"The Trap" has what must be one of the liveliest first half hours or so of any of the Monogram-produced Chan films: they actually filmed it at a real beach and they had people swimming and playing on the sand! It is also a welcome change to have most of the characters be young females - the sight of them in vintage 1940s swimsuits is certainly a lot more appealing to the eye than the men in suits and ties that usually populate these films (Helen Gerald, as Ruby, is a standout - both in terms of beauty and of character). The film never gets boring like some other Chan films do, but the ending is anticlimactic: not only is there no scene of Charlie Chan figuring out "whodunit" (did he ever figure this one out?), but the murders themselves seem poorly motivated. There is also a severe lack of Chan aphorisms, to the point where I cannot even name one favorite line from the film! ** out of 4.
Review of The Trap
