Charlie Chan e la città al buio

Maybe it was the play that forms the basis of this tale, maybe the return to previous screenwriters, or a new director, or whatever…but this is one of the weakest Sidney Toler Chan films done at 20th Century Fox. Not much of a mystery – more a propaganda film about the coming war and the need to beware of traitors who would sell and ship arms to the enemy and who need clearance papers that disguise munitions as fruit.

One of the few films without one of his offspring (he admits to having 5 sons here). Chan plays instead off Marcel, secretary and godson to the Paris Chief of Police. Audiences were probably being conditioned to regard the French as future allies; hence Marcel explains that he is really the son of the Bucharest Chief of Police – thus maligning Romania instead. Harold Huber has done a much more subtle and effective job at comedy in the Chan series. Pedro de Cordoba does splendidly as a dignified gentleman's gentleman Antoine and WWI veteran who sees his son off to the next conflict. AMC gives second billing in this film to Lon Chaney, Jr., but in reality his is a bit part preceding his more memorable appearance in `Of Mice and Men' the same year. He must have needed the work.

There are enough clues, misdirections, and suspects to keep the outcome up in the air but we are not made to really care. The murdered man deserved to be murdered and who did it matters little. There are sufficient clues for an observant viewer to arrive at the solution along with Chan.

Not one of the better or even good Chan films. See this only to round out the series. As Chan said in this film: `To describe bitter medicine will not improve its flavor.'

One of the few Charlie Chan movies that does not have one of his eager beaver sons trying oh so earnestly to help, Charlie Chan In The City Of Darkness refers to the fact that the well known city of lights is actually in darkness due to blackout regulations. During the course of the film, a breach in those regulations actually saves Sidney Toler's life.

Harold Huber takes the place of the sons here and provides us some comic relief. Huber who normally played oily villainous types must have welcomed a change in casting.

Toler is in Paris ironically celebrating a reunion of intelligence service officers from the last World War as a new one beckons. The film, released in 1939 after war had been officially declared was set in that period in 1938 when the United Kingdom and France went to the brink before capitulating to the Nazis at Munich.

During the first of a Parisian blackout the French prefect of police in Paris is up to his ears in work and just can't get to the murder of Douglass Dumbrille in a timely fashion. This provides his loyal secretary who wants to make his bones as a detective an opportunity. Good thing Huber had Sidney Toler around to show him the ropes.

Dumbrille was one of those international men of mystery and intrigue and being that has a host of enemies who would like to do him in. There's a nice array of suspects including a couple of sneak thieves played comically by Louis Mercier and George Davis who might look good for it as well. In fact with regularity Huber keeps declaring he's solved the case only to have Toler give him another Confucian aphorism about staying cool.

During the course of the film an international smuggling and spy ring is broken up. As for the murderer, a rather different fate awaits him than that of the normal course of perpetrators that Charlie Chan usually brings in.

Toler and Huber keep this film entertaining at all time, a good entry among the Charlie Chan features.

With war in Europe looming large, "Charlie" (Sidney Toler) is in Paris to celebrate with some of his colleagues from the previous conflagration when he finds himself embroiled in the mysterious killing of "Petroff" (Douglass Dumbrille). There are few clues, but those that there are seem to centre around the young "Marie" (Lynn Bari) who is constantly having to beg, borrow or maybe even steal money to pay for an all-important passenger to travel to Panama and thence onto the safety of the USA. The deeper he delves, though, the more suspicious the activities of the deceased man start to look, and together with local policeman "Antoine" (Pedro de Cordoba) they roll their sleeves up. I quite enjoyed this, especially the effort from de Cordoba as a French policeman who might make "Insp. Clouseau" look efficient. He also gels well with the meticulous Toler who isn't accompanied by any of his brood for this adventure. There are loads of red herrings and at the end the tiniest bit of prophesying as the dark clouds really were gathering in 1939. The production is all a bit stage bound and basic, but that doesn't really spoil the enjoyment and if you like Toler and his forensic approach to sleuthing coupled with his Confucian profundities, then it's an amiably paced watch.

In my opinion, this has to be one of the worst Sidney Toler's Charlie Chan's. I say this for two reasons. This first is Charlie seemed to be a minor character in this movie. Somehow, the movie was taken over by Harold Huber's loud and chaotic character, Marcel. Somehow, someone, I suppose the director, Herbert I. Leeds, let him run wild spouting a lot of nonsense in a loud voice. Maybe the first "I see it all now!" was funny, but it was definitely overplayed. This movie could have been so much better if they had just allowed Paris to co-star with Charlie.

Although not the best of the Charlie Chan series, this is a cut above the later Sidney Toler Chan films. However, what really makes it worth seeing is that the story takes place during the 1938 Munich Crisis (September 1938), yet was produced before WW-II began (September 1939). The setting is Paris, which is blacked out due to the threat of war, and while the French armed forces are busy mobilizing. The city-wide blackout explains the title, as "The City of Light" had been transformed into a "City in Darkness".

There are plenty of lame gags involving the distribution of gas masks, and people panicking due to false air raid alarms. Within a few months of this film's production none of those things would be laughing matters anymore. In fact, although produced prior to the outbreak of WW-II, the movie was not actually released until December 1939, by which time the war had actually begun.

In a sense, therefore, "City in Darkness" represents a significant moment in history that, one might say, has been preserved in a drop of amber. It was the moment when one world crisis was averted, leading to the preservation of world peace for a last few happy months before the final unleashing of Armageddon. For that alone, if for no other reason, "City in Darkness" is still worth a look.