The Chinese Ring (1947)

Slow pace in the most part of the movie.

From my favorite movies..

Better Late Then Never

This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

The doorbell rings. A woman wants to see Mr. Chan. She gives no name but hands an ornate ring to the butler and says, "Take this to him." While waiting for Chan in his study, she is shot through the window with a poison dart. Who was she and why was she killed? Charlie Chan investigates. The plot of this late series entry is about as original as that opening scene. Clues include an inscription on the ring and an unfinished note scrawled by the dying woman. Mr. Chan is assisted by handsome young police sergeant Warren Douglas, who chews gum all the time. Also on the case is perky newspaper reporter Louise Curry, who climbs in Chan's study window looking for clues. Douglas spends most of his time trying to keep Curry out of his way...and of course they have one of those love-hate romances that is totally nauseating. Roland Winters makes his debut as Charlie Chan and he is not bad, though he takes some getting used to. He moves more quickly than poor Sidney Toler did in his last few pictures; this Chan is more vigorous, less grandfatherly, and ultimately less interesting, too, since unfortunately his stock of wise old sayings in this picture is practically nil. Mantan Moreland is fine as Birmingham Brown. The one-time chauffeur seems to have taken on butler duties as well. Sen Yung helps out as number two son Tommy Chan--he's energetic as always but for some reason he is absent (and missed) during a long middle section. The story moves at a decent pace but it's really just too predictable, and generally weak dialog probably makes the familiar plot seem worse. Interesting for Chan fans but not one of the series' highlights.

Blow darts and air rifles seem to abound in the Charlie Chan series. It seems that those most vulnerable are not protected very well. So often, someone dies with a cop standing guard outside the door. People are able to shoot through windows or off balconies without any trouble. They then escape without a trace. Even if they are caught, the person lies dead. In this one, a Chinese princess has come to see Charlie with what appears to be important information. Birmingham goes to get Charlie and while they are putzing around, the unfortunate lady gets shot with a dart. It turns out that there is some big money involved with airplane contracts. A Chinese ship and some banking mishaps are at the center. Enter another of those dull 1940's policemen and an overly aggressive female beat reporter who has the hots for him and Chan is left having to handle the situation. As usual, Mantan Moreland and Tommy Chan get in the way for the most part. Roland Winters has replaced the late Sidney Toler and doesn't seem to have any chemistry with the secondary characters. Several people die as a result of carelessness. One thing I have noted before is the general insensitivity of Charlie and the gang. But then it's not Shakespeare.

The original Fox Charlie Chan movies with Warner Oland were the best but the Sidney Toler Fox movies were pretty good, too. When the series (and Toler) moved to Monogram in 1944, it resulted in a sharp drop in quality. There were still a few watchable movies left but nothing to brag about. As it went on, Toler's performance got worse along with the general quality of the movies themselves. It got to the point where all he did was show up, half-remember the poorly-written lines of dialogue, and occasionally throw in one of the irritating feces-eating grins of his that were so commonplace in the Monogram films. After Toler died, Roland Winters took over for the remainder of the series. This is the first of the Roland Winters Chans and, yes, it is terrible. All of the Winters films are garbage and the worst of the entire Charlie Chan series from Fox to Monogram. It's truly sad that several early Warner Oland Chan films have been lost to time but these have survived.The plot here is a remake of Mr. Wong in Chinatown with few changes. Roland Winters is a dull, lifeless Charlie Chan. He seems to be trying to emulate Oland more than Toler. He fails more than any person has ever failed at anything ever. Mantan Moreland is still in the series as comic relief Birmingham Brown. As there are no "spooks" for him to be afraid of in this one, he serves no purpose. He appears to have lost some weight and looks older since his last appearance. Victor Sen Yung returns but, for some bizarre reason, he's now Tommy Chan instead of Jimmy! Tommy, for those who know the series, was the terribly dull son played by Benson Fong in most of the Toler Monogram films.The writing had been crap for the entirety of the Monogram years but here it's at an all-time low. So don't expect any witty Chan aphorisms from Winters. Here we have this gem: "Strange events permit themselves the luxury of occurring in strange places." Just stupid. There's nothing about this I can or would recommend. Avoid at all costs.

As Chans go, not the best, but the story itself is fine. Roland Winters is a perfectly good Chan - the role was defined by the time this episode in the series was made, so he basically just had to show up and recite the lines to get the job done. Although Victor Sen Young shows up as Tommy, he plays a very small part in the film - a good thing in my opinion. Birmingham Brown is present as comic relief, but doesn't shine in this one. Sargent Bill Davidson and plucky girl reporter Peggy Cartwright play the clichéd role of battling couple with unfortunate results. After the third or fourth exclamation of "Bill Davidson!" by our intrepid girl reporter, I was ready to strangle her. By the sixth or seventh time, I was ready to strangle myself. You'd think the writers were paid to keep the word count down. Worse, while the two argue in Davidson's office, he grabs her and shakes her in a rage, nearly knocking her off her feet. Of course, that's what men do to women they love, right? Don't worry, it all ends up in a kiss. Good God.That's what you have to deal with when watching sixty year old movies - sometimes there's a real culture shock.