plot but simply period window dressing. Stolen radar plans and German spies are also a thematic nonfactor in 1945. Radar was no longer a secret and Germany was a weaken Axis power at this time in World War Two. There are some interesting scenes in the movie, however. The building in which the murders occur is both a radio station and an experimental television station. (Now there's a better secret!) There is an amusing television skit call the "Dance of the Spirits" in which Willy Rand (Jack Norton) performs as a drunken party goer. Unfortunately, the character dies immediately after the skit. "The Scarlet Clue" died much earlier.

Scarlet In Black And White And Silent Radio Gags

[boblipton · 6/10 · 13 March 2024]

In this Charlie Chan movie from Monogram, Sidney Toler is called into a radio station with a radar laboratory to investigate rumored theft of the scientific plans, when inexplicable murders begin to happen.

Benson Fong and Mantan Moreland are now Toler's assistants, and Moreland gets more screen time, including a couple of minutes with Ben Carter, in which they replicate one of their nightclub routines. Jack Norton is present playing a radio comedian, and he does a brief silent sketch in which he plays a drunk; it's not really the sort of thing they would do on the radio, but it's funny.

While it's good to see the Monogram series get out of isolated old dark houses, this one has many of the usual tropes, including a man walking around in a cape and a spooky mask. This one is best when it allows the comics to do funny things out of their repertoires.

Charlie Chan: G-Man

[sol1218 · 6/10 · 12 June 2008]

**SPOILERS** Recruited by the US Government to help in the war effort back home Charlie Chan, Sidney Toland, has his hands full in tracking down a shadowy hooded figure, looking a lot like the ghoul in the movie "Scream", who heads a Nazi spy ring in San Francisco.

Setting a trap for Nazi spy Raush, Charles Wegweheim, on the SF waterfront Raush evades Charlie and his partner NYPD Capt. Flynn, Robert Homans,only to end up murdered by one of his fellow spies. Raush had to be silenced because he knew too much and was about to be caught and made to talk by Charlie & Co.

Getting the license plate number of the getaway car with the person who murdered Raush driving leads Charlie together with his #3 son Tommy, Benson Fong, and Charlie's chauffeur and Tommy's sidekick Birmingham Brown, Mantan Moreland, to the Cosmon Radio Center. It turns out that the getaway car belonged to radio actress Diane Hall, Helen Deverell, who reported it stolen earlier that evening. It also turned out that Raush's killer is one of the people working at the radio studio! With him leaving his bloody footprint-thus the title of the movie "The Scarlet Clue"- there the same footprint, and shoe size, that he left at the murder scene.

From this point on the killer knowing that Charlie is zeroing in on him, in working at the radio studio, starts to murder anyone who can implicate him in Raush's murder as well as being a top Nazi spy. Even those Nazi spies that he's in charge of!

Typical Charlie Chan movie with #3 son Tommy gumming up the machinery in him trying to show that he's as good a detective as his Papa Charlie is. Mantan Moreland's Birmingham Brown is by far best thing going for the movie stealing every scene that he's in. Moreland's hysterical quick and witty dialog keeps the audience entertained when the film starts to lag, with a number of confusing sub-plots thrown in, in the second half.

There's also Morelands good friend, in real life, Ben Carter who makes a guest appearance in the film as, who else, Ben Carter. The two, Moreland & Carter, go into this routine where they never finish a sentence as if they were reading each others minds. This drives #3 son Tommy almost to drink in trying to figure out just what the two are talking about!

Charlie himself comes across as if he's suffering from a severe case of sleep deprivation talking in an, more then usual for him, mechanical-like monotone voice throughout most of the film. If you didn't know any better you would think that Charlie was either under hypnosis or just plain tired, Sidney Toland made a record 5 Charlie Chan movies that year, or overworked.

In the end Charlie got his man-The Nazi spy master-with the same trap that he set for Charlie #3 son Tommy and Birmingham Brown earlier in the film. It just goes to show how ineffective the head Nazi spy and his bumbling cohorts were in that he, as well as them, not only couldn't steal the secret radar plans from the US Government but were totally ignorant to what deadly traps they, in trying to off Charlie & Co., set up in he Cosmo Radio Center as well.