Shanghai Chan

CHARLIE CHAN IN SHANGHAI-1935-Charlie Chan (Warner Oland) visits “the land of my ancestors” for the first time in many years to see his friend Sir Stanley (David Torrance). He’s  met at the dock by Stanley's secretary Nash (Jon Hall using his real name Charles Locher) and his niece Diana (Irene Hervey). Chan also hooks up with number 1 son Lee (Keye Luke). Unfortunately at the dinner Stanley is shot and killed by a wooden case rigged with a gun. Police inspector Watkins (Halliwell Hobbes) agrees to let Charlie investigate the death of his old friend. At night while Chan and Lee are sleeping an attempt to kill Chan fails. Later Chan is kidnapped by some mysterious bad guys but number one son saves him. An American secret agent Andrews (Russell Hicks)  explains to Chan that that he and Sir Stanley were working on breaking up an opium ring and wanted Chan’s help. Meanwhile Nash snoops around very suspiciously. After Nash is arrested for attempted murder, Chan's life is threatened several more times until he tricks the gang and reveals their real leader.

 One of the best in the series with son Lee doing a lot of fighting! 

Director James Tinling also made MR. MOTO'S GAMBLE.
 https://moviemeltdown.blogspot.com/2016/01/mr-moto-returns-again.html

Followed by CHARLIE CHAN'S SECRET.

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Forgotten Cosmo

COSMO JONES THE CRIME SMASHER-1943-In this low budget Monogram crime drama with comic overtones, amateur criminologist Cosmo Jones (Frank Graham, mainly a voice actor and announcer), a nerdy umbrella toting guy teams up with an African-American janitor (Mantan Moreland) to help vindicate a cop named Flanagan (Richard Cromwell) accused of killing a bystander. Flanagan's captain is played by Edgar Kennedy and his girlfriend is Gale Storm. Jones can impersonate many voices and there's a gang war and the kidnapping of a rich woman but the story isn't very good and Moreland is wasted (though he helps catch the thugs). 

Director James Tinling made CHARLIE CHAN IN SHANGHAI and MR. MOTO'S GAMBLE plus a whole bunch of forgotten low budget features and later went into TV. Despite having a very successful career star Frank Graham committed suicide in 1950.

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Mr. Moto Returns Again

MR. MOTO'S GAMBLE-1938-The intrepid Japanese detective (Peter Lorre) investigates the in ring death of a boxer. He gets assistance from pickpocket Knockout Wellington (“Slapsie” Maxie Rosenbloom) and Lee Chan (Keye Luke), Charlie Chan's number 1 son! The chief suspect is gangster Nick Crowder (Douglas Fowley) who's main henchman Joey is played by pre-Wolf Man Lon Chaney Jr. Ward Bond is Moran, the world champion. Poison seems to be the culprit but who did it? As usual Moto plays his cards close to his vest seeming almost as though he were a suspect too. Lynn Bari and John Hamilton are also featured.

The unusual presence of Lee Chan isn't so odd when you know that MR. MOTO'S GAMBLE (the third entry into the series) actually started out life as an entry in another (phony) Asian detective series at 20^th Century Fox, CHARLIE CHAN AT RINGSIDE. But illness forced star Warner Oland to drop out (he suffered from alcoholism and was involved in a messy divorce at the time). The filmed footage was scrapped but the script was later reworked with Lee being a student in one of Moto's crime classes.

Director James Tinling spend most of his time making low budget films and ended his career with some early TV work. Three years before GAMBLE he made CHARLIE CHAN IN SHANGHAI. GAMBLE is just a so-so detective murder mystery with too much comedy but Lorre is always interesting to watch.

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