****SPOILERS**** When nothing else works Honolulu detective Charlie Chan uses a gun very unconvincingly to solve the case of the knife throwing killer. Thst while on a sea cruse to the South Pacific island paradise of Somoa on the SS Newcastle. This all started when a passenger on the ship US Treasury Agent Scott Reed who had two attempts on his life already was murdered at a party when the Newcastle was about to cross the Equator.
Charlie taking on the murder case, he own the dead Agent Reed that much, is himself attacked by the mysterious knife trowing killer only to escape and make it to the island of Somoa where the real action starts that has nothing to do with luaus or half naked dancing hula's girls. It turns out that a load of cash, mostly confederate, as well as valuable art objects smuggled out of the Philippines when they were occupied by the Japanese was hidden there and not reported to the US Treasury-that's where Scott Reed came in-to be assessed and taxed by the US Government!
****SPOILERS*** Charlie despite being hampered by his #3 son Jimmy and his bumbling sidekick Chattanooga Brown is finally able to solve the case but only after a number of the cast mostly suspects in Scott Reed's murderer were themselves murdered by the mysterious knife throwing killer. Charlie in the end has to shoot it out with the bad guys like a Clint Eastwood to finally solve the case which is not like the slow moving and brainy Charlie Chan that we've learned to like & love over the years. The biggest mystery is not who the killer was but how he was able to throw his knives so accurately and not leave any fingerprints on them!
Charlie taking on the murder case, he own the dead Agent Reed that much, is himself attacked by the mysterious knife trowing killer only to escape and make it to the island of Somoa where the real action starts that has nothing to do with luaus or half naked dancing hula's girls. It turns out that a load of cash, mostly confederate, as well as valuable art objects smuggled out of the Philippines when they were occupied by the Japanese was hidden there and not reported to the US Treasury-that's where Scott Reed came in-to be assessed and taxed by the US Government!
****SPOILERS*** Charlie despite being hampered by his #3 son Jimmy and his bumbling sidekick Chattanooga Brown is finally able to solve the case but only after a number of the cast mostly suspects in Scott Reed's murderer were themselves murdered by the mysterious knife throwing killer. Charlie in the end has to shoot it out with the bad guys like a Clint Eastwood to finally solve the case which is not like the slow moving and brainy Charlie Chan that we've learned to like & love over the years. The biggest mystery is not who the killer was but how he was able to throw his knives so accurately and not leave any fingerprints on them!