Charlie Chan in Panama (1940)

the audience applauded

Simply A Masterpiece

It's funny, it's tense, it features two great performances from two actors and the director expertly creates a web of odd tension where you actually don't know what is happening for the majority of the run time.

It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

As the U.S. fleet prepares to move through the Panama Canal, a foreign agent known only as Ryner plans to blow-up part of the canal. However, Charlie Chan and #2 Son are on hand to stop Ryner's plot (and solve a murder or two in the process).Charlie Chan in Panama is a rock solid entry in the Chan catalogue. This was Sidney Toler's fifth outing as Chan, Victor Sen Yung's fourth appearance as Jimmy Chan, and Norman Foster's third directorial credit in the Chan series. These guys knew what they were doing. Throw in an excellent supporting cast (featuring the always enjoyable Lionel Atwill), excellent looking sets, suspicious characters, red herrings around every corner, and some decent comedy bits from #2 Son and you've got the makings for an enjoyable movie experience. I'm not usually a fan of Chan films that are spy centered, preferring the murder based plots instead. But here, it works. As others have pointed out, I appreciate that the mystery's resolve actually makes sense. It always makes things more enjoyable when you as the viewer can follow along with what Chan is saying. And, finally, I appreciate that for once Jimmy Chan actually serves a real purpose. In this one, he is directly responsible for saving Pop's life.Overall, an 8/10 from me. Charlie Chan in Panama is a must for fans of the series.

"At least we're getting off to an exciting start," comments school teacher Mary Nash to mystery author Lionel Atwill. "Like one of those blood and thunder novels you write." New arrivals in the high-security Panama Canal zone, they have just watched two sailors chase a guy with a camera off the end of a dock. Murder and espionage are afoot in this tense mystery set on the brink of WWII; the U.S. fleet may be attacked as it passes through the Canal, and it falls to Charlie Chan and his colleagues to prevent the attack—and identify the master spy behind the plot.Among others on hand are Jack LaRue, owner of a shady café; Kane Richmond as an engineer working for the government; and Jean Rogers, airplane stewardess turned nightclub singer and possible spy. Sidney Toler is at his best in this efficient thriller that is more of an espionage picture than your typical Chan murder mystery; Lieutenant Chan masterfully manages some pretty high stakes dramatic situations—but also manages to fit in a few laughs with number two son Lee. Sen Yung is also strong as Lee, as much valuable assistant as comic relief. Between the great lineup of suspects—everyone is suspicious as can be—and the fine performances from Toler and Yung, this is an entertaining and exciting series entry. Plus it includes at least one great Chan aphorism: "Bad alibi like dead fish. Cannot stand test of time."

A master saboteur named Ryner is on the loose in the Panama Canal Zone, with evil intent. Naturally, "Ryner" now goes by another name, and could be either male or female. I counted eight suspects. And one of them is Ryner.This film has a delightful international flavor in the cast of characters, the visuals, and music. B&W lighting is competent and contributes to a noir style with lots of atmospheric shadows. Production design is surprisingly robust.The identity of the killer is not too hard to figure out. The plot takes lots of liberties with details. For example, hotel rooms are conveniently unlocked, so that Chan (Sidney Toler) and company can easily investigate. The foreign sabotage theme is a tad stale. Lord knows that writers got a lot of mileage out of it during the 1940s.Charlie's son Jimmy (Victor Sen Yung) keeps interfering in the investigation. He pops up numerous times, presumably as comic relief, but also to provide details that advance the plot. His idiocy is quite annoying, and every time he appears, I cringe.Though not one of the better stories in the Chan series, the film is still worth watching, but only for viewers enamored of the whodunit element.

This is an extremely timely Charlie Chan movie as although the US was not yet at war, storm clouds were on the horizon and this film anticipated the importance of the Panama Canal to the future. Although the film never said that the Germans were planning on blowing up the canal, that's exactly what was very strongly implied--with a vicious foreign agent named 'Ryner'. The problem is that Chan and the military authorities have no idea what this agent looks like as well as exactly what this enemy agent's intentions are as well as how they'll go about doing it. So it's up to Chan and #2 Son to investigate.This film is better than average for the Fox version of Charlie Chan. Mostly this is due to the timeliness, the use of non-grainy and relevant stock footage as well as a dandy plot and mystery. It keeps you guessing up until the end--and I liked this very much.