Main Cast: Warner Oland, Rosina Lawrence, Charles Quigley, Henrietta Crosman, Edward Trevor
Release Year: 1935
Country: US
Run Time: 72 minutes
Plot
A serial-like pace and some stylish directorial choices by Gordon Wiles distinguish this "Charlie Chan" entry. The reading of a will is delayed until one of the principal heirs to the fortune, can be located. He shows up at the family mansion, only to be promptly murdered. It is now up to detective Charlie Chan (Warner Oland), an old friend of the family, to protect dowager Henrietta Lowell (Henrietta Crossman), from harm. Alas, Chan apparently fails, and Henrietta falls victim to the mysterious killer -- or does she? The suspect roster includes a pair of phony mystics, an ill-tempered caretaker and a stock swindler -- but it's the least-likely suspect who proves to be the guilty party, one of several of the many surprises packed into the final reel. The appealing heroine in Charlie Chan's Secret is played by Rosina Lawrence, who later gained lasting fame as the schoolteacher in Hal Roach's Our Gang one-reelers. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
John Stone - Associate Producer, Helen A. Myron - Costume Designer, Gordon Wiles - Director, Nick De Maggio - Editor, Samuel Kaylin - Composer (Music Score), Samuel Kaylin - Musical Direction/Supervision, Duncan Cramer - Production Designer, Albert Hogsett - Production Designer, Rudolph Maté - Cinematographer, Joseph Hoffman - Screenwriter, Helen Logan - Screenwriter, Robert Ellis - Screenwriter
Charlie Chan's Secret is the tenth Fox-produced film in the Charlie Chan series with Warner Oland as the detective.
Plot
Alan Colby, heir to a vast fortune, reappears after a seven year absence, only to be murdered before he can claim his inheritance. The Lowells have been living off the Colby fortune, and now someone is trying to kill Henrietta Lowell, matriarch of the family. Among the suspects are:
Fred and Janice Gage, who live off the Lowell (Colby) fortune, which would have gone to Alan Colby, the murdered man
Prof. Bowen, who is paid handsomely by the Lowells for his valuable psychic research
Mr. Phelps, the executor of the Lowell estate
Ulrich, who had a longstanding grudge against Alan Colby
Henrietta Lowell, who wants to continue psychic research
