Charlie Chan’s Shanghai Chest (1948)

In Shanghai Chest (1948), Inspector Charlie Chan must solve three murders.  At each murder scene, police find a dead man’s fingerprints.  Charlie Chan must solve both the murders and the mystery of the fingerprints.  Monogram Pictures released this enjoyable film on July 11, 1948.

The film opens in Judge Armstrong’s house where a burglar is lurking around.  The burglar murders the judge and clubs his nephew when he returns to the house.  The judge and nephew quarreled recently leading Lt. Mike Ruark to suspect the nephew murdered his uncle.

Inspector Chan is not as sure particularly after a dead man’s fingerprints are found at the murder scene.  The judge sentenced the man to death for his role in a murder.  Charlie Chan believes the dead man may have been innocent.

Roland Winters ranks far below Warner Oland and Sidney Toler as a film Charlie Chan.  However,  Winters gives his finest performance in this film.  Winters is helped by excellent performances from Victor Sen Yung and Mantan Moreland.  Sam Newman and Scott Darling also produced an excellent plot for the film.

This tight 65 minute film is available only on DVD at this time.  The set contains four Charlie Chan films from Monogram Pictures.  While this film will not make anyone forget Oland or Toler, it is the best of the seven Charlie Chan films starring Roland Winters.

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