Murder Over New York (1940)

Very Cool!!!

I don't have all the words right now but this film is a work of art.

It's entirely possible that sending the audience out feeling lousy was intentional

The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

An old friend of Charlie Chan (Sidney Toler) is murdered. Charlie's investigation puts him on the trail of a mysterious man known as Paul Narvo. If he can figure out the identity of Narvo, he can solve the murder. With unwanted help from "Number Two Son" Jimmy, of course.Fairly routine Charlie Chan mystery. Toler is solid as Charlie and Victor Sen Yung is good fun as Jimmy. Donald MacBride plays the police inspector who would be lost without Charlie's help. The suspects are made up of Ricardo Cortez, Robert Lowery, Melville Cooper, John Sutton, and pretty Joan Valerie. Marjorie Weaver is over-the-top in her performance as a woman who used to be married to Narvo. Also an amusing appearance from Shemp Howard. Not bad but not one of the series' best.

The indomitable Charlie Chan returns in this war-time espionage thriller, which is neither as silly nor as blatantly jingoistic as most movies of its type. Although connoisseurs will experience no difficulty in picking out the master spy, there are not only some diverting plot twists along the way, but the pace is often breath-takingly rapid. Director Harry Lachman indulges his usual penchant for close-ups. True, I don't usually like too many close-ups, but here they are not only astutely composed but dramatically very effective. As usual, Toler is excellent and the support cast first-rate. And it's a pleasant surprise to find Donald McBride's character not only more restrained, but more sensible than usual. However, despite her position on the very top of the support bill, Marjorie Weaver has an extremely small role – about a quarter the size of John Sutton's and he receives no billing at all! Chan's bon mots of Chinese philosophy are fairly amusing and Sen Yung's number–two son is a more effective offsider than usual and is not required to descend to tiresome "comic relief". Production values of course are first class. Miss Valerie wears some wonderfully attractive costumes, while Virgil Miller's photography remains very crisp, despite being often forced to work very close to the actors. Film editing is also remarkably smooth despite the necessity to integrate angles that are not quite suitable for ideal matching. And, as usual, Chan's make-up is faultless,

There are many Charlie Chan movies out there. They are generally pretty good. Either of the two actors that played Charlie Chan did a good job even though neither was of Asian heritage by any stretch of the imagination. These movies used logic and some humor, usually provided by the number two or three son and some from Chan himself (watch his face at times during the films). As usual for these movies Chan solves the case using unorthodox means and by miss direction including asking questions that direct the suspects attention where he wants them to go. Charlie is in New York for a convention. His Scotland Yard friend is killed and the hunt is on for the killer. After the usual search the guilty party is apprehended and every thing is fine.

It appears the formula for Charlie Chan mysteries is wearing itself thin. Even this movie's title could have been better or more descriptive. The Honolulu detective Chan(Sidney Toler)is in New York for a police convention when a Scotland Yard inspector friend of his falls victim of toxic gas poisoning. The gas is relatively new and is also being used by saboteurs plaguing an airline. Number Two Son Jimmy(Sen Yung)offers aid to the investigation, but you know how that is going to work out. The plot seems to lack urgency and just isn't one of the better films in the Charlie Chan series. The supporting cast features: Marjorie Weaver, Robert Cortez, Melville Cooper, Donald MacBride and Joan Valerie.