Charlie Chan in Reno marked Sidney Toler's second appearance in the title role. Fresh from the "Mr Moto" series, Norman Foster directed.
Despite the overly complicated plot (adapted from a Philip Wylie novel) and the vast array of support acting talent led by Slim Summerville (at his most amusing), Ricardo Cortez (as a far too-obvious suspect), Phyllis Brooks (although star-billed, her role is actually minor), Louise Henry (her final movie role), Pauline Moore, and the wonderful Kay Linaker, Toler more than holds his own.
This is, in fact, one of Toler's most ingratiating performances. He smiles a lot - and he has plenty of aphorisms to smile with, including: "Man not yet born who can tell what woman will or will not do!"
Even Sen Yung is tolerable. Virgil Miller's camerawork shines at its noirish best all through the picture, but particularly in a ghost town sequence.
Despite the overly complicated plot (adapted from a Philip Wylie novel) and the vast array of support acting talent led by Slim Summerville (at his most amusing), Ricardo Cortez (as a far too-obvious suspect), Phyllis Brooks (although star-billed, her role is actually minor), Louise Henry (her final movie role), Pauline Moore, and the wonderful Kay Linaker, Toler more than holds his own.
This is, in fact, one of Toler's most ingratiating performances. He smiles a lot - and he has plenty of aphorisms to smile with, including: "Man not yet born who can tell what woman will or will not do!"
Even Sen Yung is tolerable. Virgil Miller's camerawork shines at its noirish best all through the picture, but particularly in a ghost town sequence.