Tedfoldol everything you have heard about this movie is true.

Supelice Dreadfully Boring

ThedevilChoose When a movie has you begging for it to end not even half way through it's pure crap. We've all seen this movie and this characters millions of times, nothing new in it. Don't waste your time.

PiraBit if their story seems completely bonkers, almost like a feverish work of fiction, you ain't heard nothing yet.

hwg1957-102-265704 The first film in the Monogram Studio's Charlie Chan series after 20th Century-Fox had given up the the franchise. A scientist is killed and the plans of his torpedo stolen just before he could greet several people who have come to his house for a cocktail party. The head of the Secret Service (who sits in an office with 'SECRET SERVICE' written on the door!) tasks Charlie Chan to solve the crime and find the plans. Which he does of course. Apart from some plot holes it is a fair mystery mainly set in the scientist's house and passes the time nicely.Sidney Toler as Chan is his usual urbane self, slowly prodding and pushing to get to the truth. He is supported by his No. 2 daughter Iris and his No. 3 son Tommy played respectively by Marianne Quon and Benson Fong. The film also sadly introduces into the Chan series Mantan Moreland as Birmingham Brown, which I thought was a retrograde step as this fine actor and comedian is reduced to unfunny mugging and rolling of eyes. It would have been better to utilise one or two of Chan's numerous offspring instead of Brown. In this film Quon and Fong are fine as the comic relief as were previous actors in the series like Keye Luke and Victor Sen Yung. With fourteen Chan children there were plenty to choose from!

binapiraeus In 1942, 20th Century-Fox had dropped its long-running 'Charlie Chan' movie series (perhaps the studio bosses thought that in war times, murder mysteries would be inappropriate); but Sidney Toler himself bought the rights, and two years later he 'carried on' at Monogram Pictures. Monogram had already tried their hand at an 'imitation' of the series, the (not too impressive) 'Mr. Wong' films with Boris Karloff - but now they had the REAL thing in their hands! And even from this very first Monogram 'Charlie Chan', the quality of the movies (although made on a considerably lower budget!) was NOT inferior to that of the Fox films (with the exception of some REAL masterpieces like "The Black Camel", "Charlie Chan's Secret", or "Dead Men Tell") - they were just DIFFERENT in style. More humor was added, more members of Charlie's family were introduced as his assistants, and Monogram regular, the great black comedian Mantan Moreland, became an almost indispensable member of the troupe.In Monogram's first entry in the 'Charlie Chan' series, our beloved detective has joined the Secret Service - doing his duty for his country hunting down not 'ordinary' murderers, but dangerous spies of enemy countries. And he's assigned to the case of scientist Melton, who'd been working on a very effective new torpedo, and had suddenly died right in the hall of his own house where he was about to hold a dinner party - and the torpedo plans he had on him are missing... Charlie immediately suspects the international spy who's known only as 'Manlic', hoping to be able to lie his hands on him at last - and starts his investigations with the dinner party guests, who all really look MORE than suspicious...Meanwhile, number three son Tommy and number two daughter Iris are eager to help their Pop while Jimmy is away - and together with chauffeur Birmingham (who tries all the time in vain to get away from the scene of the crime), they make a marvelous trio of confusion that adds laughter rather than help for Charlie - and for us! A REALLY entertaining, and quite clever spy/murder mystery, a great start for a new 'era' of Charlie Chan movies at Monogram Pictures...

Celticnationalist Charlie Chan in the secret service, was the first in the series to be made by poverty row studio Monogram Pictures and although I haven't see the earlier ones made by 20th Century Fox, I guess they have to be better than this, although having said that, despite a low budget, appalling dialogue, some very wooden acting and an awful lot of padding (even at barely an hour long) This isn't THAT bad. A Scientist (John Elliott) is working on a new invention to protect Allied boats from German torpedoes and is given security by the Secret Service, but as he goes downstairs to meet his guests he is killed through an elaborate electrocution, so Chan arrives at his mansion along with nosy son and daughter to wade through all the suspects to find out which one killed him.it also has Mantan Moreland as a stereotypical African American comic relief Chauffeur of the era which is rather distasteful over 65 years later who later appeared in further Chan Films and of course Sidney Toler looks as much Chinese as I do..All in All a rather creaky Low budget B Movie which is still enjoyable mainly because of the enjoyable though stilted performances.One goof though - when the man in the wheelchair finally stands up and walks, it seems no-one saw him standing next to the piano with the other suspects a few minutes earlier!**1/2 out of *****

Neil Doyle I'll say one thing for these Charlie Chan films. There's never a shortage of murder suspects and the clues are always readily apparent to the master sleuth but not to the audience. At least, that's the usual pattern, even when Sidney Toler joined forces with Monogram for several B-picture entries in the series.CHARLIE CHAN IN THE SECRET SERVICE follows the pattern precisely, even giving us a final gathering of suspects from which to venture our own guess as to the identity of the murderer. As usual, it's at your own risk for it seldom turns out to be the most obvious.Once again, Toler plays it close to the vest without giving the audience much of a hint as to which suspect he's onto. The story gets off to a fast start with the murder of an inventor of a torpedo plan murdered in his own home being guarded by secret service bodyguards.Chan gets the call to solve the case and discovers that the inventor's plans are missing. "No one leaves until case ends satisfactorily," he tells the police. Chan is soon joined by two of his eldest children, who are no help at all in solving the crime. Nor is MANTAN MORELAND as Birmingham Brown, wild-eyed with fear as still another murder occurs.The explanations are strictly a wild concoction by the screenwriter who has left no stone unturned to make sure that the old cliché about "the least obvious suspect" is once again a truism.Summing up: Good for a few chuckles, but it doesn't play fair with the clues.