The Sky Dragon

The last Chan film made by Monogram and Roland Winters is a sad final bow for the great detective and great film series. The supporting cast is good for a Monogram picture. The best thing about it is that Keye Luke is back as Lee Chan. Great title. Poor picture! Sorry Charlie!

This is it for Chan (at least for the three actors that did the B-movie thing). It involves a plot that has been done any times since. That of a murder on board an airplane. We have a finite set of suspects. There is some history among the passengers. There is a large sum of money involved. And, Charlie and Lee (Number One Son) are on board. We have been told that Lee has been trained as a pilot for several episodes, so there is no big deal when assumes control of the plane. This has a nice cast of very recognizable actors. Noel Neill who was Lois Lane in "The Adventures of Superman" and Milburne Stone from "Gunsmoke." I also remember a show called "The People's Choice," which starred a heavy set guy who played the Mayor. There is no way to keep these people on that plane and they are allowed to leave. Of course, murders are committed and lots of drama ensues. For the final time, a light is turned out and a man is assaulted by an intruder.. How many times!!! This is the most entertaining of the Roland Winters films. I'm puzzled at the great disdain held for him. The earlier Chan movies weren't really all that great anyway. Having Caucasian men play a Chinese detective creates problems from the start. I guess there is a charm in seeing these actors do their thing for very little money. We could criticize till the cows come home, but these weren't ever works of art.

After almost four dozen films, this was the final installment in the Charlie Chan series from Twentieth Century Fox and Monogram Pictures. Like the final six, this one starred Roland Winters as the detective...and his version of Chan was far weaker than the one played by Warner Oland as well as Sidney Toler.

The story begins on an airliner. Chan and #1 son, Lee (Keye Luke), are aboard and things seem pretty normal. After all, Charlie had just finished a case and they're heading home. However, something evil is afoot....and Lee realizes it when he awakens to find everyone either asleep or dead! One of the pilots was stabbed and someone obviously knocked everyone else out by lacing the drinks with something....and a fortune in money being transported in the plane is gone!

Like all the later Charlie Chan films, this one is weak...but still watchable. Roland Winters simply isn't as fun as Sidney Toler and the solution to all this was telegraphed. When baddies all 'accidentally' get shot and killed by the same person, it doesn't take Charlie Chan to figure out they are evil! Fair...at best.

As an avid collector of all Charlie Chan films except for the Fox Four, I have avoided getting Roland Winters 6 films but finally purchased the Sky Dragon. It will end there. There is no magic at all it is a stilted film with no imagination and a story line to match

The Charlie Chan series at Monogram comes to an end with this picture. The plot sees Charlie (Roland Winters) and "Number One Son" Lee (Keye Luke) on an airplane where all the passengers are drugged. While they're out, a man is murdered and a quarter-million dollars stolen. Also appearing in this one is bug-eyed comic sidekick Birmingham Brown (Mantan Moreland). The rest of the cast includes Milburn Stone (Doc from Gunsmoke), Noel Neill (Lois Lane from Adventures of Superman), and Lyle Talbot (movie star extraordinaire). Winters is weak as usual but the plot is surprisingly fresh for Monogram. Keye Luke is fun and the supporting cast is decent. It's ironic that the Winters series ended after its two strongest films. But it was a case of too little too late, I think.