Shadows Over Chinatown

Charlie Chan (Sidney Toler) investigates insurance fraud and a series of murders. Another Monogram Chan film that is helped by the return of "Number Two Son" Jimmy Chan (Victor Sen Yung), last seen in the 1942 Fox film Castle in the Desert. Up until this point at Monogram, Charlie had been saddled with dull-as-dirt Tommy Chan, played by bland Benson Fong. Victor Sen Yung is a breath of fresh air for this stale series. That being said, he can only do so much. It's still Monogram so it's still cheap. Also, there's still obtrusive comic relief Birmingham Brown, played by bug-eyed Mantan Moreland. The good news is that Moreland doesn't overpower Sen Yung like he did Fong. So it's a watchable effort but nothing special. But when it comes to the Monogram series, watchable is about as much as you can hope for.