Charlie Chan in The Chinese Cat (1944)

For all the hype it got I was expecting a lot more!

I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.

Very interesting film. Was caught on the premise when seeing the trailer but unsure as to what the outcome would be for the showing. As it turns out, it was a very good film.

Funny, strange, confrontational and subversive, this is one of the most interesting experiences you'll have at the cinema this year.

Review - Charlie Chan in The Chinese Cat, released 5-20-44 Monogram Pictures Corporation The story begins with a murder we witness as the perpetrator slips through police. The title references a statue atop the desk of the murdered man, with a secret compartment containing a stolen diamond. The murdered man had taken the gem from his partner and was killed as a result of double-crossing the partner. Subsequent killings occur because the victims were going to reveal the guilty party names to authorities. There are multiple guilty members involved in the theft of certain gems, hidden in other artifacts famous for having compartments cleverly made by a friend of Charlie Chan. The famous detective is able to round up all the guilty parties with the help from able bodied assistants Tommy Chan and Birmingham Brown. Greed plays an important factor in the murders and the capture of the guilty. Watch how Charlie moves through the sea of bad characters with help from those he is closest. A damsel is distress comes to Charlie requesting help in exonerating her widowed mother from the clutches of a crooked step-father and his business partner. A self-appointed criminologist author has accused the widow of a crime without proof, baffling police in the process, and involving a certain Detective whose father Chan had known in another time and city. That certain detective comes to Charlie's rescue at the end of the story to learn how it is done by the best of crime fighters. A large home with a secret panel entrance and a fun house arcade are the two center stages shown in the film, with some hotel action as well. There are six guilty members, two that are killed, involved in the whole plot. See how it all unfolds culminating to be at the fun house with a thorough explanation provided by the master.

This Charlie Chan B-feature from Monogram moves at a rather quick pace. The husband of a San Francisco socialite(Betty Blythe)is found dead in his study which is locked from the inside. Will a piece on his chess set be a clue? The local police give up on solving the case and several months later a scathing book is published with evidence the socialite killed her husband. Leah Manning(Joan Woodbury)still wants to know the truth about her stepfather's murder and summons the help of Oriental sleuth Charlie Chan(Sidney Toler)to solve the mystery. Due to a prior engagement the super detective only has 48 hours to bring the case to a proper close. He has some help, for what its worth, from #3 son Tommy(Benson Fong)and taxi driver Birmingham Brown(Mantan Moreland). Other players: Weldon Heyburn, Cy Kendall, John Davidson and T. Stanford Jolley.

Loosely based on novels by Earl Derr Biggers, 20th Century Fox's Charlie Chan series proved an audience favorite--but when Japan attacked Pearl Harbor the studio feared audiences would turn against its Asian hero. This was a miscalculation: actor Sidney Toler took the role to "poverty row" Monogram Studios, where he continued to portray the character in eleven more popular films made between 1944 and his death in 1947.20th Century Fox had regarded the Chan films as inexpensive "B" movies, but even so the studio took considerable care with them: the plots were often silly, but the pace was sharp, the dialogue witty, and the casts (which featured the likes of Bela Lugosi and Ray Milland) always expert. The result was a kindly charm which has stood the test of time. Monogram was a different matter: Chan films were "B" movies plain and simple. Little care was taken with scripts or cast and resulting films were flat, mediocre at best, virtually unwatchable at worst.Released in 1944, THE Chinese CAT finds Chan beset by son Tommy, who has promised the step-daughter of a murdered man assistance; they are joined in the investigation by cab driver Birmigham, who is not overeager to be reunited with the Chans given that murder tends to follow in their wake. Indeed, there will be three murders, stolen jewels, and a carnival fun house before the killers are captured. Like all the Monogram Chan films, the plot is trivial and the script even more so; unlike the worst of the Monogram Chan films, however, it does have the occasional touch of atmosphere and moves at a respectable pace.Sidney Toler gives a nice reprise of Charlie Chan in this film, but as usual in the Monogram Chan films Mantan Moreland (Birmingham) is the real scene stealer. Changing times have led us to look upon Moreland's brand of comedy as demeaning to African-Americans, but he was an expert actor and comic, and taken within the context of what was possible for a black actor in the 1940s his work has tremendous charm and innocence.Fans of the 20th Century Fox series are likely to find Monogram's Chan a significant disappointment and newcomers who like the Monogram films will probably consider them third-rate after encountering the Fox films. Like other Monogram Chan films, MEETING AT MIDNIGHT is best left to determined collectors. Three stars, and that's being generous.GFT, Amazon Reviewer

This second Charlie Chan offering from the Monogram Studios is an improvement over "Charlie Chan in the Secret Service". Back again are Sidney Toler in the Chan role, Benson Fong as #3 Son Tommy, and Mantan Moreland as Yellow Cab driver Birmingham Brown. Monogram remained true to the 20th Century Fox sense of continuity from film to film, as Birmingham refers to the last time he met the Chans in the previous movie.What starts out as an unsolved murder case eventually winds up with two additional corpses. A few elements we haven't seen in prior Chan films occur - Charlie takes one on the chin from one of the baddies, and later gets physical himself, knocking out one of the villains with the butt of a gun. Additionally, Charlie places a bet on the outcome of the case, liking the odds of 10 to 1 given him by the doctor/author who claims to have solved the mystery himself in a book published following the original murder. The ending is rather lame, as son Tommy subdues two bad guys with nothing more than a fire extinguisher; I sure wouldn't want those two in my corner, good or bad!The title of the film comes from a large statue of a black cat, which conceals a secret compartment with a stolen diamond. All in all, The Chinese Cat is a worthy addition to the Chan series, made more entertaining by the amiable presence of Mantan Moreland.