Charlie Chan na Broadway

Another really well done, atmospheric, Warner Oland/20th Century Fox Chan film. Although the film has nothing to do with the theater, as some might expect from the title, it is set amid the exotic night life of Broadway of the late 30's. It begins with Charlie and Lee aboard an ocean liner. Then in New York, the Hottentot Club is the main setting along with the hotel Chan and other notables stay at. This captures the mood of New York in the 30's--at least from a Hollywood perspective. The supporting cast is top notch with J. Edward Bromberg, Harold Huber in his best Chan role, Leon Ames, Marc Lawrence, Donald Woods, Louise Henry and Joan Marsh. The script is very clever. The hunt is on for a missing diary that could blow the lid off the mobs. Loads of fun!

This is better than most of the Charlie Chan. It has number one son, Keye Luke. As usual, it has the right mood, but, it also has a plot that actually almost makes sense. It is possible to solve along with Charlie on this one. Definitely, see if you can figure out who did it along with Charlie.

Charlie Chan on Broadway is one of the more solid efforts in the series. Fast paced with a decent amount of plausible suspects Detective Chan must not only suffer the bumbling of number one son (Keye Luke) but also the overwrought presence of the police inspector played by the endlessly frantic Harold Huber.

Charlie is unintentionally drawn into a scandal when mob moll Billie Bronson hides incriminating evidence in his state room. When she turns up dead, Chan is naturally the man to solve things; Luke and Huber to provide stumbling blocks along the way.

Brash from the outset with its ocean liner arrivals and bright lights big city feel it also offers a comically perverse "Candid Camera " evening at a nightclub with shutterbug customers chasing dancing girls about the floor.

Oland in his next to last Chan is perfectly composed as usual.

A young woman, Billie, puts a package in a trunk belonging to Charlie Chan. Charlie is with his number one son. He is there to be honored at a luncheon. A woman is killed and it proves to be Billie. While things are being investigated the prime suspect gets out the door. Soon another person is murdered in Charlie's room. There is an incriminating diary involved. As is usually the case, Lee gets in the middle of everything. One thing I've noticed about Keye Luke's voice is so loud. Frequently there is someone outside the door or at a window. He continues to provide comic relief. One of the things about this episode is that there is little if any mention of the Great White Way.

Billie Bronson returns to New York from Europe to blackmail Johnny Burke (a former flame) with her diary with contains information that the police would love to have in order to put Burke in the slammer. Billie hid the diary in Charlie's luggage and also plans to try to sell the diary to newspaper editor Murdock, while two reporters at Murdock's paper, reporter Speed Patten and photographer Joan Wendell, try to score an exclusive piece with Billie at Burke's nightclub, but after a meeting with Burke and girlfriend Marie Collins, Billie is found murdered in Burke's office. Charlie and Inspector Nelson rush to solve the case (with Lee also trying to work the case much to his father's enjoyment) where they find out that the person who also murdered Billie also stole the diary. Nelson arrests Burke on the circumstantial evidence, but has to turn him free when it doesn't pan out, but Charlie brings all the suspects in to present the murderer. This Chan entry seemed a lot better when thinking about it some time later, maybe one reason why is Huber's character (as well as the actor himself) is annoying as hell. The script plays more like it came from Warner Brothers with the nightclub and gangster motif, but it is good for its genre and film series. The actors playing the suspects are quite good in the portrayals. Rating, 7.