Customer Reviews

Charlie Chan: Murder Over New York [VHS]

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Charlie Chan films are frequently accused of pandering to racial stereotypes. There is a certain truth to this, but Charlie Chan and company were neither more nor less stereotypical than such other popular series as the "Blondie" or "Dr. Kildare" series, and--while we may occasionally roll our eyes at a few 1930s sensibilities--its stereotypes are never mean-spirited and Charlie (along with his various sons) is always presented in a positive light.

Released in 1940 on the eve of World War II, MURDER OVER NEW YORK finds Chan (Sidney Toler) en route to New York when he encounters friend Hugh Drake, who tells Chan of an espionage agent operating in the United States--and when Drake is killed before he can impart further information, Chan finds himself not only pursuing a sabateour turned killer.

Although MURDER OVER NEW YORK is among the better Chan films, the real mystery is why so few Chan films are available to the home market, particularly on DVD--for when the series was good it was very good indeed, with such titles as CHARLIE CHAN IN RENO, CHARLIE CHAN AT TREASURE ISLAND, and CHARLIE CHAN AT THE CIRCUS cases in point. Watch for them on your local-late-night channel!

GFT, Amazon Reviewer
In memory of Cujo, 1992-2005
An Orange Cat and a Dear and Faithful Companion, Greatly Missed

My Dad first saw Charlie Chan movies when he was a little kid watching the late late movie(which was frequently a Chan movie). He remembers none of the movies, except this one. Just that says alot. "Murder Over New York" is a great movie, and a good mystery. That plane scene towards the end is one of the most suspenseful scenes ever made in a Chan picture. Number two son Jimmy is on hand as usual, and Sidney Toler does his usual excellent job as Chan. Also, Shemp Howard of Three Stooges fame makes a surprise appearance at one point. "Murder Over New York" may not be critically acclaimed, but it is viewer acclaimed.

This is one of the best Charlie Chan movies. Though I found the beginning to be slightly confusing, it is a very compelling and interesting story. I would recommend this film to any Chan fan.

This Charlie Chan entry starring Sidney Toler has our favorite detective from Honolulu dealing with sabotage and murder at a convention for detectives. Chan's enthusiastic offspring, Jimmy (Sen Yung), arrives in New York just in time to help pop. Chan's comment about young Jimmy's involvement in previous cases to a fellow detective is a scream!

A good screenplay from Lester Ziffren and some good pacing from director Harry Lachman makes the mystery as much fun as the look on Chan's face when Jimmy solves the case every five seconds! As always, there is much humor mixed in with the mystery, all provided by the likable second son of the famous detective.

Flying to an annual convention of police detectives in New York, Chan meets his old friend Drake from Scotland Yard aboard the plane. Drake is now working for the military, trying to stem a rash of sabotage. Once on land, he turns up dead, the briefcase containing evidence that will help expose the man named Narvo behind it all, missing. Jimmy's nose for chemistry helps uncover a new gas called tetrogene as the method for the murder and Chan goes to work to uncover the killer of an old pal.

Donald MacBride is the New York detective, Inspector Vance, who lets Charlie guide the investigation. A pretty actress named June Preston (Joan Valerie) is missing a pearl from her necklace which turns up at the murder scene. A chemist named David Elliot (Robert Lowery) and a lovely girl named Patricia (Marjorie Weaver) trying to prove his innocence also figure into the mystery as Chan sifts through the clues.

Narvo's Hindu servant who can lead them to him is killed as soon as he is found, but not before Shemp Howard has a funny bit as a fake Hindu. There is a good ending to this Charlie Chan entry and it is very enjoyable. Young Jimmy even gets a few things right this time! Fans of the Honolulu detective don't want to miss this one.

Watching Sidney Toler as the famed Charlie Chan, ever-smiling, often bowing and saying "humble," and uttering somewhat silly but amusing epigrams, in this 1940 black and white, out-dated, but therefore almost laugh-out-loud funny film, is a delight. On his way to a police convention in New York, the local cops, who don't seem to get anything right, ask Charlie to help solve a murder in which sabotage and the changing of identities is involved. The crime drama is certainly not complex, but it isn't boring. Watching various possible culprits squint their eyes and look askance, trying their best to lead us to think that they are guilty, reminds us, as if we could possibly forget, that the film is outdated. Number two son adds comic relief to an already funny film, like Cheetah skipping around, turning up in unwanted places, and performing bizarre acts in a Tarzan movie. Forever getting matters wrong, he is, as his father aptly describes him, someone who promises much and produces little, without whom many cases would have been solved sooner. The film is filled with Chan-ean sayings, seemingly as many as in a large college edition of epigrams, or at least the college students' mock-version of it, such as: a needle in a haystack can be found if you can locate the thread, and coincidences are like an ancient egg that leaves a terrible stink.

1940's "Murder Over New York" is a solidly entertaining entry in the Charlie Chan series, featuring Sidney Toler as the Honolulu Police Detective and Sen Yung as son Jimmy, playing hookey from college to help solve a case of sabotage and murder.

As the story opens, Charlie meets an old friend, Inspector Drake of Scotland Yard, on a Pan Am flight to New York (frequent fliers should note the spacious seating) while en route to a Police Convention. Inspector Drake has been seconded to British military intelligence and is on the trail of a British saboteur named Paul Navaro, now believed to be in New York and behind the fatal crash of a new American bomber prototype. Drake has with him the fingerprints and photographs that can identify Navaro. Charlie offers his assistance with the case and promises to visit him during his New York stay.

When Charlie and son Jimmy arrive at the apartment of George Kirby, where Drake is staying, they are astonished to find Drake dead of a poisonous gas in the library of the apartment, and his evidence against Narvo gone. Kirby's dinner party guests and house servants provide a ready pool of potential suspects. Charlie and Jimmy, assisted by the New York police, begin to sift the clues. While Jimmy provides comic relief by jumping to conclusions every five minutes, the senior Chan soon realizes they are up against a ruthless foe who will silence witnesses to maintain his cover. Charlie must set a deadly trap in the skies high over New York to force Narvo to finally reveal himself.

"Murder Over New York" is a well-crafted Charlie Chan adventure, with a genuine mystery difficult to solve from the sidelines. The sense of approaching war is palpable and adds urgency to solving the case. These movies are also a nice time capsule of fashion and manners now long gone. This entry is highly recommended to fans of the Charlie Chan series.

Sidney Toler plays Charlie and Sen Yung has the role of Jimmie Chan in this movie about the great detective solving a homicide which happened on board an airliner. It's another 20th Century-Fox film with Harry Lachman as director and a strong supporting cast.

Sidney Toler plays Charlie and Sen Yung has the role of Jimmie Chan in this movie about the great detective solving a homicide which happened on board an airliner. It's another 20th Century-Fox film with Harry Lachman as director and a strong supporting cast.

Sidney Toler plays Charlie and Sen Yung has the role of Jimmie Chan in this movie about the great detective solving a homicide which happened on board an airliner. It's another 20th Century-Fox film with Harry Lachman as director and a strong supporting cast.