Watch Torchy Blane in Chinatown For Free

Why so much hype?

Highly Overrated But Still Good

a film so unique, intoxicating and bizarre that it not only demands another viewing, but is also forgivable as a satirical comedy where the jokes eventually take the back seat.

The acting is good, and the firecracker script has some excellent ideas.

I'm always drawn to 40s B movies about wisecracking investigators, but some are better than others, and this one is definitely a lesser example of the genre. Farrell's performance as brassy reporter Torchy feels thin, and the lead detective is bland, although I rather liked the odd romance between the two.Tom Kennedy, on the other hand, was quite amusing as a doofus cop.As for the story, well, it was really moronic. Of particular note was how terrible the lead cop was, constantly assuring people he would protect them and failing to do so, yet never losing confidence and, more amazingly, never getting in trouble. And no one ever said, "I don't trust you because you gave the same assurances to the last guy" (although ultimately you could make a case for why that ultimately makes sense).I think that will be it for me and Torchy Blane movies.

Glenda Farrell really shows up the police department in Torchy Blane In Chinatown. She's got the whole thing figured out long before the cops get wise. Of course interestingly enough the apprehension of the villains themselves is a really good idea cooked up by Barton MacLane.Henry O'Neill plays a US Senator who is a collector of Chinese jade and when he purchases some jade death masks he gets threats, the unsigned note threats and in Chinese. Fortunately Patric Knowles is around to translate the threats.Their ancestors graves have been defamed, but a little American hard cash will sooth the ancestor's feelings and be good for their descendants as well. It all smells pretty bad, but it's Torchy Blane who catches the right whiff.Tom Kennedy as Geohagen once again steals the show. Seeing Kennedy in New York harbor rowing that boat to the final rendezvous was quite a sight.If Torchy could figure it out you can too. Even with that the film is still kind of fun. And MacLane comes in handy in the apprehension. You have to see what he uses.

**SPOILERS** As you would expect fast talking and quick thinking news reporter Torchy Blane, Glanda Ferrell, gets the jump on a gang of Chinese jade thieves with just old fashion police work. Something that her boyfriend police Let.Steve McBride seemed to be totally lacking of.With the people involved in smuggling a bunch of valuable Chinese burial jades into the country on a secret hit-list, by persons who's families the jades belonged to, Let. McBride is put on the case to protect their lives and catch their potential murderers. McBride's attempt to keep the killers from doing their dirty work ends in disaster with two of those targeted Allan Fitzhugh, Anderson Lawler, and Dr. Mansfield, James Stephenson, ending up mysteriously murdered. In the case of the unfortunate Allan Fitzhugh he also-besides being gunned down- ends up losing his head over-the jade burial tablets-them.**Caution Spoiler** Going to the city morgue to check out the circumstances of Fitzhugh death Torchy finds out, through his fingerprints, that he-or his headless corpse- isn't the person whom the police believe him to be. This murder mystery also gets a bit strange after Dr. Mansfield is later killed by smoking a spiked, by his killers, cigarette which poisons him. Before the meat-wagon, or morgue ambulance, arrives Dr. Mansfield's body mysteriously disappears from sight!These double murder now leads to the real person whom the murderers, now turned extortionists, are really targeting Senator H. Baldwin, Henry O'Neill. It's Sen. Baldwin, who owns the worlds biggest Chinese jade collection, whom both the late Allan Fitzhugh and Dr. Mansfield as well as the still alive Capt. Condon, Patrick Knowles were working for in smuggling burial jades out of China.The murdering blackmailers try to shake down Sen. Baldwin for a cool $250,000.00 by threatening to crash his daughter's Janet, Janet Shaw, wedding announcement reception, or even go so far as murdering her, at his Long Island estate. Janet's fiancée Dick Staunton, Richard Bond, agrees to pay the extortionists off by meeting them a his speedboat in the far end of New York Bay where they feel safe from the police an where the switch is to be made. It's then that Torchy goes into action in checkmating the extortionists plan. With the help of the US Navy and her boyfriend's, Steve McBride, bumbling assistant officer, and now promoted to Sergent, NYPD poet laureate Gahagan, Tom Kennedy, Torchy ends up getting the goods on the extortionists before they can get the goods, the $250,000.00 in extortion money, for themselves!

Fifth in the series of reporter-criminologist Torchy Blane who assists Detective Lieutenant Steve McBride in solving crimes. In this entry, Torchy figures out the solution to the deaths of three prominent men but allows Steve to get the credit at the end and make the collar. If this subservience is not enough, we are subjected to rampant racial stereotyping of Chinese and blacks. Detective Sergeant Gahagan provides comic relief that includes in this film his breaking into poetry from time to time. The film does involve Chinese burial tablets and has a few superficial shots that might have been take on the street of a major city "Chinatown" but the plot does not have anyone going there and doing anything. This version mostly takes place in police stations, at The Adventurers Club, homes, and at sea where a contribution is made by the US Navy. The plot is a remake of the 1920 "The Purple Cipher" and the1930 "Murder Will Out." It involves a combination of revenge murder and blackmail. There are notes to victims passed on Chinese laundry tickets and via additional means. Death comes via a multitude of means and bodies have a habit of disappearing. Fair.