You won't be disappointed!

Wonderful character development!

That was an excellent one.

Just intense enough to provide a much-needed diversion, just lightweight enough to make you forget about it soon after it’s over. It’s not exactly “good,” per se, but it does what it sets out to do in terms of putting us on edge, which makes it … successful?

When an important research scientist is killed, the government sends Charlie Chan to investigate. He keeps the entire set of guests in place while he looks into the events. Soon we have a group of suspects, any one of whom could've culpable. This time, two of Chan's children show up at the scene. If I've got this right, it is his number three son and his number two daughter. They bumble their ways in, but do prove helpful at times. There is also Mantan Moreland, who is the stereotypical black man who often appeared in mysteries of this time. He is really funny, but for many of the inappropriate reasons. Anyway, there is a missing set of schematics for a new torpedo that the late scientist had developed. Charlie must sort through a lot of subterfuge to get at the answer. A decent entry.

The always enjoyable Charlie Chan (Sidney Toler) works to find out who murdered an inventor and stole his invention in "Charlie Chan in the Secret Service." This film, from 1944, introduces the character of Birmingham Brown (Mantan Moreland). In this, he plays the chauffeur of one of the party guests.A scientist who is working on an invention to protect Allied ships from torpedoes is being protected by Secret Service. However, on the night he's having a party, he refuses to greet his guests surrounded by Secret Service, so he doesn't want them around. He is almost immediately killed and his invention stolen! Charlie, number three son Tommie (Benson Fong) and daughter Iris arrive to solve the case.This plot was re-used with different McGuffins several times. I don't watch Charlie Chan for the plots, which is a good thing. I like the characters, Charlie's proverbs, and Charlie's relationship with whatever son is along and Birmingham.This particular story is perhaps more incongruous than others in that the inventor is working in his home and has a dinner party filled with suspicious characters, and doesn't want the Secret Service. It has one of those scenes of everyone gathered in the living room for the big reveal - and it could be any one of them.Fun, though I could have done without Iris Chan (Marianne Quon), not a particularly good actress.

I'll say one thing for these Charlie Chan films. There's never a shortage of murder suspects and the clues are always readily apparent to the master sleuth but not to the audience. At least, that's the usual pattern, even when Sidney Toler joined forces with Monogram for several B-picture entries in the series.CHARLIE CHAN IN THE SECRET SERVICE follows the pattern precisely, even giving us a final gathering of suspects from which to venture our own guess as to the identity of the murderer. As usual, it's at your own risk for it seldom turns out to be the most obvious.Once again, Toler plays it close to the vest without giving the audience much of a hint as to which suspect he's onto. The story gets off to a fast start with the murder of an inventor of a torpedo plan murdered in his own home being guarded by secret service bodyguards.Chan gets the call to solve the case and discovers that the inventor's plans are missing. "No one leaves until case ends satisfactorily," he tells the police. Chan is soon joined by two of his eldest children, who are no help at all in solving the crime. Nor is MANTAN MORELAND as Birmingham Brown, wild-eyed with fear as still another murder occurs.The explanations are strictly a wild concoction by the screenwriter who has left no stone unturned to make sure that the old cliché about "the least obvious suspect" is once again a truism.Summing up: Good for a few chuckles, but it doesn't play fair with the clues.

During World War Two, spies come in all shapes and forms. America's Number One Chinese detective, Charlie Chan(Sidney Toler), is called upon by the Secret Service to find who murdered the scientist/inventor of a top-secret weapon to protect the U.S. forces from German U-boats. Chan arrives to a house party full of guests that contains a spy that has stolen the assembly plans of the newly invented weapon. The guests are quite eccentric, if not just plain suspicious. Chan is followed by one of his sons(Benson Fong) and daughters(Marianne Quon)good for getting in the way of the investigation. Not one of the best Chan movies I've seen, but still good enough to hold interest. Absolutely comical is Mantan Moreland that plays a chauffeur named Birmingham Brown. Others in the cast: Gene Roth, Lelah Tyler, Gwen Kenyon, Arthur Loft and Sarah Edwards.