Charlie Chan on Broadway

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Movie
German title Charlie Chan on Broadway
Original title Charlie Chan on Broadway
Country of production United States
original language English
Publishing year 1937
length 68 minutes
Rod
Director Eugene Forde
script Robert Ellis ,
Helen Logan ,
Charles Belden ,
Jerome Cady ,
production John Stone
music Samuel Kaylin
camera Harry Jackson
cut Alfred DeGaetano
occupation

Charlie Chan on Broadway (Original title: Charlie Chan on Broadway ) is a crime film directed by Eugene Forde in 1937 , which is about a case of the Chinese-born police officer Charlie Chan invented by Earl Derr Biggers . It is about a former singer who has returned from European exile, who is murdered in New York for her knowledge of criminal activities in order to prevent her extensive diary from being known. The film was produced by 20th Century Fox with Warner Oland in the title role and Joan Marsh and J. Edward Bromberg in other leading roles.

action

On an ocean liner heading for New York, a man tries unsuccessfully to steal a small package from a woman's cabin. Fearing that there will be another attempt to steal the package, the woman hides the package in the luggage of Charlie Chan and his son Lee Chan, who live in the next cabin.

In New York, newspaper reporter Speed ​​Patten gets into a taxi with the woman he knows as Billie Bronson, who had disappeared from New York the year before. She swears she'll meet him at her hotel at midnight if he keeps her return to New York to himself. When Patten reported the possible story to his editor-in-chief Murdock, the latter received a call from Billie Bronson asking him twice for a sum of money the editor-in-chief had promised her for information given a year ago. Murdock promises to meet her at 10.30pm that evening.

Billie Bronson then bribes a bellboy to get a key to Chan's hotel room. However, while trying to get into the room, Lee Chan takes her by surprise. She protests that she mistook the Chan's room for her room. Lee Chan, who has become suspicious, pursues Billie Bronson to the Hottentot Club , which is owned by gangster Johnny Burke. At the club, crook Buzz Moran advises Billie to leave town before the next day before visiting Burke. In the meantime, Speed ​​Patten has also arrived at the club with photographer Joan Wendell and follows Burke to meet Billie. Billie accuses her former lover Burke of ditching her for his relationship with Marie Collins, a dancer from the Hottentot Club . When Marie Collins walks into the door of Burke's office, Billie pulls a gun at Burke.

During a police banquet later given in honor of Charlie Chan, Inspector Nelson explains that Billie Bronson was murdered at the Hottentot Club and that Lee Chan is being held as a suspect. Chan apologizes to those present and rushes to the club with Inspector Nelson. Upon arrival at the club and after assessing the situation, Nelson orders Lee Chan to be released and interrogates Speed ​​Patten, Johnny Burke, Marie Collins and Joan Wendell. In the Burke office where the murder took place, Chan notices that a napkin placed over a tray, which was still there in a photo taken by Joan Wendell immediately after the murder, is gone. When Louie, one of Burke's "employees", suddenly turns off the light, Burke escapes the scuffle and confusion that has resulted. After the light was switched on again, Chan notices that a key that was previously seen in Joan Wendell's photo is now missing. Upon closer inspection of the photo with a magnifying glass, Chan discovers that the missing key belongs to his hotel room.

Charlie Chan, Lee Chan and Inspector Nelson then rush to the Chan's hotel room, where they have trouble opening the door, which is blocked by the body of a murdered man. The dead man is the same person who previously tried to steal Billie Bronson's package on the ship. When Marie Collins enters the room, she is shocked that the body is her husband, Thomas Mitchell, who is separated. On the floor, Chan finds the crumpled page of a diary that Mitchell must have been looking for.

Suddenly Lee Chan remembers something and tells his father that Billie Bronson had previously told him that their hotel room is exactly one floor above the Chan's room. After hearing this, Chan and Nelson rush up the stairs to Billie Bronson's room, where they find Murdock. Murdock said he was there to buy Bronson's diary, which he claims contains incriminating information about people involved in corruption and extortion in New York City.

The next day, the local newspaper appeared with the news of the previous night's murders. After Burke is attacked by Buzz Moran, he knocks Moran to the ground. When Moran tries to escape from the room, Moran fires a shot at him, but misses. Burke decides to turn himself in and goes to police headquarters with his attorney Meeker. During the paraffin test carried out there , it was found that there were no traces of smoke on his hands and that Burke was released. Chan reminds Inspector Nelson that the missing napkin may have been used to cover the pistol, so he warns Burke that it will continue to stand unobserved.

Burke returns to his office and meets Lee Chan who is trying to reconstruct the murder with Ling Tse, an employee of the Hottentot Club . Burke boxes Lee Chan and gives him a "black eye". Lee strikes back, but is thrown out of the club. Fearing that Chan sent his son to spy on the office, Burke decides to leave the city, but is arrested at the airport with Marie Collins. He is returned to his office, which is where Murdock and Moran are also taken.

Charlie Chan, Lee Chan, Joan Wendell and Inspector Nelson also arrive at Burke's office above the Hottentot Club , where Chan reveals that Mitchell tried to get Billie Bronson's diary and used the information in it, Burke gave him his Wife had unleashed to ruin. He tells Murdock that the police are monitoring his mail and they know he had received a special delivery letter that Inspector Nelson now claims Murdock to deliver. In the now opened letter there is a page of the missing diary, from which it emerges that Speed ​​Patten used his job as a blackmailer for the daily newspaper to cover up. The indignant Patten explains that the page is an obvious fake.

At this point, Charlie Chan accuses Patten of the murder because only the person who could tell the actual diary - that is, the killer - that the page in the envelope was a fake. Chan then reports that he first suspected Patten when his daily newspaper reported that he was shot in the back in the article about the murder of Billie Bronson. This fact was also only known to the police and the murderer. The detective then explains that he and Inspector Nelson sent the fake page to Murdock to convict Speed ​​Patten.

Speed ​​Patten then pulls a gun and admits that he killed Billie Bronson because she wanted to go to the district attorney with the diary that was incriminating him. He then found Mitchell with the diary and murdered that too. When Patten shoots Charlie Chan, Lee Chan jumps on him, and in the ensuing scuffle, Speed ​​Patten is disarmed and arrested.

While Charlie Chan, Lee Chan and Inspector Nelson later drive through the streets of New York in a car, Nelson invites the two Chans as his guests to tour New York. When the enthusiastic Lee Chan takes off his sunglasses and it can be seen that he now has two "blue eyes", Charlie Chan explains in his final sentence: "Apparently Broadway is very hard on the eyes" ('Evidently, Broadway very hard on eyes').

background

The film, which premiered on October 8, 1937 in the USA, was again directed by Eugene Forde, who had previously directed Charlie Chan in London , among others , and under whose direction Charlie Chan in Monte Carlo (1937) was also the last film of Series was shot in which Warner Oland played the role of detective before his death.

In addition to Keye Luke in the role of son Lee Chan and his father's assistant, the actors Douglas Fowley, Harold Huber, Donald Woods, Louise Henry, Joan Woodbury, Marc Lawrence, Charles Williams and Eugene Borden previously or later appeared in other Charlie Chan films Row with. In an " uncredited " supporting role is seen Lon Chaney Jr. , who later became known for horror films such as The Wolf Man (1941).

The two screenwriters Robert Ellis and Helen Logan have also been involved in several films in the series. Herschel McCoy was once again responsible for the costumes and was nominated for an Oscar for best costume design in both 1952 and 1954 . As a sound engineer, among others, Harry M. Leonard worked again , who received a nomination for the Oscar for the best special effects at the 1946 Academy Awards .

There is an early case of product placement in the film by showing a vial of the aspirin made by Bayer AG .

Quotes

As in the other films in the series, Charlie Chan emphasizes his work with quotes that are reminiscent of Chinese proverbs . The always polite and calm-looking Chan thanks him as usual with a “Thank you so much” ('Thank you so much'). In addition, his “contradiction, please!” ('Contradiction, please!') Often appears when he wants to express his differing views.

In particular, the assistant and son Lee Chan often receives instructions and allusions in proverbs such as “Keep your eyes open, and your mouth closed” or “A cabin is not big enough for two Detectives! ”('One cabin not big enough for two detectives!').

Chan's other sayings in this film include:

  • “Sorry to intrude but etiquette ignored when lady in distress”
  • “The police forces of New York and Honolulu have one thing in common: they both live on very small islands, but while we have small volcanoes, they have the largest eruption.” ('Police of New York and Honolulu have one thing in common. Both live on very small island, but while we have small volcano, you have biggest shakeup. ')
  • "The mud of confusion begins to separate itself from the pool of thoughts" ('Mud of bewilderment beginning to clear from pool of thought')
  • "A camera recalls many things that a human eye forgets" ('Camera remember many things human eye forget')
  • “No poison is more deadly than ink” ('No poison more deadly than ink')
  • "But murder is like a revolving door - when one side is closed, the other side is open" ('But murder like revolving door - when one side close, other side open')

Web links