The Trap (1946)

A show troupe of jolly girls arrives at a Malibu villa, trouble flares the first night when Marcia (Anne Nagel) gets Lois (Jan Bryant) to look for letters which she can use in her rivalry with Adelaide (Tanis Chandler). Lois is later found dead, apparently strangled with a cord, and Marcia missing.

Charlie Chan (Sidney Toler) is called in to investigate. He deduces that Lois knew her killer. Marcia is found dead on the beach, also strangled...

This was Toler's twenty-second and final Charlie Chan film. He was seriously ill when making the film and it does show a bit but he was still able to bring his magic to the Chan role. It isn't a vintage Chan film though, the ensemble of showgirls is frequently very annoying.