Charlie Chan in the Scarlet Clue (1945)

The Scarlet Clue (1945) is the fifth of eleven Charlie Chan films Monogram Pictures produced after Twentieth-Century Fox cancelled the series in 1942. Sidney Toler made eleven films for Twentieth-Century Fox before moving the series to Monogram. After Toler died in 1947, Roland Winters took over the role for seven more films.

In this film, Inspector Charlie Chan discovers a plan to steal the U.S. government’s newest radar plans. The plans are kept in the same office building, where several radio programs are produced. A couple of murders and a stolen car case may or may not be related to the plot to steal the government’s radar plans.

Inspector Chan is assisted in his investigations by No. 3 son Tommy Chan, played by Benson Fong, and Birmingham Brown, played by Mantan Moreland. Fong and Moreland frequently worked with Toler in the Monogram Series.

Benson Fong was born October 16, 1916 in Sacramento, California. Fong made his film debut in the late 1930s playing mainly Chinese and Japanese characters in mostly “B” films.

However, Fong did play in a few features in the late 1940s. Fong received better roles until his retirement after the end of the Kung Fu television series. Benson Fong opened several popular restaurants before his death from a stroke at 70 years of age on August 1, 1987.

This film (affiliate link) runs approximately 65 minutes. Let me know what you think of this film.

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