Charlie Chan in Panama (1940)

Another good Charlie Chan mystery with the detective being involved with murder, espionage and sabotage in Panama. Going undercover as a seller of Panama hats he has to discover who is the spy Ryner who is pulling the strings. Panama City is paranoid about spies but Charlie in his measured and intelligent way untangles the real from the false. Helping and hindering him is number two son Jimmy. The ending is suspenseful and surprising. Norman Foster directs with a steady hand.Sidney Toler is very good as usual as Chan and Sen Yung is lively as his son Jimmy. They are supported flawlessly by Lionel Atwill, Mary Nash, Chris-Pin Martin and Jack La Rue to name just a few of the fine cast. Chan utters several great Chan-isms as usual. Sixty-seven minutes of absorbing entertainment.

"Charlie Chan in Panama" from 1940 finds Charlie (Sidney Toler) undercover as a shop owner to stop an espionage plot that would take out part of the Panama Canal and trap a Navy fleet en route to the Pacific. No dearth of suspects here and everyone acts guilty.Among the cast are Sen Yung as Jimmy, Lionel Atwill, Mary Nash, Chris-Pin Martin, and Jack LaRue. Jimmy as usual gets into trouble, but he's also a big help.This is a lively story, with humor and drama, with a bit of a propaganda thrown in. At the end, Charlie reminds us that a strong military will insure the peace. Didn't work out that way, alas.

This is an extremely timely Charlie Chan movie as although the US was not yet at war, storm clouds were on the horizon and this film anticipated the importance of the Panama Canal to the future. Although the film never said that the Germans were planning on blowing up the canal, that's exactly what was very strongly implied--with a vicious foreign agent named 'Ryner'. The problem is that Chan and the military authorities have no idea what this agent looks like as well as exactly what this enemy agent's intentions are as well as how they'll go about doing it. So it's up to Chan and #2 Son to investigate.This film is better than average for the Fox version of Charlie Chan. Mostly this is due to the timeliness, the use of non-grainy and relevant stock footage as well as a dandy plot and mystery. It keeps you guessing up until the end--and I liked this very much.

In his last making of a Chan film, director Norman Foster re-makes the 1934 film `Marie Galante' with good success. Sidney Toler by now has five of the Chan series under his belt and he has clearly hit his stride in the role. Good supporting acting by Lionel Atwill and Sen Yung. George Zucco did much better as the suspicious scientist in `Charlie Chan in Honolulu` than does the Lionel Royce in this film. Jean Rogers is better remembered as Dale Arden in the `Flash Gordon' films.By 1940, American audiences were being conditioned to the threat from saboteurs, such as Ryner, and a nation in arms. Chan exclaims `Intelligent defense of nation best guarantee for years of peace.' There are sufficient clues, cleverly disguised, and lots of misdirection, but the keen observer will be able to keep up with Chan during this case. Recommended.