Charlie Chan in Rio (1941)

I love this movie so much

Strong and Moving!

There are moments in this movie where the great movie it could've been peek out... They're fleeting, here, but they're worth savoring, and they happen often enough to make it worth your while.

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

Spoiler Alert: It's interesting that this is listed as released on 5 September 1941, and Charlie's son is drafted into WW2, but the Pearl Harbor sneak attack didn't happen for over 3 months after the movie was released on December 7, 1941, and the US officially entered the war on December 11, 1941. What was it like back then where Hollywood would be grooming us for the war and the draft over 3 months before the war happened? They had actually implemented a peace time draft about a year before, and the US leadership had already picked sides and decided to go to war, so they had over a year build the message - "We are going to war." I knew the US was being propagandized back then, but I had no idea it was this blatant.

Charlie Chan travels to Rio to arrest a woman wanted for murder in Honolulu. But before he can take her into custody, she's murder. As is usual for a Chan film, there are no shortage of suspects.Charlie Chan in Rio is another nice entry in the series. The mystery itself may be a little run of the mill, but it's fun enough to watch Chan get to the truth. I will say, however, that this one doesn't play fair, with Chan privy to information not available to the viewer. But then again, I suppose that's the case with most of these movies. Highlights for me include: a nice cast (especially Victor Jory, Mary Beth Hughes, and Kay Linaker), rock solid cinematography, and excellent lighting. I've recently watched several 30s and 40s B mysteries and have really noticed these movies are not created equal. A big studio B looks a million times better than its Poverty Row counterpart. Overall, a solid 7/10 from me.One more thing before I end this, I've complained in the past about the comic relief provided by Victor Sen Yung's Jimmy Chan. In Charlie Chan in Rio, some of it actually works. His wooing of Lili is even tolerable. I also appreciate that Harold Hubert's comedy was toned down. He's downright annoying at times in Charlie Chan at Monte Carlo.

Oriental sleuth Charlie Chan(Sidney Toler)travels to Brazil with #2 son Jimmy(Sen Yung). On the trail of a singer, who killed her lover in Honolulu, Chan finds her working in a Rio night club. The attractive singer is planning to elope with a rich playboy; but before she can leave and before Chan and the local police can make an arrest, she is found stabbed to death. While the body is found in her upstairs bedroom, a group of friends gather downstairs for a going away party. Chan will not be fooled by planted clues. Son Jimmy is actually helpful in solving this second murder. The cast includes: Cobina Wright Jr., Truman Bradley, Mary Beth Hughes, Victor Jory and Kay Linaker.

Almost all the Chan movies made by 20th Century-Fox starring Sidney Tolier were well-made films. Indeed, Fox made extremely few under-par movies in the 1930-1960 era. This one is the exception. The good news is that it's on a double DVD with Dead Men Tell, a much better Chan movie.Nothing effective is done to make anything or anyone in the movie look Brazilian or anything like Rio. Sets look very much like Los Angeles and everybody looks like main street Americans. There is one musical night club number using false-Latin music, just annoying. Also, no reason is hinted at as to why Honolulu based Chan and Number 2 Son are in Rio. Flying Pan Am to South America in 1941 cost an arm and a leg, not for casual travel by humble detectives.Unlike the great majority of Chan films, the mystery was clumsily tossed together and will interest only hard core murder fans. Just nothing clever for Chan to work on.So, OK, male viewers can gawk at the selection of female suspects; pretty boring bunch. But Hu Wong as Lilly certainly caught my eye. She made few films, but was better in Charlie Chan in Reno and Alan Ladd's China.The majority of viewers scored this one as 10. Even hard core fans ought not dishonor the great Chan by labeling this weak effort as Excellent.