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The Jade Mask More at IMDbPro »
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| Index | 19 reviews in total |
14 out of 19 people found the following review useful:
A Strange Chan Flick; Not Bad Until The Ending, 8 September 2006
Author:
ccthemovieman-1 from United States
This is one of the strangest Charlie Chan films I've even seen,
probably because many of the suspects were so weird. That, and the
building in which most of the action takes place - with all its secret
and motorized panels - is odd to see.
The story: an unpopular family member-scientist, "Dr. Harper," (Frank
Reicher) has developed a chemical that makes wood as strong as steel.
Our government could use this, especially in time of war, so they are
obviously concerned when the scientist is found murdered. They call on
Charlie Chan to help solve the case and get the formula. Charlie winds
up getting help from his Number Four Son "Eddie," someone I never saw
in any other Chan films. He was the bespectacled "intellectual" son in
the family and another likable Chan.
Anyway, someone is after the formula - for the money it could bring
them - and is culprit is probably from the big family where the doctor
was working. All of these people are portrayed as guilty-looking so the
audience has a hard time figuring out who's the killer.
The "whodunnit" is wrapped up in the end with a gathering of everyone
while Chan explains his discoveries. That was the only problem with the
film: the ending was unsatisfying and bit unrealistic.
9 out of 10 people found the following review useful:
Spooky Atmosphere, 16 October 2006
Author:
Lechuguilla from Dallas, Texas
Charlie Chan, played by the inimitable Sidney Toler, plays cat and
mouse with a murderer. At a spooky mansion, light and shadows, combined
with dreary music and an effective script, create a suitably mysterious
atmosphere. The screen story also contains considerable humor.
The acting is generally wooden, except for the performance of the
wonderful Mantan Moreland. The film's editing and production values are
weak. At one point you can see the shadow of the crew's microphone. But
then, Charlie Chan movies, in general, are not known for their high
technical quality.
I was disappointed with the solution to the mystery, and that's my main
complaint with this film. Still, watching "The Jade Mask" is not a bad
way to spend a rainy Sunday afternoon, if your expectations are not too
high.
9 out of 12 people found the following review useful:
Among the Best of the Chan Monogram Films--But That's Not Saying Much, 10 June 2007
Author:
gftbiloxi (gftbiloxi@yahoo.com) from Biloxi, Mississippi
Loosely based on novels by Earl Derr Biggers, 20th Century Fox's
Charlie Chan series proved an audience favorite--but when Japan
attacked Pearl Harbor the studio feared audiences would turn against
its Asian hero. This was a miscalculation: actor Sidney Toler took the
role to "poverty row" Monogram Studios, where he continued to portray
the character in eleven more films made between 1944 and his death in
1947.
20th Century Fox had regarded the Chan films as inexpensive "B" movies,
but even so the studio took considerable care with them: the plots were
often silly, but the pace was sharp, the dialogue witty, and the casts
(which featured the likes of Bela Lugosi and Ray Milland) always
expert. The result was a kindly charm which has stood the test of time.
Monogram was a different matter: Chan films were "B" movies plain and
simple. Little care was taken with scripts or cast and resulting films
were flat, usually mediocre at best, virtually unwatchable at worst.
Released in 1945, THE JADE MASK is one of the very few Monograms that
approaches the quality level of the 20th Century Fox series. This
largely due to the expert cast and witty script, both of which are a
bit unusual for Monogram. In this particular tale, Chan--who now works
for the government during World War II--is called upon to investigate
the murder of a scientist working with potentially beneficial but
distinctly deadly gasses. Sidney Toler's Chan is always enjoyable, and
he is aided in this by the local sheriff (Alan Bridge, who has the best
lines in the film) and the inevitable Birmingham Brown (Mantan
Moreland.) Fans of the 20th Century Fox series are likely to find
Monogram's Chan a significant disappointment and newcomers who like the
Monogram films will probably consider them third-rate after
encountering the Fox films. Even so, THE JADE MASK is unexpectedly
good, and I think most Chan fans will find it enjoyable.
GFT, Amazon Reviewer
5 out of 7 people found the following review useful:
Was the working title The Plaster Ear?, 4 December 2005
Author:
Gary170459 from Derby, UK
*** This review may contain spoilers ***
This Monogram Chan outing has a nice atmosphere and some witty dialogue
but a pretty way-out plot. Even the under-used Birmingham says the talk
is too stratospheric (over his head!) No.4 son Edward weighs in as
Chunky Chan and likewise takes a decided backseat to the deductive
powers of his esteemed father Charlie.
It's the usual delicious household full of family and guests who are
all tetchy as usual with one another but especially with the acid
professor who gets bumped off, and Charlie's attempts to solve the
case. Along the way there's a few more murders thrown in, and one scene
where one of the corpses walks much to Birmingham's horror and my
disgust as I already knew how (many previous viewings for humble self).
The professor who's supposedly working for the Government has his own
gas chamber for experimentation - was there any need to march the
culprit/s away at the end then?
A ridiculous ending, but overall another enjoyable episode [31/38] to
be savoured every now and then by the cognoscenti and ignored by the
serious.
5 out of 7 people found the following review useful:
Okay Chan, 17 July 2004
Author:
dbborroughs from Glen Cove, New York
This film suffers from a cheapness and lack of decent plotting. Its still
worth seeing, especially if you have other films to watch as
well.
Concerning the death of yet another inventor Charlie Chan runs around and a
round the same three or four sets in what at times amounts to little more
than a filmed stage play. Its not bad, just needlessly circular and
confused, with a denouncement that seems to indicate that the writers were
drinking heavily.
This isn't to say that it's a bad film, its not. Despite my opening remark,
this is a film that is frustrating more than anything, especially since the
film should work better than it does, but it was undermined by the round
about nature forced upon it by cost and script.
6 out of 10.
2 out of 2 people found the following review useful:
Enjoyable Chan mystery with atmosphere and laughs, 15 December 2007
Author:
mlraymond from Durham NC
*** This review may contain spoilers ***
A marvelously spooky beginning, with a shadowy figure in black,
stealthily approaching a mansion in the fog, sets the tone for this
odd, but entertaining Charlie Chan adventure. A secretive butler, a
sarcastic lab assistant, various disgruntled relatives, and unknown
suspects are all candidates for the murder of a scientist working on a
secret formula for the war effort.
Charlie is called in to investigate and finds himself in a house full
of strange devices and stranger characters. Well meaning assistance is
provided by nervous chauffeur Birmingham and son Eddie Chan, the
formal, intellectual member of the family. The slow talking but sharp
witted Sheriff Mack is played delightfully by well known character
actor Alan Bridge, who engages in friendly banter with Charlie and is
only too glad to let him do most of the investigating.
There are some clever twists and unexpected angles that make the
increasingly improbable story a lot of fun, even if it gets a little
far fetched at the end.The film is no masterpiece, but is thoroughly
entertaining, with a kind of naive charm so often found in old movies.
2 out of 2 people found the following review useful:
Chan is puzzled, but not for long., 31 August 2007
Author:
Michael O'Keefe from Muskogee OK
*** This review may contain spoilers ***
This Charlie Chan feature is complicated as it is simple. Charlie(Sidney Toler)is summoned to a spooky mansion to solve the murder of a renowned scientist, who is working on a gas that can turn wood into a substance hard as steel. The government is interested in this project, thus Chan on the case. The mansion is full of family and help and all loathed the deceased scientist, that may have taken his secret formula to the grave with him. Everyone is a suspect, but Chan discovers that the murderer and his wife have hidden certain identities with human puppets and masks, making victims seem alive. This black & white film is crisp and well paced. Interesting banter between Chan and his number four son Eddie(Edwin Luke); and you can always count on chauffeur Birmingham(Mantan Moreland)to provide comic relief. Other players in this 66 minute caper: Hardie Albright, Frank Reicher, Cyril Delevanti, Janet Warren and Ralph Lewis.
8 out of 14 people found the following review useful:
About average for a Monogram Charlie Chan film, 3 September 2006
Author:
planktonrules from Bradenton, Florida
*** This review may contain spoilers ***
While I have watched a lot of Charlie Chan movies and I have enjoyed
them, they are no doubt very formulaic and the Monogram series is
definitely inferior to the original 20th Century-Fox ones. So, how is
it that some people gave these B-movies a score of 10?! Sure, they
might be entertaining, but aesthetically they are far from high art.
Think about it--some people scored this as high (or higher) as many
might score GONE WITH THE WIND, THE BEST YEARS OF OUR LIVES or ORDINARY
PEOPLE!!!! Come on,...this is just a B-movie,...and a very ordinary
entry into the series at that. Plus, while I am not the most
politically correct person out there, I can't believe a movie with
Mantan Moreland's antics could ever merit a 10--or even an 8 or 9.
First, let's back up a bit. The original series was pretty
entertaining, but like all the Chan films it featured a White guy
playing a Chinese man--not unusual for its day, but certainly something
that prevent the films from being better--especially with the silly use
of the English language by Charlie. While Chinese in ethnic origin, he
is supposedly from Hawaii and I assumed most Hawaiians of his day did
not talk like morons. Plus, this makes little sense because he is so
darn smart a detective. But, most fans are able to look past this and
accept that this isn't "high art" but still is quite entertaining.
Fine. This is where I see myself. After all, even though he talks silly
and spouts a lot of so-called "Chinese Wisdom", he is a decent, brave
and intelligent guy--not exactly a negative stereotype.
But, after the success of the initial films, Warner Oland (the first
famous Chan) had the nerve to up and die and the series started to slip
a bit when he was replaced by Sidney Toler. I don't really blame Toler,
as he proved in other films he was a good actor. It's just that the
original chemistry seemed "different" and Fox soon dropped the series.
Enter Monogram Studios to continue the series (known as a "poverty row"
studio due to its low production values). Now, the movies featured
unknowns doing much of the supporting acting and Mantan Moreland was
introduced to the series for new comic relief. Mantand's performances
and the writing for his character was highly reminiscent of a smarter
and less lazy version of Steppin Fetchit. As a kid, I laughed when he
said lines like "feets don't fail me now" when he was scared (something
he always seemed to be in the films). Now that I am older, I cringe a
bit and know that there are Black people out there who are
understandably furious about the stereotype he portrayed--especially
because this type role was about the only one you'd see Black men
portraying in mainstream films of the era.
Now on to this particular film. First off, I have no idea why this
movie is called "Charlie Chan and the Jade Mask"--there is no jade mask
in the movie at all!!! There are some plaster masks, but even naming
the movie after them wouldn't have been the best title. Something like
"Charlie Chan and the Secret Formula" or "Charlie Chan and the Poison
Gas" might have been better titles. Regardless of the bad title, the
film is about a nasty scientist and his nasty family. The scientist is
murdered and Chan investigates because the man had been working on a
secret formula that the government wanted. In this film, #4 son makes
his appearance. He's a bookish lad who thinks he knows everything and
is probably more useless than any of the other Chan clan I have seen.
The film excels in several ways. First, Mantan Moreland is more human
and less a walking stereotype of "the scared and stupid Black man" like
he is in other movies. Second, the ending gag was pretty cute. Aside
from that, this film is about what you'd expect from any other film
from this series by Monogram.
By the way, a year earlier Monogram made "Charlie Chan in the Secret
Service". In so many ways, it's very similar to this film. Both involve
a scientist working on a secret War Department weapon and then are both
killed by evil-doers. So, you can see that after a lot of Chan films,
the well was starting to run a bit dry.
1 out of 1 people found the following review useful:
Enjoyable enough Time-passer. **1/2 out of *****, 14 February 2010
Author:
Liam Murphy from Wales
*** This review may contain spoilers ***
'The Jade Mask' is yet another 40's Charlie Chan B-movie made by
poverty row studio Monogram Pictures,
The Title is misleading though as there are No Jade masks, only a piece
of a plaster mask which is used in the denouement, but then again you
shouldn't look for faults in low budget B-movies.
This time around Chan (Sidney Toler) is asked by the U.S. Government to
look into the disappearance and apparent murder of an eccentric
Scientist (Frank Reicher) at a spooky mansion, The man was liked by
no-one not even his own family so Chan along with No.4 Son Eddie (Edwin
Luke) and Chauffeur/Comic relief Birmingham Brown (Mantan Moreland)
arrive at the Mansion to no end of suspects.
'The Jade Mask' is low budget, although it has better and wittier
dialogue and acting than other episodes than I've seen, it has a
surprisingly high body count and the mystery keeps you guessing.
The only downside is the ludicrous reveal of the Killer although the
premise was way before its time and a staggering 50 Years Plus before
the Mission Impossible Films did something similar.
**1/2 out of *****
1 out of 1 people found the following review useful:
Not one of the best Charlie Chan movies, 13 June 2008
Author:
jtyroler from United States
*** This review may contain spoilers ***
I grew up watching Charlie Chan movies - mostly the Fox movies. This
movie was kind of difficult to follow - not because of a complex
script, but for a Charlie Chan movie, it's kind of boring.
One problem is the sound levels - the dialogue is difficult to hear at
times. Monogram was a "poverty row" studio and this is a example of
their production values.
Chan is a federal agent in this film - not the normal Honolulu
detective of the pre-war films. Characters seem to just appear and many
of them are claiming their share of the inheritance. There's no mention
of a jade mask - I guess it made the title sound more "oriental" - and
there's probably little appeal if they called this "The Plaster Mask".
This movie gets pretty silly at times - poison darts being shot from an
air gun placed in a ventriloquist's dummy. A dead man walking like a
marionette doll. A person wears a latex mask and takes the place of a
murdered man.
If you're a Charlie Chan fan, you might want to watch this. If you're
not familiar with Charlie Chan movies - watch the pre-war movies.
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