Docks of New Orleans

USA 1948
produced by
James S. Burkett for Monogram
directed by Derwin Abrahams
starring Roland Winters, Virginia Dale, Mantan Moreland, John Gallaudet, Victor Sen Yung, Carol Forman, Douglas Fowley, Harry Hayden, Howard Negley, Stanley Andrews, Emmett Vogan, Boyd Irwin, Rory Mallinson, George J.Lewis, Haywood Jones, Dian Fauntelle, Paul Conrad, Forrest Matthews, Fred Miller, Larry Steers, Frank Stephens, Ferris Taylor, Wally Walker, Eric Wilton
screenplay by Scott Darling, based on characters by Earl Derr Biggers

Charlie Chan, Charlie Chan (Roland Winters), Charlie Chan at Monogram

review by
Mike Haberfelner

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When a businessman (Boyd Irwin) is killed while alone in his office, suspicion immediately falls upon scientist Swenstrom (Harry Hayden), who claims the deceased and his associates (Stanley Andrews, Emmett Vogan) have stolen a formula of his and who bears them all a grudge. Swenstrom is arrested, but then the dead man's associates are killed as well in the same mysterious way, and now it couldn't have been Swenstrom, could it? Charlie Chan (Roland Winters) is brought in to investigate, and he has soon tracked down a trio of smugglers (Carol Forman, Douglas Fowley, Howard Negley) with a motive to kill the three men, a grudge against Chan, and enough involvement into smuggling operations to have them arrested on the spot. Yet with this trio out of the way, Chan insists they were not the killers, but rather he comes up with an elaborate theory of radio tubes containing poisonous gas that explode when a certain high note is hit, a high note Swenstrom's wife (Dian Fauntelle), an opera signer, sometimes hits when on radio - and by luring Swenstrom into a trap involving a radio tube, Chan can prove him to be the killer after all.

Victor Sen Yung can be seen as Chan's Number Two Son, Mantan Moreland as his driver Birmingham Brown.

Tired late entry into Monogram's Charlie Chan-series: The plot was lifted from (the already less than special) Mr. Wong, Detective, Roland Winter makes a rather poor Charlie Chan (even apart from the fact that he is not Oriental at all, which was a Hollywood tradition though back in the day), and even the usually great Mantan Moreland looks a bit tired in this one and is given too little to do. And despite the title, the actual docks of New Orleans feature hardly at all in the movie ...

review © by Mike Haberfelner

 

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