Being a genuine murder mystery, this movie starts - with a murder: Rausch, a dangerous enemy agent, is stabbed by his own accomplices. Charlie Chan, on the case already (the gang is trying to steal a new radar that hunts down enemy planes), discovers the body, and a stolen car and a bloody shoe print (the 'scarlet clue') lead him and his assistants Tommy and Birmingham to the Cosmo Radio Center, where, as Charlie finds out very soon, the head of the ring must be found: on the floor there's an identical shoe print, and the car was reported stolen by radio actress Diane Hall...
And WE soon find out that Brett, the manager, is a member of the gang: he makes strange conversations over the phone, getting his answers and orders only over a teletype device... Meanwhile, Diane's friend Gloria finds out that it was Brett who stole the car and blackmails him - which doesn't do her good at all: during the next broadcast, she suddenly feels dizzy, then asks for a cigarette, and after the first puff she drops dead. Then Charlie finds Brett's shoe, which is the one that left the 'scarlet clue', Brett panics and asks his unknown boss for protection - but he gets something entirely different instead...
This is a REALLY classic 'whodunit', immensely suspenseful, but also entertaining: we get a glimpse into the 40s' world of radio broadcasting and also into the technological innovations of the time - and especially 'Birmingham' Mantan Moreland is at his BEST again providing us comical relief amid all the thrills and scares; the scenes where he 'communicates' with a friend of his in half-finished sentences are absolutely wonderful!
But BEWARE: screenwriter Callahan invented a VERY unusual and creepy elevator trick for this thriller that'll make people who suffer from elevator phobia take the stairs for weeks...!
And WE soon find out that Brett, the manager, is a member of the gang: he makes strange conversations over the phone, getting his answers and orders only over a teletype device... Meanwhile, Diane's friend Gloria finds out that it was Brett who stole the car and blackmails him - which doesn't do her good at all: during the next broadcast, she suddenly feels dizzy, then asks for a cigarette, and after the first puff she drops dead. Then Charlie finds Brett's shoe, which is the one that left the 'scarlet clue', Brett panics and asks his unknown boss for protection - but he gets something entirely different instead...
This is a REALLY classic 'whodunit', immensely suspenseful, but also entertaining: we get a glimpse into the 40s' world of radio broadcasting and also into the technological innovations of the time - and especially 'Birmingham' Mantan Moreland is at his BEST again providing us comical relief amid all the thrills and scares; the scenes where he 'communicates' with a friend of his in half-finished sentences are absolutely wonderful!
But BEWARE: screenwriter Callahan invented a VERY unusual and creepy elevator trick for this thriller that'll make people who suffer from elevator phobia take the stairs for weeks...!