The Jade Mask (1945) User Reviews

not one of my favorite Chans

[blanche-2 · 6/10 · 22 July 2011]

"The Jade Mask" was made in 1945 and, as was often the case during the war years Charlie Chan movies, there's a McGuffin, some formula or process that will help the war effort. Here, the nutty inventor is paranoid about security so no one in his household knows anything. When he's killed, Chan is brought in, his number four son (Edwin Luke) dragging along behind him.

This film moves slowly, but is brightened by some good dialogue from Sidney Toler and Mantan Moreland, who was always a riot. I know his is a stereotyped character in a way, but in another way, it isn't, as he is treated as an equal by Chan. Frankly without Moreland, a good many of these films would be very boring.

Enjoyable Chan mystery with atmosphere and laughs

[mlraymond · 6/10 · 15 December 2007]

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.

To do whatever evil is planned

[bkoganbing · 5/10 · 28 January 2013]

Eccentric and rich scientist Frank Reicher is working on a poison gas formula and he's got the usual collection of servants, relatives, and colleagues in his mansion. That mansion also contains a room where Reicher does his work, keeps his secrets, and can only be opened or closed with a voice command. Should someone not authorized get in, good chance they'll trip a trap that will lock them in and kill them with poison gas.

Despite all this security Reicher winds up murdered and in a most exotic way. Before this Charlie Chan film is concluded four more victims will die. And they'll die in the same exotic way most of them. The method I won't reveal because it's way too good.

Sidney Toler plays the all wise Charlie Chan in this and despite help from number 4 son Edward Luke and Mantan Moreland, Toler solves the case. As for the title, where Jade comes in I don't know, but life masks are an integral part of the case allowing the murderer to whatever evil is planned.

For a Monogram Picture,The Jade Mask wasn't too bad and Charlie is at the top of his game.

Spooky Atmosphere

[Lechuguilla · 6/10 · 16 October 2006]

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.

A Strange Chan Flick; Not Bad Until The Ending

[ccthemovieman-1 · 6/10 · 8 September 2006]

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.

Okay Chan

[dbborroughs · 6/10 · 17 July 2004]

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.

Chan is puzzled, but not for long.

[michaelRokeefe · 6/10 · 31 August 2007]

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.

Enjoyable enough Time-passer. **1/2 out of *****

[WelshFilmCraze · 5/10 · 14 February 2010]

'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 *****

Spooky mystery with strange characters

[coltras35 · 7/10 · 8 December 2020]

I am a sucker for a mystery with a spooky house, strange characters, poison darts and secret panels and this nifty Chan has all this and more. It keeps ones attention from beginning to end. The only gripe is the ending. The denouement is a bit confusing. I don't mind if it's far fetched as the Chan series is meant to be that way. Great humour, too

Among the Best of the Chan Monogram Films--But That's Not Saying Much

[gftbiloxi · 5/10 · 10 June 2007]

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

The Jade Mask is another highly enjoyable Charlie Chan entry from Monogram Pictures

[tavm · 8/10 · 26 February 2010]

This is my ninth review of a Charlie Chan movie in series chronological order on these consecutive days. In this one, a scientist working for the government is murdered in his house. As usual, Charlie rounds up the suspects there...Instead of his usual "No. 2 Son" Jimmy, Chan has "No. 4 Son" Eddie (or Edward as he prefers to be called) on board assisting him. He is played by Edwin Luke, younger brother of "No. 1 Son" Lee who was played by Keye Luke in the earlier Warner Oland entries. Unlike the other Chan sons, this one is not so bumbling since he wears glasses and is a bit intellectual though he's also not as charismatic. Good thing there's still Mantan Moreland's Birmingham Brown to provide the charms especially since his "scared stiff" stereotyped role is a little subdued though he does provide a quite funny ending due to that. Another funny comic relief character is provided by the slow talking Sheriff Mack who provides his own wisecracks when talking to Chan and is played by Alan Bridges who I just found out here is another player from my favorite movie, It's a Wonderful Life, as he played another sheriff that was supposed to arrest George Bailey. Anyway, I very much liked this Chan entry, even the reveal of the murderer at the end, so on that note, I highly recommend The Jade Mask.

About average for a Monogram Charlie Chan film

[planktonrules · 6/10 · 3 September 2006]

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.

Perhaps the most misleading title ever

[tex-42 · 5/10 · 17 July 2008]

One of the more creative Monogram Charlie Chan movies, The Jade Mask involves the murder of a scientist named Harper who developed a gas that can turn wood into a substance as tough as steel. Naturally this would be very useful for the government to have for the war effort (World War II that is). Harper's entire family become suspects and it is up to Charlie Chan, his number four son Eddie and Birmingham Brown to figure out who did it.

The thing that sticks out most about this film is the fact that there is no jade mask, and no reference is ever made to a jade mask. Rather, Mr. Harper had plaster life masks made up of his family in order to be able to identify them should they ever try to steal from him. The masks do play a role in solving the crime.

As with all the Monogram Charlie Chan's, the budget for this movie was very low, and the set where the film takes place is reused throughout many of the Monogram Charlie Chan films. The acting is not entirely the best either, Number Four Son is well below the quality of Number One Son, and is somewhere on par with Number One Daughter. Mantan Mooreland steals the show as usual. This is essentially a typical mid to late run Charlie Chan film. Entertaining, but of low quality.

"Subtle as a blast of TNT, isn't he?"

[classicsoncall · 6/10 · 19 September 2004]

The body count reaches an all time high of four in this Charlie Chan film, as Sidney Toler attempts to solve the murder of inventor Dr. Harper, apparently killed for a secret gas formula he was developing for the war effort. The continuity of the Chan films is maintained here, as Edwin Luke joins the cast as Number #4 son Eddie, preferring to be called Edward. What starts out as a seemingly intelligent role for Edward evolves into what we've seen with the Chan sons in prior outings, although not as over the top as Victor Sen Young's portrayal of Number #2 son Jimmy - "Every time you open your mouth, you put in more feet than centipede". Mantan Moreland is on hand and more comfortable in his role as Chan's chauffeur Birmingham Brown, in this his fifth Chan film from Monogram Studios. I got a kick out of one of his lines - "I ain't curious about seein' no zombies", as he got to see plenty in two of his earlier films, 1941's "King of the Zombies", and 1943's "Revenge of the Zombies".

Although nearly everyone in Dr. Harper's household has come to despise him, it's his nephew Archer, an unusually talented quick change artist/ventriloquist/strongman who turns out to be the evildoer. What's curious to me is why he would stick around in a house with a detective, policemen and a coroner all looking for clues as to the identity of the killer. It's standard Chan stuff though, as the outcome is made to seem believable after all the pieces are made to fit.

Charlie Chan and the War Effort

[BaronBl00d · 9 February 2000]

This is a brief and entertaining Charlie Chan picture, starring the second and probably best Chan Sidney Toler. The story involves an eccentric inventor who has a new formula that will revolutionize a war industry. It seems that no one likes him including every member of his household. Naturally, he is killed, and Charlie Chan must figure out who did the dirty deed. This film was produced by Monogram Pictures near the end of the Chan series. It is a neat little story and has some wonderful lines spoken by Chan to his manservant Birmingham Brown and his number Four son, played by Edwin Luke. Mantan Moreland is wonderful as Brown bringing to the role some needed comic relief.

Was the working title The Plaster Ear?

[Spondonman · 7/10 · 4 December 2005]

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.

Did Someone Say "Jade"? This Movie Is a Gas!

[Hitchcoc · 6/10 · 19 January 2016]

A scientist who no one can stand is experimenting with gasses. He is killed and because the formulae for a certain type of gas is important, Charlie Chan is sent to the case. Later, he is joined by Number Four Son and Birmingham Jones, who were unable to find a hotel room. Since everyone in the house hated the professor, there is little cooperation when it comes to investigating. There are three women who move almost mechanically. When one goes up the steps, the other two follow and so on. Soon there are more murders. The house is filled with secret passages and protected areas. The problem is that many of these passageways are only known to the deceased. I liked that Mantan Moreland was treated with greater respect in this film instead of the usual treatment as a buffoon.

"He reach oversize decision with undersized brain."

[utgard14 · 6/10 · 13 March 2014]

Charlie Chan (Sidney Toler) investigates the murder of a scientist in a spooky mansion. This is one of the better Chan films made at Monogram. There's plenty of atmosphere and the claustrophobic setting of the mansion helps keep the suspense up.

Thankfully, Mantan Moreland's Birmingham Brown character doesn't louse it all up with his fear of spooks and bug-eyed double takes. He's actually kind of subdued in this one, which I appreciated. No Benson Fong as Tommy Chan here (yay!) but also no Frances Chan (boo!). Instead, we get Eddie Chan (Edwin Luke). I forget what numbered son he is. He's about as exciting as watching paint dry. The part seems like it could have been pretty good with a better actor. Eddie's supposed to be a nerdy kid with long-winded textbook explanations for simple things. It could have been funny but in wooden Edwin Luke's hands, it's not. He recites a lot of his lines like he's reading them off of cue cards. Anyway, despite the presence of Eddie and Birmingham , it's still a watchable and often enjoyable Chan film. There's no jade mask anywhere in the movie, though.

Not one of the best Charlie Chan movies

[jtyroler · 4/10 · 13 June 2008]

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.

A lesser effort

[jonfrum2000 · 6/10 · 18 August 2010]

While this Chan is worth watching for fans of the series, it doesn't quite hold up to the standard earlier episodes set. Charlie is quite grumpy to his son, - to the point of meanness - son #4 Edward, while a distinct character from his siblings, is also a stiff as an actor, and Birmingham Brown's role never takes off. The local policeman Charlie works with cracks homespun expressions that only stop the movie in its tracks. The mystery plays out OK, but the reveal is tough to take.

Any Chan is better than no Chan at all, but this one needed more time to shoot and better direction.

P.S. Notice I wrote the entire review without mentioning the term 'Poverty Row.' Many reviewers of the Monogram series seem incapable of writing a paragraph about these films without letting you know that they know about Poverty Row. Well la-di-da!

The mask doesn't hide the absence of a convoluted plot.

[mark.waltz · 4/10 · 24 April 2014]

It is obvious that as the Charlie Chan series moved from 20th Century Fox over to Monogram that quality diminished a great deal both in the technical and in the actual storyline content. It is obvious that the screenwriters were putting in many twists and turns into the short running times of these programmers because it is not always easy to remember who is involved in what scheme and who was there or not around when the murder took place.

The actual murder here is quite chilling, almost like an old-dark house theme as it is set up, but the list of suspects are entirely all too stereotypical, with the acting not up to par as previous entries in the series. Chan has gone onto #4 son (Edwin Luke) as his sidekick here, more intellectual here and less of a "Gee pop" All American guy who happens to be of Chinese descent. Mantan Moreland gets his usual number of malapropisms and cowardly desires to flee from danger, some funny, some not. It appears here that Monogram simply left one of its Z-grade horror movie sets up so they could rush through another Chan film to collect some easy profits. Such a shame they didn't spend more time on the script.

One of the best Monogram Chan films

[shakspryn · 8/10 · 4 December 2017]

A good script, good pacing and an excellent supporting cast all help make this one of the best Monogram Chan films. The one weak link among the actors is the entirely underwhelming performance of the actor playing Eddie Chan, Number 4 son.

A cranky inventor lives in an old mansion, waited on by the usual group of suspicious types who make good suspects! Chan is deft as always. You can almost sense him underplaying the humor of his scenes with Number 4 son, perhaps in an old pro's response to dealing with another actor who is just painfully bad. This was that actor's lone outing in a Chan picture--mercifully, for Chan fans. Even with him in it, this is still a very enjoyable film. The motto-spouting sheriff is a nice counterpart to Charlie. Anyone who has the idea that Monogram could not make a good Charlie Chan film, should see this movie. It's a winner. SPOILER ALERT: The body count in this film stands at five! I think that might be a record for any Chan movie!

Lesser entry, okay for what it is/was.

[gazzo-2 · 6/10 · 30 September 2007]

I don't this one needs that much elaboration on the previous comments, but thought I would add my few for what it's worth, as a series of observations more than anything else.

*Toler wasn't as good or convincing as Oland. Not close. The make-up was kinda bad too.

*I find Mantan Moreland to be funny in these, but I do recognize the Spook character he portrayed was def. offensive to many. The catching up to the car gag at the end is a hoot.

*Ed Luke is a block of wood.

*Puppets as killers was a neat twist.

*You couldn't keep the characters straight at times as they're brought in with a bare minimum of intro, and well-there you are.

*The acting was pretty clunky for the most part.

*Enjoyed the Scooby-Doo breakaway mask ending.

*You couldn't really buy the gal in question was 'Strong as a man' but fine, Toler as Chinese is less valid.

*Movie was only 67 minutes long, but so leaden paced it seems to go longer.

*So that's what a Dictaphone/belt looked like.....

"If silence is golden, you are bankrupt!"

[gridoon2024 · 5/10 · 22 February 2014]

"The Jade Mask" has intriguing aspects in its mystery and a fairly unexpected solution, but it suffers from snail-like pacing and static direction. Charlie Chan has a few very funny lines, the one in my summary above or "Every time you open your mouth, you put in more feet than centipede. Remain here and produce nothing but silence!" made me laugh out loud. One of the supporting characters is described as "a strongwoman in vaudeville", but we never really see her perform any amazing feats of strength, we just hear about them. Mantan Moreland provides typical - for the time - easily-scared-black-guy comedy relief; his funniest scene is at the very end of the picture. ** out of 4.

One for Al Bridge fans

[JohnHowardReid · 7/10 · 30 June 2014]

One of the best of the Monogram Charlie Chans, this one was made on a top budget (reportedly $75,000) by Poverty Row standards with both enough mystery and enough Chan to satisfy the fans, plus a sterling support cast headed by Frank Reicher as the spooky scientist, Al Bridge as the wisecracking sheriff, Edwin Luke as Charlie's number four son, and Dorothy Granger as Stella Graham. And of course, Chan himself, played with a fair degree of his 20th Century Fox charisma by Sidney Toler. For me, a little of Mantan Moreland's bug-eyed act goes a long way, but in this one I'm happy to say, he is comparatively restrained and even allows good old Sidney Toler to capture and hold center stage once the Chans arrive at the murdered man's spooky mansion. True, Mantan does re-assert himself right at the conclusion, but after sitting through all the movie's daringly spooky atmospherics, a little of Moreland's heavily bug-eyed comic relief doesn't go too far astray. However, I still don't know where the jade mask fits into the story. I don't remember any mask (or any jade either), but I guess you can't expect jade as well as good imitation pearls on Poverty Row. Available on an excellent Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer DVD,