Calum Hutton It's a good bad... and worth a popcorn matinée. While it's easy to lament what could have been...

Jemima It's a movie as timely as it is provocative and amazingly, for much of its running time, it is weirdly funny.

Celia A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

Allissa .Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.

biorngm 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.

gridoon2018 "The Scarlet Clue" is a typically cheap Monogran production in underdressed sets, and it's mostly tedious, but there are some clever bits for mystery fans (even if, once again, the killer seems to be selected at random), and memorable use of a booby-trapped elevator. My favorite Chan line, in response to his son saying that he had an idea but it was gone: "maybe it could not stand solitary confinement!". ** out of 4.

dougdoepke The Chan series was probably the most popular and enduring of the many detective series of the 1930's and 40's. Mainly, I think, because the entries relied on genuinely brain-teasing whodunits, where the suspects were individualized and developed by caring screenplays. Then too, the comedy mix was entertainingly worked in, along with occasional noirish atmospherics. Of course, much of the humor and style is politically incorrect by today's more enlightened standards. But that shouldn't override the sheer entertainment value of the series as a whole.The Scarlet Clue, to me at least, is an average entry, a pretty good whodunit with one real shocker that comes out of nowhere. I like the radio studio setting that should be nostalgic for some and edifying for others. The question is which one of the station employees is the killer and how is it they've murdered two other employees. So, it's not only a question of who did it, but of how they did it. Of course, Toler is Toler, while Moreland gets to do shtick with his long-time partner Ben Carter, which is pretty funny and not demeaning. Unfortunately, except for the one shocker, Rosen's direction is pretty unimaginative.Anyway, it's an entertaining but unexceptional 60-minutes from an exceptional series.

blanche-2 "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 times.