Charlie Chan, Earl Derr Bigger's legendary Asian sleuth, delighted 1920s detective fans in a succession of clever enormously successful novels. It's no mystery that soon scores of movie studios vied to bring the author's creation to the silver screen. Indeed, Charlie Chan's first cinema appearance was in 1929, but it was Swedish actor Warner Oland's impersonation for Fox in 1931's The Black Camel that had the picture-going public lining up in droves.

The Chan series proved a veritable cash cow for Fox throughout the 1930s, nearly rivaling the popularity of their pint size superstar Shirley Temple. Elegantly produced and wittily scripted, the Chans seemed unstoppable until Oland's sudden death in 1938. Oland, who had specialized in Orientals, portraying Fu Manchu and the evil Chinese war lord in Shanghai Express (1932) during his Paramount tenure, was successfully replaced by Sidney Toler, who likewise excelled in Far Eastern roles, making his debut as Chan the same year in Charlie Chan in Honolulu.

20th-Century-Fox, who concurrently also produced the Peter Lorre/Mr. Moto features, halted both series shortly after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. While Moto was Japanese, Fox felt that the mere fact Chan was Asian (never mind that as a Chinese, he had as much if not more reason to oppose the Rising Sun than the Americans) spelled no box office. Toler vigorously campaigned to obtain the screen rights to Chan - which he did in 1944. Needless to say, no major studio displayed any interest in picking up the series, and the actor was relegated to signing with the low rent Monogram Pictures.

Charlie Chan in the Secret Service (1944) was the initial outing, and was, in all aspects, a lukewarm inauspicious beginning. While the Fox Chans left no holds barred, utilizing fully orchestrated scores, leftover sets and costumes from larger scale pictures, plus a roster of great character actors, Monogram barred all holds - having little budget for scripts or production values. The once slick entertainments were now competently made programmers, frequently directed by house resident Phil Rosen, whose career began in 1912 as an Edison cameraman.

The Monograms' main asset was Toler's patented take on Chan, which diehard fans continued to champion - making the new pictures a keystone for the poverty row studio. Another highlight of these detective thrillers was the comedic addition of Mantan Moreland, who makes his first appearance in Charlie Chan in the Secret Service as a harried cab driver. The comedian's contribution to the proceedings immediately clicked with audiences, and Moreland, upgraded to Chan's manservant, quickly became a welcome regular.

Toler eventually completed eleven entries before his death in 1947, wherein he was replaced by yet another Caucasian, Roland Winters, who donned the Chan makeup six more times before Monogram finally pulled the plug altogether in 1949.

Producer: James S. Burkett, Philip N. Krasne
Director: Phil Rosen
Screenplay: George Callahan
Production Design: George Moskov
Cinematography: Ira Morgan
Costume Design: Dave Milton
Film Editing: Martin G. Cohn
Original Music: Karl Hajos
Cast: Sidney Toler (Charlie Chan), Eddy Chandler (Lewis), Sarah Edwards (Mrs. Hargue), Benson Fong (Tommie Chan), Gwen Kenyon (Inez Arranto), Mantan Moreland (Birmingham Brown).
BW-65m.

by Mel Neuhaus