The Trap

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 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.