Early Charlie Chan epic with Warner Oland - this is the first one to survive after The Black Camel... there are four missing. It's still a bit creaky with some emotive acting but it's fun to see familiar names like Allan Mowbray, Mona Barrie and a young Ray Milland. A wet Pom is on death row and his sister is determined to rescue him. There are suspects like the sister's fiancee and mysterious butlers and bad cops and military intelligence - it's kind of like Gosford Park played straight. Well, as straight as a Charlie Chan movie can be. There's even a finale with Chan rounding up all the suspects and doing the big reveal at the end.
It does feel like a bit of a damp squid to have this military intelligence agent pop up at the end - it's like "why didn't you help solve the murder before someone went on death row, you clown?"
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