Charlie Chan in Paris

... as he appears as someone who Charlie thinks is at first an intruder in his hotel room, but emerges from the bathroom in a hotel robe, hotel towel covering his hair and face. When he uncovers his face we get his trademark - "Hi Pop!" as Charlie's number one son. This is not only his first appearance in a Chan film, but his first credited film role. Keye Luke is actually in his early thirties at this point, but plays early twenties quite effectively.

But back to the story. Charlie's appearance in Paris is a mystery for about twenty minutes. He makes a call to a colleague who says she has crucial evidence and will talk to him after her dance number at the club. Charlie gets a message soon afterwards saying his reason for being here is known and his life is in danger. There are not the usual red herrings. Instead there is a sinister looking man, a beggar, on crutches, who seems to be making it obvious he is up to no good. Charlie spots him at several places, making his presence known. Why??? Watch and find out.

It turns out all of the secrecy is because some forged bonds have been found in London that were issued by a bank in Paris and Charlie is keeping his investigation under wraps so as to not start a panic. John Miljan is in the cast, and he always played the bad guy, even in MGM shorts, so he is not up to any good here either, but believe me I am not giving anything away by telling you that. He does manage to get the bank president's daughter involved in a scandal in what turns out to be a significant side plot.

Once again Charlie solves the mystery with his sharp powers of observation in this very atmospheric entry. He is very polite considering how Paris law enforcement is acting. At one point, the police are allowing witnesses and passer-bys to trample all over a murder scene, and they are also allowing witnesses to talk amongst themselves rather than isolating them somewhere that is NOT the crime scene.

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.

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.

20th Century Fox recognized a money-spinner when it saw one. Between 1931 and 1942 the studio produced no fewer than 27 Charlie Chan films, first starring Warner Oland and later Sidney Toler. Unfortunately, of the sixteen films starring Warner Oland, four have been "lost." For a great many years, however, the number of "lost" films stood at five--until a single print of the 1935 CHARLIE CHAN IN Paris was located.

Like the earlier CHARLIE CHAN IN London, this film shows the series in full stride, a neat mixture of comedy and mystery bolstered by a solid cast. It is particularly notable as the first film in the series to introduce Chan's son Lee, memorably played by Asian-American actor Keye Luke, who would continue the role through several films. This episode finds Chan in, of course, Paris--pretending to be on vacation while in fact investigating counterfeit bank bonds in a mystery that leads Chan to the infamous sewers of the city.

Chan films, particularly those starring Oland, often use the device of allowing other characters to show vulgar racism toward Chan--and Chan often encourages such dismissiveness to his own ends; underestimation of Chan's talents often delivers the killer into the detective's hand. At times, however, the device has an unfortunate tone, and that occurs here, particularly in an early scene which presents Chan speaking in pidgin and then joining others in their laughter at the "joke." This sort of patronization would be soon dropped from the series, but it is significantly offensive when it occurs.

That aside, however, CHARLIE CHAN IN Paris is quite a good entry in the series, which features dancing spies, stolen love letters, and shots in the dark. The cinematography is typically static and the acting is a bit broad, as is typically of many mid-1930s films, but it's quite a bit of fun.

Gary F. Taylor, aka GFT, Amazon Reviewer