Charlie Chan At The Wax Museum (1940)

When a convicted murderer (Marc Lawrence) escapes, he goes into hiding at a wax museum where a plastic surgeon (C. Henry Gordon) will perform an operation to change his face. Meanwhile, the killer plots his own vengeance on Charlie Chan (Sidney Toler), the man who got him convicted. Based on the Charlie Chan character created by Earl Derr Biggers (though not based on any of the Chan books) and directed by Lynn Shores. I'm beginning to sound like a broken records when reviewing these Chan films. Fun (especially if you're a murder mystery buff) but variable in quality. This one is a rather sedate whodunit with the bulk of the action taking place in a wax museum which gives the movie the touch of a stage play. It's almost impossible to guess who the murderer is as we're not given much clues and everyone is a possible suspect. Still, when the identity of the killer is revealed, it's a yawn. The good thing about these Chan mysteries is that their running time is usually a little over an hour so it doesn't wear out its welcome. The rest of the cast includes Marguerite Chapman, Victor Sen Yung, Joan Valerie, Ted Osborne, Hilda Vaughn and Michael Visaroff.