Black Magic (1944)

Charlie searches for a murderer amidst numerous ghosts conjured up by a strange variety of spiritualists and occultists.

Director:

Phil Rosen

Writers:

Earl Derr Biggers (characters), George Callahan (original screenplay)

Stars:

Sidney Toler, Mantan Moreland, Frances Chan

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Sidney Toler	...	Charlie Chan
Mantan Moreland	...	Birmingham Brown
Frances Chan	...	Frances Chan
Joseph Crehan	...	Police Sgt. Matthews
Helen Beverly	...	Norma Duncan / Nancy Wood (as Helen Beverley)
Jacqueline deWit	...	Justine Bonner
Geraldine Wall	...	Harriet Green
Ralph Peters	...	Officer Rafferty
Frank Jaquet	...	Paul Hamlin
Edward Earle	...	Dawson, Police Lab
Claudia Dell	...	Vera Starkey
Harry Depp	...	Charles Edwards
Charles Jordan	...	Tom Starkey
Dick Gordon	...	William Bonner (as Richard Gordon)

Storyline

Because Charlie Chan plans to return to Honolulu, he no longer needs the services of Birmingham, who gets a job as butler for William and Justine Bonner, two apparently phony psychics who regularly host occult activities in their home. When Charlie's pretty daughter Frances attends a séance out of curiosity, Mr. Bonner is shot, and she becomes an immediate suspect. Charlie postpones his trip home to help with the investigation, which is made problematic when no bullet can be found in the wound and a hypnotized Mrs. Bonner is compelled to commit suicide by jumping off the roof of a downtown building.

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Plot Keywords:

spiritualist | murderer | psychic | occult | butler | 

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Taglines:

SCIENCE TRAPS A KILLER!

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Genres:

Comedy | Crime | Drama | Horror | Mystery | Thriller

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

19 August 1944 (USA)

Also Known As:

Charlie Chan in Black Magic

Box Office

Budget:

$75,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Monogram Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

67 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Mirrophonic Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The title card on the DVD, which comes from the original negative, bears the original title, Black Magic, but revisionists have superimposed "original title: Meeting at Midnight" across the bottom of the screen. They've got it backwards. Meeting at Midnight was the new title attached to the film, about five years after its original release, in order to avoid confusion with Orson Welles' 'Black Magic (1949)'.

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Goofs

When Charlie first declares himself psychic to Sgt. Matthews, we can see the pole held by a stagehand that makes a white handkerchief flutter over Charlie's head.

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Quotes

Frances Chan: Who do you think killed Mr. Bonner?
Birmingham Brown: Spooks.
Frances Chan: Silly, they can't hurt anyone.
Birmingham Brown: No? But how come they're scarin' me to death?

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Connections

Follows The Black Camel (1931)

User Reviews

That's the Way the Fortune Cookie Crumbles

I must confess a rather soft spot in my movie heart for the Chan(as well as Wong and Moto) mysteries of the 30's and 40's. They have some great stories to tell, inventive if not too logical puzzles to solve, some gifted supporting acting in most cases, and a friendly kind of spirit inflamed within. They also have some poor, wooden performances, harbor some of the most offensive stereotypes of OUR day, and seem hurriedly put together at times. Charlie Chan and the Meeting at Midnight(version which I saw) has qualities both with negative charges and positive. Sidney Toler always does a nice, wry job of playing Honoloulou's #1 detective, though I much prefer Warner Oland. This vehicle for Toler seems to be rather substandard. I'll chalk that up as it was made by Monogram. The story is a bit too far-fetched about a couple being killed...one at a séance table by a bullet that disappeared. The story of the bullet was intriguing, but some loose ends were not tied all too convincingly for me. No #1 son or #2 son or even #3 son here. We get Frances Chan(both her character's name and her name in real life). Frances plays Charlie's #1 daughter. Plays may be a bit generous as her performance certainly was wooden. Mantan Moreland is back as Birmingham Brown. I know he caught a lot of flack later in his life for his portrayals of being scared and so forth, but, for me, he is easily the best thing in this movie. All his gags don't work, but he keeps trying. Moreland was a natural comic presence and he should be viewed as such. Period. Not a bad Chan film but by no means one of the better ones.