Black Magic

This is mostly a routine Charlie Chan mystery with only a couple of points in its favor. While there are a couple of interesting clues to the crime, the characters, dialogue, and action are all stereotyped or dated, and often dull. The beginning seems to hold some possibilities: a man is murdered at a seance, and although he was apparently shot, no trace of the bullet can be found. The police are baffled, and of course call in Charlie Chan to solve the crime. Charlie is assisted this time not by one of his sons, but by his daughter Frances. Unfortunately, it never really takes off from there.

The phony medium setting offers some opportunities for comedy, but most of those do not work too well. The climax has a bit of suspense to it, and the eventual solution has a couple of creative points in it, but there are a lot of listless stretches to sit through before you can get there.

Overall, "Meeting at Midnight" (or, "Charlie Chan in Black Magic") is not one of the better mystery films around.

Okay, I must admit that I generally DO like B-movies and series films from the 1940s. I like to watch The Falcon, The Saint, Sherlock Holmes and even Charlie Chan--they are escapist fun. Predictable and occasionally poorly written? Sure,...but still fun. So, despite my love for the genre, I am still in complete shock that so many people gave this ordinary little film a 10 on IMDb!! Come on, people, this is NOT "high art" or even an especially memorable film and the IMDb ratings become irrelevant if such a film is given ridiculously inflated scores! I would really LOVE to know what scores the people that give this movie a 10 gave to OTHER films. Do they give them all 10s or are they scoring films like GONE WITH THE WIND, BEN HUR, CHARIOTS OF FIRE or ORDINARY PEOPLE with lower scores?! I'm just dying to know.

Okay, as for the movie itself, it's pretty much what you'd expect from a later Charlie Chan movie from Mongram Studios. Unlike the original Chan movies (which featured higher production values, better scripts and Warner Oland), this movie was made by a "Poverty Row" studio (Monogram)--known for exceptionally low budgets and a quick turnaround on the films (completing many in just days--regardless of the aesthetics). While a little more interesting because of its plot involving phony psychics and mind control as well as an unusual appearance by one of Chan's daughters instead of the ubiquitous #1, 2 or 3 son, it is still an essentially low-budget formulaic film. And, as usual, Chan is supported by the moronic antics of Mantan Moreland--a Black actor sure to offend many modern viewers due to his stereotypical characterization (as a scared and rather dim-witted Black man as "comic relief"). Despite this MAJOR problem with all the Monogram films, I try to overlook it and understand it was typical of the 1940s (sadly). The film, while occasionally very interesting, isn't well-written or produced and probably will satisfy Chan fans but fail to convince others of the merits of the series.

This installment of the Chan series is more light-hearted than many, with daughter Frances replacing her brothers in the family sidekick roll, and Birmingham Brown getting a lot of screen time. The séance is another of the classic murder mystery settings used in the series - for the second time, in fact. The complaints by other reviewers about Frances Chan's acting boggle the mind - she's an appealing character, and this ain't Shakespeare, folks. It's nice to have the woman's - or girl's - touch in the series, and Sidney Toler is more affectionate towards her than to sons one and two. Hypnosis and plastic surgery are overworked gimmicks in mysteries, but hey, this is B-movie-land. Mantan Moreland is given plenty of time to clown, and he does his usual great job of it. Yes, he plays the fool, but no more so than my beloved Three Stooges, and folks, they were as white as you can get. If you can't see the difference between Stepin Fetchit and Mantan Moreland, that's a you problem.

Considering it was made in a few weeks with a minimal budget, this Chan was a fun hour of entertainment. Charlie is Charlie - one step ahead of the police he helps - Frances is a breath of fresh air, and Birmingham entertains with his comic acting. Black Magic is exactly what it set out to be - not Citizen Kane, and not trying to be.

Not one of the best in the Charlie Chan series, but still good. Charlie is now seen with is daughter, played by Frances Chan. Unfortunately, she doesn't knows how to act. Her character is not too inspiring either. But Birmingham Brown, played by Mantan Moreland, brings fun to the screen! He sees spooks all around and never wants to be involved... but always is: "this is strictly a private murder to which I wasn't invited". Once again, he makes us laugh with his gimmicks.

74/100 (**½)

Seen at home, in Welland, November 24th, 2001. And again at home, in Toronto, on February 14th, 2007.

In a break from the typical Chan pattern Charlie is aide by his daughter this time. Interestingly he treats much better than he he ever did any of his boys.

This concerns a murder at a seance and more following. Its far from the best of the Chans, but at the same time its far from the worst, especially in light of there not being a son to get into mischief. Its the atypical nature that lifts it up from being a purely run of the mill story. Granted if you've not seen a good number of the Chan films the small differences may not seem like much, but for those of us who've seen every appearance its the little things that count.

7 out of 10 for those looking for a break in the Chan formula, 6 out of 10 for everyone else.