Platicsco Good story, Not enough for a whole film

Derrick Gibbons An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

Zlatica One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

Dana An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

gridoon2018 "The Scarlet Clue" is a typically cheap Monogran production in underdressed sets, and it's mostly tedious, but there are some clever bits for mystery fans (even if, once again, the killer seems to be selected at random), and memorable use of a booby-trapped elevator. My favorite Chan line, in response to his son saying that he had an idea but it was gone: "maybe it could not stand solitary confinement!". ** out of 4.

Neil Doyle THE SCARLET CLUE is a fairly interesting Charlie Chan film from the '40s, depending on its humor for the performances of BENSON FONG as #3 son, MANTAN MORELAND as Birmingham Brown and BEN CARTER as Ben Carter. The mysterious deaths of people associated with a radio program that is a front for some sort of radar secrets espionage, is at the heart of the crimes Chan must solve.SIDNEY TOLER was beginning to show signs of fatigue (he died two years later) and the sets and production values are noticeably reduced from what they were when the Chan films were being made by Fox. During the TCM showing of the film, Robert Osborne mentioned that it was Toler himself who brought the idea of furthering the Chan adventures to another studio after shopping the idea around.VIRGINIA BRISSAC, JACK NORTON, JANET SHAW and HELEN DEVERELL are among the chief suspects. I recognized Miss Brissac from her performance as the hard of hearing Miss Seiffert from THE SNAKE PIT. She has quite a different role here.Enjoyable fluff, not one of the best in the Chan series but a respectable enough entry from Monogram.Favorite line: When son #3 tells his dad that he has an idea but then immediately forgets what he wanted to say, Chan replies: "It's now in solitary confinement."

monticellomeadow The Scarlet Clue could have been so much better had the writers written a tighter plot. First, in 1945 why be so indirect as to who the bad guys worked for? They were, obviously, German agents. Yet all we had to go on were some references to name changes of the spies from German to English. And one of the plotters seemed absolutely clueless as to who he was working for and what was going on. The ending lacked punch - why did we see one of the agents fall to his death in the trick elevator, but not the Dark Mistress who was behind it all, at the conclusion? Audiences always want to see the "Most Evil One" get his/hers, even in 1945! Not just, "Oh, yes, she's the one. Here's her body. She fell down the elevator shaft." And the "cigarette + gas" thing had me going "huh?" Now Foster and Moreland were excellent, reprising their vaudeville routine. And Sidney Toler did a decent Chan. But overall this plot and writing left much to be desired, even for a Charlie Chan picture.

MartinHafer Once again, I have watched a Charlie Chan movie and then noticed that a significant number of people have rated this movie as a 10!!! While the early and well-made Chan movies from Fox were pretty good, none of them came close to meriting a 10. And this later product, from "poverty row" studio, MONOGRAM, is far from one of the better Charlie Chan films--especially since these films were well-known for their cheap production values, poor writing and short turnover (being made in just a few days in most cases). In fact, it's poorer than average for a Chan film and anyone giving it a 10 must be joking!! After all, do you really believe that this film is as good or better than MR. SMITH GOES TO WASHINGTON or BEN HUR or THE SOUND OF MUSIC? These movies might merit a 10, but not a routine series film that has a pretty shallow script. The antics of Mantan Moreland as Chan's stupid Black servant (sadly, this was a role typical of many Black stars in white films of the 30s and 40s) were often offensive and stereotypical, but at least in this film Moreland had a few good moments as well. The Moreland and Ben Carter scenes are hilarious but irrelevant to the movie. In fact, the funny little vaudeville routine that Carter and Moreland do together does make the movie worth watching--you just have to see and hear it for yourself. The banter between them is just strange and infectiously funny. The only other GOOD thing about the film are some of Chan's one-liners (that are MUCH meaner than usual and refer to his #3 son as an idiot). But, as for the story itself, it's pretty limp and forgettable. Like most of the wartime Chan films it has to do with espionage and murder and as such it's awfully predictable.