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. This was Toler's 22nd and final appearance as Chan, and his final performance of any kind.

## Plot

[edit]

Cole King's theatrical ensemble resides at a beach house in Malibu, California. Adelaide, one of the showgirls, challenges Cole's girl Marcia. Marcia retaliates by threatening to reveal Adelaide's secret marriage to disgraced doctor George Brandt. She also steals a letter to Adelaide from Brandt. Marcia also knows that one of the other showgirls, Lois, is hiding the fact that she is under eighteen.

Another member of the troupe, San Toy, finds a dead body: Lois. Marcia has become a suspect, having fled the scene. The cause of death is strangulation, and the technique is often used by the French and the Chinese. Immediately, the French Adelaide and Chinese San Toy are placed under suspicion as possible perpetrators.

San Toy contacts her friend Jimmy Chan, son of famous sleuth Charlie Chan, asking for help. Jimmy rushes to the crime scene and tries to launch an investigation himself, but the elder Chan arrives and takes charge. A mysterious assailant attacks Chan's chauffeur Birmingham, and then San Toy. Marcia is found dead, strangled on the beach, with a silk cord still around her neck.

Suspicion points to many members of the Cole King company, but Chan sets a trap to catch the real killer. Everything works as planned: the killer tries to strangle San Toy that night. Jimmy comes to San's rescue but foils the trap.

Chan, Birmingham, and Jimmy then chase and confront the killer. Dr. Brandt is cleared of all suspicion, and Chan promises to restore Brandt's license by talking to the Board of Medical Examiners.[1]

## Production

[edit]

The Trap was a troubled production, filmed in July and August of 1946. Star Sidney Toler, suffering from cancer during his last few films, was now so weak that he could hardly walk, and could stand for only short periods of time. The film was structured to accommodate Toler's fragile condition: his scenes are limited (he doesn't make his entrance until 16 minutes into the picture), and the script often concentrates on his assistants to relieve Toler of the physical action.

When the film was released in November 1946, trade comments were generally negative, noting the film's patchwork construction. Trade publisher Pete Harrison was blunt: "A new low for the series. The picture does not have one redeeming feature."[2] Toler, now too ill to work in pictures, was forced into retirement and died in February 1947.

## Cast

[edit]

* Sidney Toler as Charlie Chan
* Victor Sen Yung as Jimmy Chan (as Victor Sen Young)
* 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, housekeeper
* Margaret Brayton as Madge Mudge
* Bettie Best as Winifred
* Jan Bryant as Lois
* Walden Boyle as Dr. George Brandt

## Copyright notice

[edit]

The film is presumed to be in the public domain, due to the omission of a valid copyright notice in the film's main title and end title.

## See also

[edit]

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

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "The Trap".
2. ^ Pete Harrison, Harrison's Reports, Jan. 18, 1947, p. 10.

## External links

[edit]

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

* The Trap at IMDb
* The Trap at the TCM Movie Database
* The Trap at the AFI Catalog of Feature Films
* The Trap is available for free viewing and download at the Internet Archive
* The Trap at Rotten Tomatoes
* The Trap film details at The Charlie Chan Family Home

* 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)
* Charlie Chan in 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

* While London Sleeps (1926)
* Hills of Kentucky (1927)
* The Black Diamond Express (1927)
* The Bush Leaguer (1927)
* One-Round Hogan (1927)
* The Silver Slave (1927)
* Across the Atlantic (1928)
* Turn Back the Hours (1928)
* The Chorus Kid (1928)
* Caught in the Fog (1928)
* The Greyhound Limited (1929)
* The Redeeming Sin (1929)
* From Headquarters (1929)
* The Time, the Place and the Girl (1929)
* The Argyle Case (1929)
* Second Choice (1930)
* Isle of Escape (1930)
* The Match King (1932)
* Ladies They Talk About (1933)
* Return of the Terror (1934)
* The Singer of Naples (1935)
* Dinky (1935)
* Hop-Along Cassidy (1935)
* The Eagle's Brood (1935)
* Bar 20 Rides Again (1935)
* The Leathernecks Have Landed (1936)
* Heart of the West (1936)
* Call of the Prairie (1936)
* Three on the Trail (1936)
* The Girl from Mandalay (1936)
* King of the Royal Mounted (1936)
* Wild Brian Kent (1936)
* Secret Valley (1937)
* It Happened Out West (1937)
* Western Gold (1937)
* County Fair (1937)
* Wanted by the Police (1938)
* Tough Kid (1938)
* Navy Secrets (1939)
* Star Reporter (1939)
* Undercover Agent (1939)
* Boys' Reformatory (1939)
* Irish Luck (1939)
* Sky Patrol (1939)
* Danger Flight (1939)
* Hidden Enemy (1940)
* Chasing Trouble (1940)
* The Showdown (1940)
* Midnight Limited (1940)
* On the Spot (1940)
* Laughing at Danger (1940)
* Up in the Air (1940)
* You're Out of Luck (1941)
* In Old Colorado (1941)
* Sign of the Wolf (1941)
* Twilight on the Trail (1941)
* Outlaws of the Desert (1941)
* Riders of the Badlands (1941)
* West of Tombstone (1942)
* Below the Border (1942)
* Ghost Town Law (1942)
* Down Texas Way (1942)
* Riders of the West (1942)
* West of the Law (1942)
* Pirates of the Prairie (1942)
* Rhythm Parade (1942)
* Dawn on the Great Divide (1942)
* Carson City Cyclone (1943)
* Santa Fe Scouts (1943)
* Riders of the Rio Grande (1943)
* Bordertown Gun Fighters (1943)
* Fugitive from Sonora (1943)
* Wagon Tracks West (1943)
* Beyond the Last Frontier (1943)
* The Man from the Rio Grande (1943)
* Whispering Footsteps (1943)
* Hidden Valley Outlaws (1944)
* Outlaws of Santa Fe (1944)
* The Girl Who Dared (1944)
* The San Antonio Kid (1944)
* Law of the Valley (1944)
* The Navajo Trail (1945)
* The Big Show-Off (1945)
* The Topeka Terror (1945)
* Gun Smoke (1945)
* The Monster and the Ape (1945)
* Renegades of the Rio Grande (1945)
* Who's Guilty? (1945)
* The Trap (1946)
* Ridin' Down the Trail (1947)
* Trail of the Mounties (1947)
* The Prince of Thieves (1948)
* Triggerman (1948)
* The Story of Birth (1948)
* Because of Eve (1948)
* Night Raiders (1952)

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