Charlie Chan in The Chinese Cat (1944)

One of the worst movies I've ever seen

Great movie! If you want to be entertained and have a few good laughs, see this movie. The music is also very good,

A clunky actioner with a handful of cool moments.

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

"The Chinese Cat" opens with a bang (literally), which soon turns into a snooze, as the film plods its way in the typical Monogram fashion. What gives it some distinction is that it plays more like a crime movie (with even Chan himself getting into some physical action) than a mystery, though there is one good clue: the last remaining piece on the chessboard. ** out of 4.

It's no great shakes, but this, the second Charlie Chan movie released by B-movie studio Monogram Pictures is an enjoyable enough time-passerThe time around Charlie Chan (Sidney Toler) investigates the seemingly unsolvable murder of Businessman Thomas P.Manning (Sam Flint) who was shot dead in a room locked from the inside - which has baffled Police. His Stepdaughter Leah (Joan Woodbury) asks Chan's son Tommy, Son no.3 for help which leaves Charlie with little choice but try to solve the Murder.The Chinese Cat of the title refers to a statue which has a secret compartment that all the bad guys are after.Mantan Moreland is back as Birmingham Brown, this time as a Taxi Driver and Chan's Chauffeur, again he's here for comic relief - but again as the stereotypical African American from that era - which many may find distasteful over 65 years later.The budget again is low which being from a Poverty row studio you have to expect that, The Acting is just about passable, The dialogue is somewhat better than the the last outing (Charlie Chan in the secret service) but still pretty bad and The Mystery (which is what you enjoy most about these) is decent.Come into it with realistic expectations as you should enjoy.**1/2 out of *****

These Sidney Toler "Monogram" Chan films, the last in the series, don't measure up to Warner Oland's earlier efforts but they are still very entertaining to me. Even with Mantan Moreland, who probably offends the sensibilities of a lot of people with his scared black-man routine. I can see where that's offensive, but if you just take him as a comedian and let it go, you can enjoy and even laugh with him.The only thing I did NOT find funny in here, but I normally do, is Charlie's insults to his kid. In this film, Tolder insults "Number Three Son" (Benson Fong) so many times that it borders on downright mean-spiritedness.Anyway, it was still a "decent" combination of mystery and comedy and the ending was cool, with Chan and his assistants chasing the bad guys around a "fun house." All the Charlie Chan movies are entertaining.

This second Charlie Chan offering from the Monogram Studios is an improvement over "Charlie Chan in the Secret Service". Back again are Sidney Toler in the Chan role, Benson Fong as #3 Son Tommy, and Mantan Moreland as Yellow Cab driver Birmingham Brown. Monogram remained true to the 20th Century Fox sense of continuity from film to film, as Birmingham refers to the last time he met the Chans in the previous movie.What starts out as an unsolved murder case eventually winds up with two additional corpses. A few elements we haven't seen in prior Chan films occur - Charlie takes one on the chin from one of the baddies, and later gets physical himself, knocking out one of the villains with the butt of a gun. Additionally, Charlie places a bet on the outcome of the case, liking the odds of 10 to 1 given him by the doctor/author who claims to have solved the mystery himself in a book published following the original murder. The ending is rather lame, as son Tommy subdues two bad guys with nothing more than a fire extinguisher; I sure wouldn't want those two in my corner, good or bad!The title of the film comes from a large statue of a black cat, which conceals a secret compartment with a stolen diamond. All in all, The Chinese Cat is a worthy addition to the Chan series, made more entertaining by the amiable presence of Mantan Moreland.