Charlie Chan em Paris

Excellent mystery with Warner Oland on trail of bond forgers who would undermine the Banque Lamartine. Aided by Lee Chan (Key Luke), Chan methodically unravels fraud and murder and ducks an attempt on his life. As with other entries in this series, the viewer cannot figure out the solution because key evidence is only revealed at the end. Chan knows more than the police and the viewer. If you know this and just sit back and enjoy, you will have a pleasant time. Of note is a dance apache done by Nardi at the Cafe du Singe Blue -- apache signifying a member of the Paris underground and not an American Indian tribe. Racial slurs grate us today but reflect the times. Lots of clues but as Chan says, "must turn up many stones to get to hiding place of snake." Recommended.

Charlie Chan In Paris was recently released on VHS and DVD in the UK and I was pleased I purchased a VHS copy.

Charlie Chan comes to Paris making out he is having a holiday but is actually over to investigate a forgery racket but also ends up investigating murders after two people are killed. With the help of his No 1 son, he gathers clues and the investigation takes them under Paris in the sewers and the culprit is caught at the end, in heavy disguise...

This mystery is atmospheric at times, especially the sewer scenes.

Charlie Chan is played well by Warner Oland. I'm not familiar with the rest of the cast though.

If you like a good old mystery, you will enjoy Charlie Chan In Paris. Great fun.

Rating: 3 stars out of 5.

From 1935, "Charlie Chan in Paris" was considered one of the lost of the series, but a print was found.

Years and years ago, when I first discovered the Chan films, the TV station I watched at the time showed Sidney Toler films. I like Toler in the role -- he had a world-weary way of saying his lines, his Chan was deliberate, and his kids drove him nuts. Oland brings different qualities to the role, and he's a delight - very upbeat, more active, and in this one anyway, Lee Chan (Keye Luke) was a welcome addition to him, not a bother. He really radiates a special warmth.

Part of the energy difference is due to age -- Oland was about 12 years younger than Toler when he began the series.

In this story, Chan goes on vacation to Paris, but it's just a cover. He's there to investigate a forgery that seems to emanate from one particular bank that is selling bonds. He has someone there, Nardi, working undercover, but she is murdered shortly after the film starts.

Good film, and somehow, even working in a studio, the film manages to create a dark and mysterious atmosphere.

Enjoyable. I know they are not politically correct, but I do love the Charlie Chan films.

As in, 'Charlie Chan in Egypt', this little gem reeks with early film atmosphere and sustains itself with the wonderful portrayal by Warner Oland. Warner Oland has more stage presence than a dozen actors of today. It's really a shame, for if one generation could really bridge another generation and look at the whole, they might see what a let down the films of today really are.

In one of the few times that another Charlie Chan film made reference to its immediate predecessor, Charlie Chan In Paris notes that Warner Oland is in Paris having picked up a client in London. Fans of the series will remember that Oland was in London solving the murder in a stable on an estate, a fact also specifically mentioned.

The clients who hired Oland are some bondholders who have bought what looks forged bonds from a respected Paris bank. These bonds have flooded the European market and threaten to bring financial panic on the alleged issuing bank run by Henry Kolker.

I have to say that the conspirators really had a clever scheme of forgery and a pretty good method of committing murder to protect the enterprise. Two murders are committed, one of them of John Miljan who has played a slew despicable villains on screen. In fact Miljan is branching out into a racket all his own when he's killed. That other racket though manages to cast suspicion on a false perpetrator.

Charlie Chan In Paris is one of the cleverest films in the Chan series and fans of Charlie should not miss this one.