Charlie Chan à Londres

Charlie Chan In London Is the second oldest surviving film with Warner Oland in the role and is very entertaining. The story moves along at a pretty fast pace for this era in films. A young man is accused,and convicted of murder. He,s only days from execution when by chance his sister{portrayed by Drue Leyton} encounters Chan and convinces him to try and clear her brother. Charlie then begins a brisk investigation into the crime,which brings him to a country estate..there he is faced with the harrowing task of trying to

identify the real killer. With only about 48 hours to complete his investigation, Charlie moves quickly and eliminates several suspects... As he brings the case to a close..It is very surprising to find out the identity of the actual murderer..This is a film well worth

watching if you can get a copy..It,s never been released commercially. Also appearing in this entry are Alan Mowbray and Ray Milland, both give excellent performances...also included in the cast is E.E.Clive another great character actor of this era.

You have to understand that I love these mystery movies from the 30's and 40's, hence the 8/10. It's fun to just suspend disbelief and watch the films for what they are. Get a bowl of popcorn then sit down in your comfy place and let your mind go back to a time before all of the special effects and CGI, before political correctness, and enjoy the show. There are terrific gems to be found in these old films. If you are like me then pick up the DVD; you won't be sorry. "Charlie Chan in London" is a good'un. The digital restorations are excellent. Same ol' cheezy sound and dialogue centric script but without the audio and visual noise. The shakiness of the original is gone as well.

Sure you can criticize some of the ham acting but I find the characters and the dialogue fascinating. Although IMHO Elsa Buchanan is wonderful as the distraught maid who is shocked by the evil oriental skulking about the place, others would likely be less kind.

E.E. Clive as the more than a little thick Detective Sergeant Thacker is perfect, especially his uncorrected references to Charlie as "Mr. Chang".

I didn't realize Ray Milland was in the movie till I heard his unmistakable voice. What a distance from portraying Luke Skywalker's father! While I'm on about it: the quality of the acting in "Charlie Chan in London" is not much different from "Star Wars Episode IV". ;->

The "Charlie Chan" character and its portrayal by non-Chinese actors has come under some heavy, and valid, criticism for stereotyping and for washing over issues of racism. However, I think that such criticism should be noted and should not prevent enjoyment of these wonderful films. We (audiences) are not stupid; we can see plenty of evidence of paternalism, sexism, and racism in these movies. Eh, so what? The story and the script are a product of the time and are a window into the past. Not into real life directly, but the film is enlightening with respect to what was acceptable. Eighty years from now, I'm sure many current films will be condemned for all sorts of things that we take for granted now. Food for thought.

For me, the controversy and obvious difference in cultural values from today just makes these films more interesting. Mr. Chan's quiet approach to life in general and to racism in particular speaks well of his character. We pay attention to what Chan says because he is always interesting and insightful. What may be interpreted as a stereotyped, obsequious and blandly inoffensive "chinaman", is really a thoughtful individual with obviously strong family values and who is so confident that he does not have to try to change all of the flaws in the world around him.

He just has to solve the mystery and go back to his family.

Paul Gray is going to die for a murder he has been sentenced for. Only one person believes he is innocent - his sister. His sister enlists the aid of honorable Honolulan detective Charlie Chan, who just happens to be in London for a brief stay. Chan is convinced to help the young lady secure her brother's freedom. This is a fine, creaky mystery with Warner Oland in top form as #1 detective Charlie Chan. The cast has several names in it with a very young Ray Milland as sister's boyfriend standing out the most. Veteran Character actor E. E. Clive gives a nice hammy performance as a police inspector unable to call Charlie Chan but rather Chang. Alan Mowbray also adds his distinguished persona to the mix. The mystery has a lot of red herrings, but I figured it out based on who had no herrings aimed at him/her. See if that helps you. Quite enjoyable!

Chan is in London returning a suspect he has captured to British authorities when he receives an appeal from Pamela Gray concerning her brother Hugh, who has been condemned to hang in three days for a murder she believes he did not commit. Chan takes the case and goes to the estate of Geoffrey Richmond (Alan Mowbrey), where the murder was committed. People at the estate say that Hugh and the victim, who never liked one another, were heard arguing about some unknown issue, and then later the body of the victim was found near the stables and Hugh was found walking from the stables towards the house. Does Charlie Chan solve the case? Of course he does! What a downer if he did not!

On top of the usual red herrings tossed into such detective films - the one person sneaking around menacingly, another protesting too loudly about the entire follow up investigation being a waste of time and so on, the maid is a piece of work. She's a shrieker plus she likes to hover over people even when they make it clear they want to be left alone. This film would have been more enjoyable without the barbaric practice of fox hunting being central to the plot, but then hindsight is 20/20.

The tension of the time ticking down to Hugh's execution is an added boost, and then there is a very young Ray Milland in a supporting role and E. E. Clive as a befuddled police inspector. And you have to wonder why law enforcement didn't ask the same basic questions that Chan asks during his investigation. Recommended.

Chronologically it's the 2nd Chan film extant after Black Camel, 4 others remain lost - Charlie is either getting into his stride in this or had already done so previously! The formula was in place, all they had to do from now on was reprise it with variations a couple of times a year. Whenever on TV in the past it always appeared murky to me but the copy I've just seen was pristine, with an astonishingly clear soundtrack.

Paul Gray is incarcerated in Pentonville for murder but in a few days time is to hang – his sister believes him innocent, and apparently so does Charlie as he postpones his voyage to Honolulu to help them out. When arriving at the country house in Retfordshire where the deed was done he finds himself up against a wall of suspicious British stereotypes, ranging from Cockney idiots and brusque snobs to out and out racists, which of course he continually uses to his advantage in his unravelling of the case. And he unravels it perfectly, with a plethora of marvellous aphorisms and red herrings, but as so often had to happen also with a fool-the-murderer-into-finally-exposing-him/herself denouement.

Swedish Warner Oland gave a wonderfully urbane performance as usual as the Chinese detective. Sadly as time goes on it's shown less and less on TV, partly because the schedulers who may not want to offend Chinese sensibilities also prefer to show violent and deviant films to the public instead, and partly because the public want it that way too. Hunt a copy down and revel in it!