Beautiful, moving film.

Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

One of the better early Charlie Chan entries, with some spooky atmospherics (even if you know immediately that the psychics are fakes), some twists, and an outcome that may be surprising precisely because it names as the guilty party one of the most suspicious characters! Major debit: the butler's unsuccessful comic relief. My favorite Chan line: "Best place for skeleton is in family closet". **1/2 out of 4.

This review is the second of a series of such that I'm devoting to the films of the Charlie Chan franchise. Once again, Warner Oland portrays the famous Chinese detective with his humor and intelligence intact. This time, he's investigating the possible reappearance of one Allen Colby (Jerry Miley) for an inheritance. But there are many associates of his that would rather he not show up...This was another enjoyable Chan entry I liked especially when Herbert Mundin as butler Baxter does some grimaces whenever he has to do something he doesn't want to do. He gets quite funnier with each appearance. And Henrietta Crossman is also fine as an old friend of Charlie's who gets pertinent info about certain things from him. All in all, I rather found Charlie Chan's Secret very good overall. P.S. I feel the need to mention another player from my birthtown of Chicago, Ill., here. This time, it's James T. Mack as the fingerprint man. Also, the coroner played by Landers Stevens is the father of director George Stevens. The lawyer, Warren T. Phelps, is played by Jonathan Hale who a year later would begin essaying his best known role, that of J.C. Dithers in the Blondie movie series. And Rosina Lawrence-who's Alice Lowel here-would eventually become Our Gang/Little Rascals new teacher and appear with Laurel & Hardy in their classic, Way Out West. She'd also decades later marry the man who chronicled the comic duo's lives and careers in books, John McCabe.

I'm always a pushover for spooky old house mysteries, and this is one of the best, not so much for the intriguing puzzle itself but for the creepy noir atmosphere conjured up by Rudolph Maté's superlative cinematography (reminiscent of his work on Dreyer's Vampyr) and the marvelously bizarre background created by Hogsett and Cramer.I like the screenplay and I love the cast too, especially Herbert Mundin, one of my favorite character actors. For once he has a major role and even figures most inventively at the climax. Warner Oland dispenses his customary bon mots with ease, while Gloria Roy steers a remarkably skillful line in making her "used" medium a sympathetic oddball.My only quarrel is with director Gordon Wiles, the art director that William K. Howard and Jimmy Wong Howe had all the trouble with on Transatlantic and for which, after fighting Howard and Howe all the way, he then won the industry's big award! Mr Wiles was obviously not a man open to experimentation unless someone forced him into it. Left to his own devices, Wiles always preferred the safe, conservative approach. His record as a director is not an impressive one and Charlie Chan's Secret is the highlight of that 11-picture interlude from which he was rescued by Albert Lewin for whom he designed The Moon and Sixpence, The Picture of Dorian Gray and The Private Affairs of Bel Ami.

After many years' absence, Allen Colby is on his way home to reclaim his inheritance. But there seems to be someone who wants to make sure he doesn't make it. There are plenty of suspects – Aunt Henrietta Lowell and the rest of the extended family who have grown accustomed to living off the money, Professor Bowen and Carlotta the medium who stand to benefit greatly from the generosity of Henrietta Lowell, the caretaker Ulrich who blames Colby for his daughter's death, and the family's lawyer Warren Phelps who has enjoyed administering the family's estate. Any one of these people could have it in for Colby. When Colby's lifeless body turns up at a séance, its up to Charlie Chan to find the killer.I'm not sure how other Chan fans feel about Charlie Chan's Secret, but for me, it's a real winner. It's got everything that I could ask for in one of these movies – Warner Oland at the top of his game, atmosphere, a house full of suspects, mediums and séances, an old house with secret passages, and on and on it goes. What fun! Sure, if you sit and think about the plot too hard, it starts to fall apart. But that's not the way to watch a movie like Charlie Chan's Secret. Just turn your mind off and let it entertain. For me, it's one of the better films in the series.There are a number of special things or moments or people in Charlie Chan's Secret that I could discuss, but I'll limit this to mentioning Herbert Mundin who plays Baxter, the butler. With no Number 1 son in sight, Mundin essentially plays the role usually reserved for Keye Luke in these early Chan films. And he does so masterfully. His comic bumbling is the perfect counter to the straight-laced Oland. One scene I especially enjoy is when Mundin must cross in front of a window through which a bullet has just passed. It's a small moment, but it's played to perfection. It's a nice performance from a talented actor.