Black Magic (1944)

Director:

Phil Rosen

Writers:

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

Release Date:

19 August 1944 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Crime | Drama | Horror | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

Chan stalks a fiendish murderer!

Plot:

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

Plot Keywords:

Spiritualist | Murderer | Psychic | Occult | Butler

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)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Dick Rush	...	Policeman (uncredited)

Directed by
Phil Rosen

Writing credits
Earl Derr Biggers		(characters)
George Callahan		(original screenplay)

Produced by
James S. Burkett	....	producer
Philip N. Krasne	....	producer

Original Music by
Alexander Laszlo

Cinematography by
Arthur Martinelli

Film Editing by
John F. Link Sr.		(as John Link)

Art Direction by
Dave Milton

Set Decoration by
Albert Greenwood		(as Al Greenwood)

Production Management
Richard L'Estrange	....	production manager (as Dick L'Estrange)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Bobby Ray	....	assistant director

Art Department
Sam Gordon	....	props

Sound Department
Max M. Hutchinson	....	sound (as Max Hutchinson)

Camera and Electrical Department
George Booker	....	grip
Earl Crowley	....	still photographer
Dave Smith	....	camera operator
Monte Steadman	....	assistant camera
Joe Wharton	....	gaffer

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Harry Bourne	....	wardrobe

Music Department
David Chudnow	....	musical director

Other crew
Marie Messinger	....	script girl

Production Companies

• Monogram Pictures

Distributors

• Monogram Pictures (1944) (USA) (theatrical)
• MGM Home Entertainment (2006) (USA) (VHS)
• Sarjim Video (2006) (worldwide) (VHS)
• MGM Home Entertainment (2004) (USA) (DVD)
• MGM Home Entertainment (2004) (USA) (VHS)

Also Known As:

"Charlie Chan in Black Magic" - USA (informal alternative title)
"Charlie Chan in Meeting at Midnight" - USA (informal alternative title)
"Meeting at Midnight" - USA (TV title)

Runtime:

67 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Mirrophonic Recording)

Certification:

UK:A (original rating) | UK:PG (video rating) (2004) | USA:Approved | Australia:PG

Company:

Monogram Pictures

Trivia:

Actress Frances Chan didn't have to stretch too far in this role. She played a character named . . . Frances Chan!

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: 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.

Quotes:

Frances Chan:I bought a crownless hat, and a backless dress, and some toeless shoes.
Charlie Chan:Stores have no clothes which are complete?

Movie Connections:

Follows Dead Men Tell (1941)

Wonderful Mantan Moreland

Nervous and bug-eyed Birmingham Brown (Mantan Moreland) "assists" Charlie Chan and his daughter at the murder investigation in the home of a woman who has a séance business. During one of her sessions, a man is killed, and one of six people at the séance table appears to be the murderer.

Moreland was a great comic actor with tons of talent, and he is one of two reasons to watch this film. The other reason is the high-contrast B&W lighting, that reminds me of some 1940's noir films.

Other than Moreland and the film's lighting, "Black Magic" has little to offer. With a runtime of just 67 minutes the story is razor thin and poorly developed, suggestive of a sketchy, hastily written screenplay. There are several plot holes, and the killer's modus operandi is rather far-fetched.

As in many Chan movies, production design is minimal. And the sets here are a little too familiar. The entry hall in the séance house looks exactly like the entry hall used in the Chan movie "The Jade Mask". And the elevator set here looks like the elevator set used in the Chan movie "The Scarlet Clue". But Monogram Studios had the reputation for being cheap. And in this film ... it shows.

Even so, I can see how this film might have appealed to viewers in the 1940s, particularly as a Saturday afternoon matinée feature. In its time it probably was delightfully entertaining and a welcome diversion from the grim business of WWII.