1945's "The Jade Mask" is a better-than-average Charlie Chan mystery, featuring Sidney Toler as the famous Honolulu detective, on duty with the Secret Service for the war. Chan is assisted by Number Four Son Edward (Edwin Luke) and Driver Birmingham Brown (Mantan Moreland), who provide comic relief when not tripping over clues.

The story opens in the laboratory of a paranoid scientist named Harper, who is working on a secret formula for the war effort, one that will make wood as hard as steel. Harper is so concerned that his formula may be stolen that he stores it in a vault rigged to become a death trap for the unwary. When Harper goes missing in his own house, the police investigation turns up a household full of suspects in the persons of his lab assistant, sister, niece, butler, housekeeper, and mute driver. To add to the mystery, a policeman is also missing somewhere on the grounds.

Charlie Chan is called in to assist the local sheriff, who is humorously out of his depth. As Chan and his assistants turn up clues, people in the house keep dying. A key witness dies on one floor but is seen watching on another. A primitive dictaphone and a portion of a life mask end up being the keys to identify the murderer or murderer.

The plot of "The Jade Mask" is genuinely suspenseful. The early introduction of the secret and deadly vault alerts viewers that, sooner or later, someone will be trapped inside it. The solution to the mystery is perhaps slightly far-fetched, but it should keep viewers guessing to the end. This episode is highly recommended to fans of the Charlie Chan series.

We got this movie on time it was delightful and well made. Digitally remastered. Great quality video

I have never been disappointed with Charlie Chan movies as long as it stars Sidney Tolerand Mantan Moreland. The Jade Mask kept me waiting for the next unexpected event.

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 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, usually mediocre at best, virtually unwatchable at worst.

Released in 1945, THE JADE MASK is one of the very few Monograms that approaches the quality level of the 20th Century Fox series. This largely due to the expert cast and witty script, both of which are a bit unusual for Monogram. In this particular tale, Chan--who now works for the government during World War II--is called upon to investigate the murder of a scientist working with potentially beneficial but distinctly deadly gasses. Sidney Toler's Chan is always enjoyable, and he is aided in this by the local sheriff (Alan Bridge, who has the best lines in the film) and the inevitable Birmingham Brown (Mantan Moreland.)

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. Even so, THE JADE MASK is unexpectly good, and I think most Chan fans will find it enjoyable.

GFT, Amazon Reviewer

This movie has a great " who dun it " story line. The action on the grounds and the grounds themselves add a neat aura of mysteriousness to it all. Mantan Morelands presence always lends a hand to lighten things up. And we see the only appearence of " bookworm " son Eddie Chan.

You will give this film effort high marks if: you are a mystery movie fan, a Charlie Chan fan, or a young parent looking for a good, old classic to feel comfortable having the young ones watch. You can't go wrong.