Charlie Chan at Monte Carlo (1937)

A weak, but still enjoyable Chan film, 18 August 2007

Traveling from Monte Carlo to Nice, Charlie Chan and No.1 son Lee discover and abandoned car. Inside the car, they find the dead body of a bank messenger who was transporting $1 million in bonds belonging to a wealthy industrialist named Victor Karnoff. There is no shortage of suspects: Paul Savarin – Karnoff's business rival; Joan Karnoff – Victor's wife who was being blackmailed; Al Rogers – a shady bartender; Evelyn Gray – a woman living above her means; or Karnoff himself for the insurance money. It's up to Charlie Chan to discover the truth.

Charlie Chan at Monte Carlo would be Warner Oland's last performance as the venerable detective. Unfortunately, it's one of the weakest Chan films Oland would make. It's not his fault – instead the blame can be placed on a weak script and a couple of other factors. Chan films notoriously cheat the viewer in that the solution to the mystery too often relies on facts not available to the audience. Charlie Chan at Monte Carlo is especially guilty of this. Key clues that help trap the killer are known only to Chan and the French Police Inspector. As for the other factors I mentioned, one of these would be Harold Huber. Huber, who appeared in two other Chan films, really lays it on thick here with his over-the-top acting and ridiculous French accent. It gets annoying rather quickly.

Still, this is Charlie Chan I'm talking about so it's not all bad. In fact, even a weak Chan film is still an enjoyable experience. It's just a shame that Oland couldn't have gone out on a higher note.

6/10