Charlie Chan in Reno (1939)
1h 10m | PG-13
Mary Whitman has gone to Reno to obtain a divorce. While there she is arrested on suspicion of murdering a fellow guest at her hotel (which specializes in divorcers). There are many others at the hotel who wanted the victim out of the way. Charlie comes from his home in Honolulu to solve the murder.
Director: Norman Foster
Studio: 20th Century Fox
Genre: Mystery, Thriller
Video: 720p
Cast
Sidney Toler
as Charlie Chan
Ricardo Cortez
as Dr. Ainsley
Phyllis Brooks
as Vivian Wells
Slim Summerville
as Sheriff Tombstone Fletcher
Kane Richmond
as Curtis Whitman
Victor Sen Yung
as Jimmy Chan
Reviews
I didn't like this one so much. Our sleuth finds himself embroiled - with No. 2 son "Jimmy" (Victor Sen Yung) - in a puzzling case involving his old pal "Mary" (Pauline Moore) who gets herself implicated in the murder of the new girlfriend of her soon-to-be ex-husband. It's pretty clear that there is no lack of suspects as our profound and sagely detective attempts to get to the bottom of things and clear his friend's good name. As with most of his appearances in this guise, Sidney Toler carries off the part with gentle humour, but the story is just too rushed. There are far too many red herrings and I found the simpering effects of Iris Wong ("Choy") on the normally entertaining but in this case nauseatingly lovestruck "Jimmy" a bit irritating. Slim Summerville's ("Sheriff Fletcher") over cooked his part a bit too much, too. Fine to watch, just not one of the best.