Movie Cosmos - Charlie Chan in Panama

Description:

Charlie impersonates an employee of the U.S. government to foil an espionage plot which would destroy part of the Panama Canal, trapping a Navy fleet on its way to the Pacific after maneuvers in the Atlantic.

Top Cast >

Sidney Toler

As Charlie Chan

Jean Rogers

As Kathi Lenesch

Lionel Atwill

As Cliveden Compton

Mary Nash

As Miss Sarah Finch

Victor Sen Yung

As Jimmy Chan

Kane Richmond

As Richard Cabot

Chris-Pin Martin

As Sergeant Montero

Lionel Royce

As Dr. Rudolph Grosser

Helen Ericson

As Stewardess

Jack La Rue

As Emil Manolo

Edwin Stanley

As Governor D.C. Webster

Donald Douglas

As Captain Lewis

Frank Puglia

As Achmed Halide

Addison Richards

As R.J. Godley

Edward Keane

As Dr. Fredericks

Eddie Acuff

As Dance Sailor Suspicious of Kathi

Jimmy Aubrey

As Drunk Fisherman with Cigar at Club

Brooks Benedict

As Nightclub / Dance Extra

Lane Chandler

As Powerhouse Search Officer

Russell Custer

As Soldier

Alan Davis

As Soldier

Franklyn Farnum

As Marine Officer

Edward Gargan

As Plant Workman

Harold Goodwin

As Military Police Corporal

Sol Gorss

As Soldier

Chuck Hamilton

As Dance Extra

Alberto Morin

As Hotel Desk Clerk

Philip Morris

As Plainclothesman

Gloria Roy

As Hostess

Charles Sherlock

As Soldier

Charles Stevens

As Native Fisherman-Cameraman Spy

Sid Troy

As Sailor

Max Wagner

As Soldier

Top Crew >

Norman Foster

Director

Earl Derr Biggers

Characters

John Larkin

Writer

Sol M. Wurtzel

Executive Producer

Reviews:

CinemaSerf (6/10)

This outing for our sleuth finds him working undercover - appropriately in a Panama hat shop - on a mission to help the US Government combat the activities of some spies bent on disrupting the movement of US Naval vessels though the Panama Canal. When a man is murdered in his shop, "Chan" is detained by the unwitting authorities who take him to a local jail where he, coincidentally, encounters no. 2 son "Jimmy" (Victor Sen Yung), who was working on a cruise liner and who is also stranded in Panama. Together, they must identify and thwart the would be saboteur amidst a plethora of suspects led by the always reliable Lionel Atwill ("Compton"). I enjoyed the dynamic between father and son - it works well, and the story is actually quite exciting to watch for the most part with a rather better ending than I was expecting. The constant dialogue in contrived proverbs is a little bit annoying, but then it wouldn't be "Charlie Chan" if he ever actually called a spade a spade...!

2022-06-23