Charlie Chan in Rio

Charlie Chan in Rio
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Harry Lachman
Produced by	Sol M. Wurtzel
Written by	Samuel G. Engel Lester Ziffren
Starring	Sidney Toler
Music by	Emil Newman
Cinematography	Joseph MacDonald
Edited by	Alex Troffey
Distributed by	20th Century Fox
Release date	September 5, 1941
Country	United States
Language	English

Charlie Chan in Rio is a 1941 film featuring the Asian detective Charlie Chan. It was the tenth film to feature Sidney Toler as the title character, who is called upon to investigate the death of a suspected murderer in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

In the beginning of the film, detective Charlie Chan is in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, along with his son, Jimmy, and the Rio chief of police, Chief Souto, to arrest singer Lola Dean, whom Chan suspects killed a man in Honolulu. After a performance, Lola’s boyfriend, Carlos, asks her to marry him, which she accepts. Her personal assistant, Helen Ashby, then reminds Lola she has an appointment with a Hindu psychic, Marana. Lola visits the psychic, who puts her in a semi-comatose state using coffee and cigarettes laced with a special natural herb. Lola reveals in this state that she did kill a man, Manuel Cardozo, after he refused to marry her in Honolulu. The psychic records the conversation. When Lola wakes up, the psychic tells her what she told him, but assures her that it will be kept confidential between them. On the way home, a worried Lola convinces Carlos to elope instead of marry at a later date. When she arrives home, she begins packing.

Later, Chan, Jimmy, and Chief Souto arrive at Lola’s house to arrest her, but instead find her dead in her room. The three conclude that Lola was murdered, and spot many obvious clues which they realize were left there on purpose to throw them off. They also notice Lola’s jewelry missing. Chan then informs Lola’s guests, who were there to celebrate her engagement, of her death, and brings in two suspects, the psychic and Paul Wagner. Wagner reveals that he was married to Lola, but they had separated. The psychic plays back his conversation with Lola, and reveals himself to be Alfredo Cardozo, the brother of the man Lola killed. Chief Souto asks everyone to stay in the house while the murder is being investigated.

Later, Jimmy witnesses a conversation between Lola’s butler, Rice, and maid, Lilly. Rice tells Lilly to stay quiet about something she saw earlier. Chan and Souto find scratch marks on the floor where Lola was murdered. Chan suspects that the scratch marks were from the brooch Lola was wearing, and that a pin on that brooch would still be stuck in the murderer’s shoe. Chan then finds similar scratch marks under one of the chairs at the dinner table where all of the guests had dined. Jimmy hides in Rice’s room and finds Lola’s jewelry there. He then takes Rice to Chan. Rice explains that he has the jewels but did not kill Lola. Before he can tell Chan who did, the lights go out and he is shot.