The Trap (1946 film)

1946 film by Howard Bretherton

The Trap

title from film

Directed by| Howard Bretherton
Written by| Miriam Kissinger
Earl Derr Biggers
Produced by| James S. Burkett
Starring| Sidney Toler
Victor Sen Yung
Cinematography| James S. Brown Jr.
Edited by| Ace Herman
Music by| Edward J. Kay

Production
company

Monogram Pictures

Distributed by| Monogram Pictures

Release date

* November 30, 1946 (1946-11-30)

Running time

| 62 minutes
Country| United States
Language| English

The Trap is a 1946 American mystery crime film directed by Howard Bretherton and starring Sidney Toler and Victor Sen Yung. The main premise is that two members of a show troupe are murdered, and detective Charlie Chan is called in to solve the case.

This was Toler's 22nd and final appearance as Chan, and his final film of any kind. Suffering from cancer during his last few films, Toler was often so weak that he could hardly walk or say his lines coherently.

## Plot[edit]

Calamity ensues at the beach villa in Malibu, California, where Cole King's theatre ensemble resides, when one of the showgirls, Adelaide, is challenging Marcia, who is Cole's girl and the star of the show.

Marcia retaliates by threatening to reveal Adelaide's secret marriage to a doctor by the name of George Brandt. She also steals a letter to Adelaide from said Brandt, using one of the other showgirls, Lois, who is hiding the fact that she is under eighteen.

When Marcia vanishes and Lois' dead body is found by one of the other members of the group, San Toy. The cause of death is strangulation, and the technique used is used by the French and the Chinese. Immediately, the French Adelaide and Chinese San Toy are placed under suspicion as possible perpetrators.

Also living under the same roof are the group's press agent Rick Daniels and costume chief Mrs. Thorn. Daniels suggests they make Lois' death look like drowning, but San Toy contacts her friend Jimmy, who is the son of reputed sleuth Charlie Chan, asking for help to solve the murder mystery. Chan starts his investigation, and soon both his assistant, Birmingham, and San Toy are attacked, but without a mortal ending. Another member of the theatre group, Clementine, discovers Marcia dead and strangled on the beach, with a silk cord still around her neck.

Daniels tries to get rid of Marcia's robe, and is seen by Chan, who concludes it was the belt from the robe that was found around Marcia's neck. Daniels claims he is innocent and that someone put the robe in King's room to frame him for the murder. King starts to believe Daniels is the killer trying to get rid of the evidence.

Chan finds out that doctor Brandt was previously accused of murdering his ex-wife but was cleared from suspicion. However, it destroyed his future career as a physician. He changed his identity, enlisted and went to Europe, where he met Adelaide and they married.

Chan talks to Dr. Brandt, who admits to finding his wife Adelaides' body, but not to killing her. To catch the real killer Chan decides to set a trap. Everything works as planned, and the killer tries to strangle San Toy that night, but Chan's son Jimmy comes to San's rescue and accidentally foils the trap.

Chan, Birmingham and Jimmy then chase the killer, and it turns out it is Mrs. Thorn, who was previously married to King. She left him and wasn't allowed back after that, but had to serve as head of costumes. She killed the women because they were involved with her former husband, out of jealousy and to hurt King. Brandt is cleared of all suspicion, and Chan promises to get his license back by talking to the Board of Medical Examiners.[1]

## Cast[edit]

* Sidney Toler as Charlie Chan
* Victor Sen Yung as Jimmy Chan (as Sen Yung)
* Mantan Moreland as Birmingham Brown
* Tanis Chandler as Adelaide Brandt
* Larry J. Blake as Rick Daniels (as Larry Blake)
* Kirk Alyn as Sgt. Reynolds
* Rita Quigley as Clementine
* Anne Nagel as Marcia
* Helen Gerald as Ruby
* Howard Negley as Cole King, Impresario
* Lois Austin as Mrs. Thorn
* Barbara Jean Wong as San Toy
* Minerva Urecal as Miss Weebles, the Housekeeper
* Margaret Brayton as Madge Mudge
* Bettie Best as Winifred
* Jan Bryant as Lois
* Walden Boyle as Doc Brandt

## Production[edit]

The film entered the public domain due to the omission of a valid copyright notice on original prints.

## See also[edit]

* List of films in the public domain in the United States

## References[edit]

1. ^ "The Trap".

## External links[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to The Trap (1946 film).

* The Trap at IMDb
* The Trap at AllMovie
* The Trap at the TCM Movie Database
* The Trap at the American Film Institute Catalog
* The Trap is available for free viewing and download at the Internet Archive
* The Trap at Rotten Tomatoes
* The Trap jpegs
* Charlie Chan Family

* v
* t
* e

Charlie Chan by Earl Derr Biggers

Novels|

* The House Without a Key (1925)
* The Chinese Parrot (1926)
* Behind That Curtain (1928)
* The Black Camel (1929)
* Charlie Chan Carries On (1930)
* Keeper of the Keys (1932)

Films|

* The House Without a Key (1926)
* The Chinese Parrot (1927)
* Behind That Curtain (1929)
* Charlie Chan Carries On (1931)
* The Black Camel (1931)
* There Were Thirteen (1931)
* Charlie Chan's Chance (1932)
* Charlie Chan's Greatest Case (1933)
* Charlie Chan's Courage (1934)
* Charlie Chan in London (1934)
* Charlie Chan in Paris (1935)
* Charlie Chan in Egypt (1935)
* Charlie Chan in Shanghai (1935)
* Charlie Chan's Secret (1936)
* Charlie Chan at the Circus (1936)
* Charlie Chan at the Race Track (1936)
* Charlie Chan at the Opera (1936)
* Charlie Chan at the Olympics (1937)
* Charlie Chan on Broadway (1937)
* Charlie Chan at Monte Carlo (1937)
* Charlie Chan in Honolulu (1938)
* Charlie Chan in Reno (1939)
* Charlie Chan at Treasure Island (1939)
* City in Darkness (1939)
* Charlie Chan's Murder Cruise (1940)
* Charlie Chan at the Wax Museum (1940)
* Charlie Chan in Panama (1940)
* Murder Over New York (1940)
* Dead Men Tell (1941)
* Charlie Chan in Rio (1941)
* Castle in the Desert (1942)
* Charlie Chan in the Secret Service (1944)
* The Chinese Cat (1944)
* Black Magic (1944)
* The Shanghai Cobra (1945)
* The Red Dragon (1945)
* The Scarlet Clue (1945)
* The Jade Mask (1945)
* Dangerous Money (1946)
* Dark Alibi (1946)
* Shadows Over Chinatown (1946)
* The Trap (1946)
* The Chinese Ring (1947)
* Docks of New Orleans (1948)
* Shanghai Chest (1948)
* The Golden Eye (1948)
* The Feathered Serpent (1948)
* Sky Dragon (1949)
* The Return of Charlie Chan (1973)
* Charlie Chan and the Curse of the Dragon Queen (1981)

Television|

* The New Adventures of Charlie Chan (1956-57)
* The Amazing Chan and the Chan Clan (1972)

Related|

* Chang Apana

* v
* t
* e

Films directed by Howard Bretherton

* Across the Atlantic
* The Argyle Case
* Bar 20 Rides Again
* Below the Border
* The Black Diamond Express
* Bordertown Gun Fighters
* Boys' Reformatory
* The Bush Leaguer
* Call of the Prairie
* Carson City Cyclone
* Caught in the Fog
* Chasing Trouble
* The Chorus Kid
* County Fair
* Danger Flight
* Dawn on the Great Divide
* Dinky
* Down Texas Way
* The Eagle's Brood
* Fugitive from Sonora
* Ghost Town Law
* The Girl from Mandalay
* The Girl Who Dared
* The Greyhound Limited
* Heart of the West
* Hidden Enemy
* Hidden Valley Outlaws
* Hills of Kentucky
* In Old Colorado
* Isle of Escape
* It Happened Out West
* King of the Royal Mounted
* Laughing at Danger
* Law of the Valley
* The Leathernecks Have Landed
* The Man from the Rio Grande
* The Match King
* Midnight Limited
* The Navajo Trail
* Night Raiders
* On the Spot
* One-Round Hogan
* Outlaws of Santa Fe
* Outlaws of the Desert
* Pirates of the Prairie
* The Prince of Thieves
* The Redeeming Sin
* Return of the Terror
* Rhythm Parade
* Riders of the Badlands
* Riders of the Rio Grande
* Riders of the West
* Ridin' Down the Trail
* The San Antonio Kid
* Santa Fe Scouts
* Second Choice
* The Showdown
* Sign of the Wolf
* The Silver Slave
* The Singer of Naples
* Sky Patrol
* Three on the Trail
* The Time, the Place and the Girl
* The Topeka Terror
* Tough Kid
* Trail of the Mounties
* The Trap
* Triggerman
* Turn Back the Hours
* Twilight on the Trail
* Up in the Air
* Wagon Tracks West
* Wanted by the Police
* West of the Law
* Western Gold
* While London Sleeps
* Who's Guilty?
* Wild Brian Kent
* You're Out of Luck

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