A Disappointing Continuation

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

This is a gorgeous movie made by a gorgeous spirit.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

One of the best of the Monogram Charlie Chans, this one was made on a top budget (reportedly $75,000) by Poverty Row standards with both enough mystery and enough Chan to satisfy the fans, plus a sterling support cast headed by Frank Reicher as the spooky scientist, Al Bridge as the wisecracking sheriff, Edwin Luke as Charlie's number four son, and Dorothy Granger as Stella Graham. And of course, Chan himself, played with a fair degree of his 20th Century Fox charisma by Sidney Toler. For me, a little of Mantan Moreland's bug-eyed act goes a long way, but in this one I'm happy to say, he is comparatively restrained and even allows good old Sidney Toler to capture and hold center stage once the Chans arrive at the murdered man's spooky mansion. True, Mantan does re-assert himself right at the conclusion, but after sitting through all the movie's daringly spooky atmospherics, a little of Moreland's heavily bug-eyed comic relief doesn't go too far astray. However, I still don't know where the jade mask fits into the story. I don't remember any mask (or any jade either), but I guess you can't expect jade as well as good imitation pearls on Poverty Row. Available on an excellent Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer DVD,

It is obvious that as the Charlie Chan series moved from 20th Century Fox over to Monogram that quality diminished a great deal both in the technical and in the actual storyline content. It is obvious that the screenwriters were putting in many twists and turns into the short running times of these programmers because it is not always easy to remember who is involved in what scheme and who was there or not around when the murder took place. The actual murder here is quite chilling, almost like an old-dark house theme as it is set up, but the list of suspects are entirely all too stereotypical, with the acting not up to par as previous entries in the series. Chan has gone onto #4 son (Edwin Luke) as his sidekick here, more intellectual here and less of a "Gee pop" All American guy who happens to be of Chinese descent. Mantan Moreland gets his usual number of malapropisms and cowardly desires to flee from danger, some funny, some not. It appears here that Monogram simply left one of its Z-grade horror movie sets up so they could rush through another Chan film to collect some easy profits. Such a shame they didn't spend more time on the script.

One of the more creative Monogram Charlie Chan movies, The Jade Mask involves the murder of a scientist named Harper who developed a gas that can turn wood into a substance as tough as steel. Naturally this would be very useful for the government to have for the war effort (World War II that is). Harper's entire family become suspects and it is up to Charlie Chan, his number four son Eddie and Birmingham Brown to figure out who did it.The thing that sticks out most about this film is the fact that there is no jade mask, and no reference is ever made to a jade mask. Rather, Mr. Harper had plaster life masks made up of his family in order to be able to identify them should they ever try to steal from him. The masks do play a role in solving the crime.As with all the Monogram Charlie Chan's, the budget for this movie was very low, and the set where the film takes place is reused throughout many of the Monogram Charlie Chan films. The acting is not entirely the best either, Number Four Son is well below the quality of Number One Son, and is somewhere on par with Number One Daughter. Mantan Mooreland steals the show as usual. This is essentially a typical mid to late run Charlie Chan film. Entertaining, but of low quality.

Charlie Chan, played by the inimitable Sidney Toler, plays cat and mouse with a murderer. At a spooky mansion, light and shadows, combined with dreary music and an effective script, create a suitably mysterious atmosphere. The screen story also contains considerable humor.The acting is generally wooden, except for the performance of the wonderful Mantan Moreland. The film's editing and production values are weak. At one point you can see the shadow of the crew's microphone. But then, Charlie Chan movies, in general, are not known for their high technical quality.I was disappointed with the solution to the mystery, and that's my main complaint with this film. Still, watching "The Jade Mask" is not a bad way to spend a rainy Sunday afternoon, if your expectations are not too high.