From my favorite movies..

Am I Missing Something?

The biggest problem with this movie is it’s a little better than you think it might be, which somehow makes it worse. As in, it takes itself a bit too seriously, which makes most of the movie feel kind of dull.

It's a good bad... and worth a popcorn matinée. While it's easy to lament what could have been...

Pauline Moore comes to Reno staying in a hotel specializing in divorces owned by Kay Linaker in which Phyllis Brooks is the social director. Pauline is divorcing husband Kane Richmond, who is engaged to be married to Louise Henry. While at the hotel lounge, Henry is escorted by Ricardo Cortez to Moore's table to rub her nose in the fact that she is marrying her husband. Robert Lowery, also present during the confrontation, is stunned that Henry is engaged since he thought that Henry was his girl. Brooks is jealous that Cortez is escorting Henry since she has a thing for him! Later that evening Moore is found in Henry's room standing over Henry's dead body. Charlie is enlisted by Richmond to fly with him to Reno to clear his wife of the murder. It's hard to believe but the plot gets even more complex and convoluted the more the movie goes on! Sen Yung falls for Iris Wong, in the role of Henry's maid, and the two of them hinder more than help the investigation. Aside from the aforementioned actors and actresses who were marvelous, Slim Summerville is wonderful as the local sheriff who is always several steps behind Chan in the investigation. Charles D. Brown as the Chief of Police and Sidney Toler keep a lid on the insanity and were very good also. The ending will remind you of a Thin Man finale. Very enjoyable entry in the series.

Before Las Vegas exploded in growth after Ben Siegel opened the Flamingo Hotel and it became the gambling capital of the USA, Reno, Nevada was the state's largest city and it's business was divorce and quickie marriages. As sheriff Slim Summerville remarked when the original suspect for the murder is being arrested, one thing she won't have any trouble in finding is a lawyer. They practically grow like cabbages out in the desert.Pauline Moore is in Reno getting a divorce from Kane Richmond and is accused of murdering Louise Henry, the woman set to marry Richmond. She has a scene in the beginning of the film where she makes herself such an obnoxious Miss Thing that half the would be brides and divorcées want to kill her. But it's Moore found over the body and Moore the one looking like she has the motive and opportunity.Of all things Charlie Chan is called by Richmond still concerned for his wife. It turns out that of course Henry had a ton of enemies and acquaintances and a shady past with connections to others in the cast. It's up to Sidney Toler in his second Chan feature to ferret all those out.I have to say some of them come out of left field, still the film is a decent Charlie Chan feature. Although the homicide captain Charles D. Brown is grateful for the help, country sheriff Slim Summerville spends most of the time bewildered by how rapidly the Oriental mind works. He's the comic relief in a good mystery that provides us with only one murder and a foiled attempt at another.

An enjoyable whodunit, this film stars Sidney Toler as the formidable but good-natured sleuth on the trail of the killer of an annoying Reno socialite. Usually, I can guess correctly who the killer is, but this time I was wrong.The story is much more complex than it first appears. And it's not entirely believable. But the puzzle is what's important. The plot includes a nighttime visit to a ghost town, and some genuine humor in the form of a loquacious taxi driver.B&W lighting contributes to suspense, especially at the ghost town. Casting and acting are fine, though I could have done without irritating number two son, Jimmy (Victor Sen Yung). The actors all seem to be having a good time with their roles.Despite a weak story premise, the film gets an overall positive review from me, owing to effective B&W lighting, humor, and a surprise ending. "Thank you so much".

Although this story got a bit confusing early on and was impossible to figure out with so many suspects, it still was very enjoyable to watch because of the humor.Between Charlie's proverbs and just some humorous remarks - many by Charlie's Number Two Son "Jimmy" (Sen Yung) and "Sheriff Tombstone Fletcher" (Slim Summerville) - it's a very entertaining Chan episode. Summerville played a pretty funny lawman.The movie also had a couple of very pretty women, most notably Phyllis Brooks. Overall, here's another Chan mystery just crying out for DVD packaging. Hopefully, we'll get it soon.