Charlie Chan in City in Darkness (1939)

"Beware of spider who invites fly into his place for tea.", 18 February 2008

On the eve of war in France, Charlie Chan is visiting with old friends in Paris. When a leading industrialist is murdered, Chan agrees to help out the local police to solve the murder. Chan will have to sift through a web of international intrigue to find a killer.

Charlie Chan in City in Darkness was one of the very last Chan films I had not seen. And I can't tell you how disappointed I am in the movie. Briefly, it doesn't have the feel of a Chan film. It's not so much a murder mystery as it is an espionage thriller. And Chan isn't a central character as much as he is a bystander. He just happens to the there. And where was Jimmy? What's a Sidney Toler Chan film without #2 son? It's not the kind of movie I was hoping for.

This is the third Chan film I've seen with Harold Huber. His broad, almost comical characters are always a distraction. But in Charlie Chan in City in Darkness he's really out of place. The tone of this film is too serious for Huber's brand of over-acting. Another disappointing facet to this Chan installment.

5/10