Murder Over New York

This Charlie Chan mystery is a misnomer. There is no Murder Over New York, but not for lack of trying. And the attempt is made at the climax of the film so that Sidney Toler can get the murderer of three people to give himself away.

Toler and number two son Victor Sen Yung are in New York for a police convention and Toler runs into a former Scotland Yard colleague Frederic Worlock who is on the trail of an international spy. Later on Worlock is found dead. Two other murders are committed.

Note the presence of a lot of Hollywood's British colony here. Some are suspects, some are not. A whole lot of the cast has played villains in other films so that affords you no clue. The ultimate mastermind is someone who has played some incredibly slimy bad guys on screen.

Quite a curve gets tossed us toward the end as all the suspects are put in a plane and are meant to be killed. Of course they're not as Charlie Chan gets his man.

One of the best of the Sidney Toler Chan films.

Though I have certainly seen more than my share of movies in my lifetime, I have to admit that "Murder Over New York" is my very first Charlie Chan movie. One reason why I put off seeing any Charlie Chan movies for a long time was that I found the idea of a Caucasian playing an Asian to be insulting. While I would have preferred an Asian to play Charlie Chan (and wished that Chan would have spoken fluent English), I have to admit that Sidney Toler gave a warm and likable performance as the detective. And I was pleased to see that his character was treated with respect and likability by his policeman peers and other characters. As for the rest of the movie, it's in large part a fairly standard 1940s murder mystery, but it does keep you guessing for a long time, and at 65 minutes it doesn't overstay its welcome. And in the end, it was entertaining enough for me that I will give another Charlie Chan movie a chance in the future should one cross my path again.

In watching the entire Charlie Chan canon, there is one consistent issue. That is the trust that Charlie puts in his own son. There are at least five goof ups due to him; not to mention his constantly tampering with evidence and shooting off his mouth. I realize that these are part of the comic relief, but sometimes they cross over into potential danger for other people. Putting that little complaint aside, this was quite an entertaining offering. It involves sabotage once again. There is a test plane at the center of it and concern that someone may try to put a wrench in the works. The use of poison gas is front and center and the identity of a man known for his terrorism. We have the repeated business of a person in authority wanting the spotlight, but Chan is ultimately in control. I like this one.

This film is about a deadly poison that is contained in small glass globes that is used to kill. This is apparently done to hide an espionage ring intent on stealing plans for a new American bomber. Now much of this plot was repeated in other Chan films, THE JADE MASK and THE DOCKS OF NEW ORLEANS. Additionally, it was first used in MR. WONG, DETECTIVE--all had the exploding glass globes--a plot element that obviously has been overused. It was interesting in MURDER OVER NEW YORK, but by these later films it was rather passé.

Fortunately, the rest of the film was fresh and the plot worked out very well--with a nifty conclusion where, of course, the culprit reveals himself. However, no plane could fly the way this one did--especially in 1940. Such extreme dives and rapid ascents were pretty silly out of this already obsolete plane.

By the way, in a small role as a porter you'll see Frank Coghlan Jr.--the same actor who played Billy Batson in the CAPTAIN MARVEL serial. According to IMDb, Mr. Coughlan is 93 years old and retired from the film industry.

Charlie's in New York catching pre-war spies with wise-cracking #2 son, Victor Sen-Yung. They make a delightful team. Yes, it's unfortunate that blacks are stereotyped, but we're certainly intelligent enough to place this within the proper prospective.

As with every Chan film in the 30s & 40s, the film shows Charlie's high sense of family values, and he is accorded respect like no other character in the film as he easily outwits dimwitted white chief detective Don McBride and the others.

Overall, the Chan series are an honorable and respectable part of our film history - and they're fun and entertaining as hell. These films deserve to be seen as often as any other film of the era.

Please pass the popcorn and leave your over-sensitive political correctness at the door. It's show time!