Lost City Of The Jungle (1946)

Starring Russell Hayden, Jane Adams, Lionel Atwill, Keye Luke, Helen Bennett
Directed by Ray Taylor & Lewis D. Collins
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)

An agent for a peace foundation is sent to the Himalayan city of Pendrang to track down a warmonger who has financed an archaeological expedition to find a rare element.

This serial from Universal is probably best known for containing the last screen appearance of refined character actor Lionel Atwill, playing the evil and ruthless Sir Eric Hazarias.  Per Wikipedia, Atwill died during the production of the serial, and was ill for some time while he was filming.  As a result, actor John Mylong, who plays Atwill's secretary in the film, had his part rewritten to  make him the power behind Hazarias, replacing Atwill in many dialogue scenes throughout the serial.  This can't help but diminish the serial, as Atwill is the key attraction despite Mylong's best attempts, and with additional scenes of exposition added to further explain his absence, there's less time for action scenes- there isn't a fistfight, long a staple of action serials, until the 5th chapter!  There are a couple of good cliffhangers, although borrowed from past serials, and scenes where the characters go underground in search of the lost city are interesting and atmospheric, although there aren't enough of them.  However, the production's saving grace is when Atwill is on screen- he has some fine exchanges with nefarious dialogue directed at hero Russell Hayden, and the final chapters put him front and center.

Phantom Of Chinatown (1940)

Starring Keye Luke, Lotus Long, Grant Withers, Charles Miller, Huntley Gordon
Directed by Phil Rosen
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)

Jimmy Wong teams with police Captain Street to investigate the murder of an archaeologist who discovered the secret of an "eternal flame" within an emperor's tomb in China.

Luke replaces Boris Karloff in the final entry in the Mr. Wong series of films put out by Monogram Pictures, and I have to say I enjoyed this outing more than the others with Karloff.  Boris always seemed something of an awkward fit in the role of the Oriental detective, although his performances were always dignified and respectful.  Luke, who had already been established in several Charlie Chan films as that sleuth's "Number One Son," steps into the role as a more authentic replacement, lacking Karloff's gravitas, but adding more glibness and humor while still remaining true to the cleverness of the character.  Despite Luke's positivity and Lotus Long's similar portrayal of a suspect and possible love interest for the sleuth, there are still some stereotypes that grate within the film, a product of their time.  Curiously, despite the presence of series regular Withers as Captain Street, this film is portrayed as Wong and Street's first encounter, disregarding the Karloff films that came before.  The plot line also drew me in more than that of the previous pictures with the archaeological hunt and its connection to the murder of far more interest than the more conventional plots of the earlier Wong films.