To me, this movie is perfection.

A Masterpiece!

If you like to be scared, if you like to laugh, and if you like to learn a thing or two at the movies, this absolutely cannot be missed.

This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

Charlie is on board a cruise ship. While there he is approached by a government agent. He represents the Treasury Department. After confiding to Chan that there have been threats on his life, he is killed. Tommy and Chattanooga are on board as his assistants (I thought he was on vacation, but). There are several plots at work. A young couple is keeping some sort of secret. There is a blowhard who is driving everyone crazy with his invasive behavior. People are being killed with knives that are thrown with amazing accuracy. To complicate things, there is a knife thrower on board. Anyway, it's typical Chan. There is the obligatory scene where the lights are turned off and chaos ensues. The writers really couldn't let go of some obviously tired plot elements.

Charlie Chan (Sidney Toler) investigates when a treasury agent is murdered aboard an ocean liner. Penultimate Toler Chan film has some pros & cons. The pros: Jimmy Chan (Victor Sen Yung) is assisting his father. Jimmy breathes life into the Monogram series which, with the exception of the one movie with Frances Chan as Charlie's daughter, saw Charlie saddled with lifeless sidekick Benson Fong and bug-eyed comedian Mantan Moreland. Another pro is the decent supporting cast that includes Dick Elliott, Richard Vallin, Joseph Crehan, and pretty Gloria Warren. The cons: typically cheap Monogram production, as well as the inclusion of stereotypical comic relief Chattanooga Brown (Willie Best). This is the second and final appearance of Chattanooga in the series. Thankfully, he's overshadowed by the likable personality of Victor Sen Yung. Not a particularly strong Chan film, but helped by the presence of Jimmy.

The best quality of "Dangerous Money" is Charlie Chan's habit for metaphors and aphorisms, like the one mentioned above, or "Kangaroos also reach destination by leaps and bounds". The script is often muddled, the multiple suspects, with few exceptions, are not distinct enough as characters (maybe because they are played by an almost completely unknown cast), Sidney Toler is a bit stodgy as Chan (he does well with the funny lines, though), and Willie Best's comic relief is a matter of taste, however I would advise you to watch this film if only for one truly memorable and outrageous surprise at the end. You may well forget the rest of the picture a day or two later, but I doubt you'll forget that surprise anytime soon. Production values are decent for a Monogram film. ** out of 4.

Rather low-budget Monogram Charlie Chan vehicle. Not exactly the worse of the series of mysteries; but a long way from being one of the best. Chan(Sidney Toler)is aboard an ocean liner with Number Two son Jimmy(Victor Sen Young)and temporary assistant Chattanooga Brown(Willie Best). A United States Treasury agent informs Chan that attempts on his life have twice failed and that he is undercover trying to recover a large sum of money and valuable artworks stolen from a Philippine bank. The agent ends up with a knife in his back and Chan will need the man's portfolio to garner clues to his murderer and maybe some info that will lead to the stolen artwork. A typical array of suspects to interrogate. Jimmy and Chattanooga are actually helpful when they stumble over the valuable objects in a fish museum. The murderer will be obvious. Other players: Dick Ellliott, Gloria Warren, Rick Vallin, John Harmon and Joseph Crehan.