Monogram's attempt to cash in on the Charlie Chan series had the benefit of a bigger star - Boris Karloff, then in a slight career slump because of the British horror fan (Son of Frankenstein revived his career). The other better known member of the cast were Grant Withers, who was in a bunch of films (he was a pal of John Wayne and husband of Loretta Young and he killed himself), and Evelyn Brent.
Withers is a lunky cop, a part as big as Karloff's. Mr Wong isn't a very interesting detective - a stylish Chinese who wears a suit but dresses "oriental" at home. The handling isn't very energetic.
This was remade as a Charlie Chan film, The Docks of New Orleans. It's quite a good script, just lethargically directed. Would it be so hard to have actors move?
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