Charlie Chan in the Secret Service
It is the first film made by Monogram Pictures after the series was dropped by 20th Century Fox, and it marks the introduction of Number Three Son (Benson Fong) and taxi driver (later Chan's chauffeur), Birmingham Brown (Mantan Moreland).Also involved in the case is the bumbling and easily frightened Birmingham Brown (Mantan Moreland) who works as a limo driver for one of the suspects.In May 1943 Monogram Pictures announced they had purchased the rights to the character from Fox and would make two Charlie Chan films a year.[3][4] In June 1943 Monogram Pictures announced Charlie Chan and the Secret Service would be one of 24 movies and 16 Westerns the studio would make over the following year.This was eight less than the previous year as Monogram said they wanted to make "fewer and higher budgeted pictures".