What makes it different from others?

Really Surprised!

Masterful Movie

Watch something else. There are very few redeeming qualities to this film.

Review - Charlie Chan in The Chinese Cat, released 5-20-44 Monogram Pictures Corporation The story begins with a murder we witness as the perpetrator slips through police. The title references a statue atop the desk of the murdered man, with a secret compartment containing a stolen diamond. The murdered man had taken the gem from his partner and was killed as a result of double-crossing the partner. Subsequent killings occur because the victims were going to reveal the guilty party names to authorities. There are multiple guilty members involved in the theft of certain gems, hidden in other artifacts famous for having compartments cleverly made by a friend of Charlie Chan. The famous detective is able to round up all the guilty parties with the help from able bodied assistants Tommy Chan and Birmingham Brown. Greed plays an important factor in the murders and the capture of the guilty. Watch how Charlie moves through the sea of bad characters with help from those he is closest. A damsel is distress comes to Charlie requesting help in exonerating her widowed mother from the clutches of a crooked step-father and his business partner. A self-appointed criminologist author has accused the widow of a crime without proof, baffling police in the process, and involving a certain Detective whose father Chan had known in another time and city. That certain detective comes to Charlie's rescue at the end of the story to learn how it is done by the best of crime fighters. A large home with a secret panel entrance and a fun house arcade are the two center stages shown in the film, with some hotel action as well. There are six guilty members, two that are killed, involved in the whole plot. See how it all unfolds culminating to be at the fun house with a thorough explanation provided by the master.

This is my seventh review of a Charlie Chan movie in series chronological order during these consecutive days. It's also my first for the Monogram entries, of which this one is the second. In this one, a young woman's stepfather is murdered in a closed room. She enlists Charlie in the case through communicating with his "No. 3 Son" Tommy (Benson Fong) while both stay at a hotel. Also along for the ride, for only the second time, is cab driver Birmingham Brown (Mantan Moreland)...The noticeable changes from Fox to Monogram, besides more comic relief with both Fong and Moreland, is some more time for the music score to go along with some more action sequences near the end before we hear Charlie's assessment of the case. Also, the plotting isn't too serious and Chan's wisecracks to his son seem almost mean-spirited, like Abbott & Costello like, though one can take them with a grain of salt. And while Mantan's antics, especially his looks of fright, would probably not do in these politically correct times, he still can be entertainingly funny with what he does here and I don't think it reflects badly on his race at all since to me he's just a funny looking clown who's quite endearing, whatever the race. So on that note, I quite recommend Charlie Chan in the The Chinese Cat. P.S. Mr. Moreland was a native of Monroe in my now home state of Louisiana. And Sam Flint, who played Thomas P. Manning here, was another player in my favorite movie, It's a Wonderful Life. He was the relieved banker in Mr. Potter's office wiping his forehead during the run-on-the-bank sequence.

The Monogram Chan's, apart from falling production values, were also marked by more and more action scenes with or without cliffhanger music and less on the explanatory dialogue so necessary with the Fox's. With the action came more non-sequiteurs or simply incongruous scenes - in this one take Tommy Chan being beaten to a pulp before his respected father's calm eyes! Great stuff for teenagers in 1944 but surely something of which the Charlie we know should have been thoroughly ashamed?!Rich amateur chess player murdered six months previously, at the time to the utter bafflement of the police - Charlie has less than two days to research the case and solve it. And does he bring the rather impotent detective and the daughter of the murdered man together, and give the detective a promotion for doing nothing? I ain't saying! The climax in the Fun Two Corridors Cupboard And Room brings a baddies Wild West hideout suspiciously to mind, but what the Heck!Well made (for Monogram) and enjoyable entry in the series.

Monogram's Charlie Chan films tended to suffer towards the end by lack of caring. The plots ended up confused and messy aimed more at Birmingham Brown and the Chan son of the film being silly while Charlie said wise things. Here, thankfully, the film is blessed with a decent mystery, different sets than most of the others, and several good supporting performances, in particular by the always wonderful, and sadly not well known John Davidson.Here we have the death of a chess expert and assorted other goings on that make this one of the better later Chan films. I don't want to say too much since the joy here is in the watching, and this film is certainly worth watching.7 out of 10