Moreland played Charlie Chan's chauffer in several movies, and he would use that line when trying to solve the crime with Son #2, when they'd get stuck where they shouldn't be with the bad guys coming. It was the comic back-story to many of the Chan films.
It's ironic that the Fox Movie Channel wanted to do a Charlie Chan film festival a few years ago, but were forced to abandon the idea when Asian groups complained about stereotyping.
-PJ