Charlie Chan in City in Darkness (1939)

Director:

Herbert I. Leeds

Writers:

Robert Ellis (writer)
Ladislas Fodor (play)

Release Date:

15 November 1939 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

PARIS! BLACKOUT!...but there's no blackout for crime...and the great detective is commandeered!

Plot:

While in Paris for a reunion on the eve of World War II, Charlie finds that the murder of an hated businessman leads him to a conspiracy to smuggle arms to Germany.

Plot Keywords:

Peace Conference | La Marseillaise | WWI Veteran | Charlie Chan | Sequel

Cast

Sidney Toler	...	Charlie Chan
Lynn Bari	...	Marie Dubon
Richard Clarke	...	Tony Madero (as Richard Clark)
Harold Huber	...	Police Inspector Marcel Spivak
Pedro de Cordoba	...	Antoine
Dorothy Tree	...	Charlotte Ronnell
C. Henry Gordon	...	Prefect of Police J. Romaine
Douglass Dumbrille	...	B. Petroff (as Douglas Dumbrille)
Noel Madison	...	Belescu
Leo G. Carroll	...	Louis Santelle
Lon Chaney Jr.	...	Pierre
Louis Mercier	...	Gentleman Max
George Davis	...	Alex
Barbara Leonard	...	Lola
Adrienne D'Ambricourt	...	Hotel Proprietress

Also Known As:

City in Darkness (UK)

Runtime:

75 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA High Fidelity Recording)

Certification:

USA:Unrated

Company:

Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Trivia:

Chan's prescient aphorism at the film's conclusion, expressing pessimism about the upcoming Munich Conference was filmed months prior to the start of World War II.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When Harold Huber is thrown from the raised doorway of the hotel steps by the bouncer, the mattress on the cobblestones can be seen in the shot.

Quotes:

Charlie Chan: Birds never divide worm until safe in roost.

Movie Connections:

Followed by Dangerous Money (1946)

Surprisingly timely but also disappointing entry into the series

By his fourth film in the series, Sidney Toler had settled into the Charlie Chan role quite nicely. In many ways, this is a fascinating film to watch because of its historical value--as it talks about the events leading up to WWII as well as the assumption that the Munich Agreement would avert war. As a history teacher, this is great stuff--a real insight into Europe on the eve of war.

However, despite the interesting backdrop of Paris as it prepares for war, the film ultimately is destroyed by one man--Harold Huber. This was Huber's third Chan film--having played a French inspector in Monte Carlo as well as a New York inspector. The problem in this film wasn't his accent (here and in the previous film, Huber was fine with his fake French accent), but how incredibly obnoxious and stupid his character was. This film did not feature a Chan child but most of the blundering was done by Huber. This might have worked had they not made Huber five times stupider than any of the Chan children. Plus, Huber came on so strong and was so dominant in the film that you really wanted him to die, as he completely over-shadowed Toler. Because of this, this might just be the worst Chan film that Fox Studios made. Watchable but annoying.