Charlie Chan in Paris
Charlie's visit to Paris, ostensibly a vacation, is really a mission to investigate a bond-forgery racket. But his agent, apache dancer Nardi is killed before she can tell him much. The case, complicated by a false murder accusation for banker's daughter Yvette, climaxes with a strange journey through the Paris sewers.
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- Cast：
- Warner Oland , Mary Brian , Thomas Beck , Erik Rhodes , John Miljan , Murray Kinnell , Minor Watson
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Reviews
Really Surprised!
Best movie ever!
The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.
The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.
From 1935, "Charlie Chan in Paris" was considered one of the lost of the series, but a print was found.Years and years ago, when I first discovered the Chan films, the TV station I watched at the time showed Sidney Toler films. I like Toler in the role -- he had a world-weary way of saying his lines, his Chan was deliberate, and his kids drove him nuts. Oland brings different qualities to the role, and he's a delight - very upbeat, more active, and in this one anyway, Lee Chan (Keye Luke) was a welcome addition to him, not a bother. He really radiates a special warmth.Part of the energy difference is due to age -- Oland was about 12 years younger than Toler when he began the series.In this story, Chan goes on vacation to Paris, but it's just a cover. He's there to investigate a forgery that seems to emanate from one particular bank that is selling bonds. He has someone there, Nardi, working undercover, but she is murdered shortly after the film starts.Good film, and somehow, even working in a studio, the film manages to create a dark and mysterious atmosphere.Enjoyable. I know they are not politically correct, but I do love the Charlie Chan films.
The famous Charlie Chan series of the 1930s starred Swedish actor Warner Oland as the main character. Yes, I understand that having a non-Chinese man playing Chan is NOT politically correct and they SHOULD have had a Chinese guy play the detective as well as play him less stereotypically, but considering this is the 1930s and the films are still entertaining, this is something the viewer is just going to have to overlook. In the 1940s, the series would continue with other non-Asians (Sidney Toler and then Roland Winters) as well as move from glamorous Twentieth Century Fox to poverty row Monogram Studios--where the production values would drop considerably and racial insensitivity would increase dramatically! Since this is one of the earlier Fox Charlie Chan films, it is a definite step up in quality and entertainment.In this film, Charlie is supposedly on vacation in Paris but is actually on the trail of a counterfeiting scheme. How Chan seemed to travel to new exotic locale in each film is a mystery in and of itself, as he was always described as "the great Hawaiian detective" but never seemed to be there! Anyway, this film has a lot going for it in spite of Charlie's ability to solve crimes too easily (it's like they gave him a copy of the script). The best of Chan's sons, #1 son Keye Luke, is there to assist him and Mantan Moreland of the Monogram films is NOT--a good recipe for success. Plus, the plot and the whole idea of the handicapped beggar really took some imagination and showed that this wasn't just a slapped together entry in the series (like so many later ones were). A good example of the genre.
Despite a promising start with the energetic Apache ballet, this film is virtually a retread of CHARLIE CHAN IN London (1934) with its plot about coveted wives, duplicitous subordinates, drunken cronies, young lovers in peril, etc. The plot has possibilities (especially with the introduction of the sinister Marcel Xavier character and his eventual comeuppance) but ends up being less interesting than expected! It's still fun and the lightning pace, ultimately, works to the film's advantage. Furthermore, the introduction of Chan's son as his assistant in the investigation will come to be a trademark of the series.
It's the first movie that I see in the Charlie Chan's series. I must say that I liked it. It's a pretty good mystery taking place in Paris. Like other films of this genre, the answer to the puzzle is not known until the end. Like good old Charlie says in the movie: «Must turn many stones to find hiding place of snake»! The dance scene at the Singe Bleu is quite compelling.Out of 100, I gave it 78.
