Sadly Over-hyped

Must See Movie...

This is a tender, generous movie that likes its characters and presents them as real people, full of flaws and strengths.

The tone of this movie is interesting -- the stakes are both dramatic and high, but it's balanced with a lot of fun, tongue and cheek dialogue.

With three more 'lost' films of the Charlie Chan series in between, this is the second one starring Warner Oland after "The Black Camel" (1931) that we can still enjoy today - and it certainly is another masterpiece of a classic whodunit; and set this time in the 'natural environment' of the genre: England...Just as Charlie Chan is about to leave London to travel home to Honolulu, he's approached by a desperate young lady: Pamela Gray, whose brother Hugh has been found guilty of murder and will be hung in three days... She's just tried to convince even the Home Secretary himself that they're making a mistake, that Hugh is innocent, but he also insisted that the trial was regular and the sentence has to be carried out - quite a direct criticism on the 'institution' of the death penalty there, by the way: Pamela tells the Home Secretary openly that the state is about to 'commit a murder'! But, since everybody else is relentless, her only hope is Charlie Chan; and her fiancée, Hugh's attorney Neil Howard (played by young Ray Milland) - until she overhears the private conversation between Charlie and Neil, where Charlie asks him directly if he believes that Hugh is innocent, and Neil answers 'no'... At that point, Pamela throws her engagement ring at him and tells him she never wants to see him anymore - and now the only one who can save the whole situation is, as usual, Charlie Chan...He investigates at the scene of the crime, the country house of Geoffrey Richmond, whose secretary Hugh was. The murdered man had been a weekend guest, and his throat had been cut at night in the stable near the house; and all the evidence still points to Hugh, although there are quite some other suspicious characters gathered in that old country house - until Charlie (with very little help from the local police: here we've got the typical kind of dumb British country cop, in direct comparison to the clever Chinese...) goes deeper into things, and into danger...A VERY cleverly developed and suspenseful story, in the REAL 'classic mystery' atmosphere of the 30s (had Agatha Christie's novels been made into movies at that time, they would look just about like this one...), perfectly acted and directed - and, as always, with that touch of 'typical' Charlie Chan humor: when the Brits start trying to explain in their 'own' language, Charlie politely reminds them: 'Please - do not understand English; only American!'...Don't miss this movie, it's a CLASSIC piece of Hollywood entertainment!

Really enjoy a well-done murder mystery, and this was a good one. And I always thought Warner Oland was the best Charlie Chan - even though he was Swedish. Lots of reviewers recap the plot so there's no need to rehash, but the plot here is intricate and it's not easy to pick out the murderer.This film in particular of the Chan series has a lot of dialogue and it pays off to pay attention as the story unfolds. That way you won't get fooled by a red herring, as I did. This picture is pretty old, so old that many in the supporting cast are unknown to modern audiences, except perhaps Alan Mowbray and a very young Ray Milland. The female lead was Drue Leyton, whom I am not familiar with but was very good and convincing in all her scenes. For some reason she made only 10 films, the last in 1939.This is also the last CC movie made without a number 1 son. Key Luke does not appear until the next picture, "Charlie Chan In Paris (1935). "Charlie Chan In London" is a good, solid whodunit of the type no longer made in Hollywood, or anywhere else for that matter.

The 1930s and 40s saw huge numbers of B-movies about detectives which included two different Sherlock Holmes series (one American and one British), the Falcon, the Saint, Crime Doctor, Boston Blackie and several others. However, of all these series, one of the very best was probably the Charlie Chan films. However, since they were made over a twenty year period and starred several different actors as Chan, they varied considerably in quality. In general, the early ones are the best and this is one of the earliest ones still in existence (at least two earlier films have simply disappeared or degraded beyond hope).While this Warner Oland effort is plagued by not having an Asian actor in the lead (typical of all the Chan films of the 30s and 40s), it is one of the best written. Unlike some of the later films, Chan's thinking and deducting are actually very sound and he seems more like a master detective than just a lucky guy who stumbles upon the solution to a crime (this happened a lot in the later Sidney Toler films). In almost every way this is a superior film compared to later versions except that I did miss the inclusion of a bit of humor. Using #1 Son and the other Chan children actually helped many of the later films--especially in such grand films as CHARLIE CHAN AT THE OPERA.Still, this is well written, well acted and a good genuine mystery. The end result is a film that is a standout for the genre and is worth a look--especially if you like this style of film.

CHARLIE CHAN IN London is a good example of a well-produced, lower budget "B" film from Fox studios in 1934. Three earlier films seem to be lost, so this is the first in the line-up that remains today. As such, it stars Warner Oland, Swedish by birth, as the Chinese detective, Charlie Chan. Today's film historians grant Oland much credit for creating the screen persona of Chan. This film lends support to their belief. Oland presents Chan as a detective who looks for even the smallest of clues in his search to find the killer. His euphemisms during the hunt are so engaging that they draw the viewer in even closer until, by the end of the film, one is convinced that Chan is without peer in his chosen profession.CHARLIE CHAN IN London also stars Drue Layton as the distraught woman who pleads with Chan to save her brother from execution for a murder she believes he never committed. Layton only made ten films in her entire career. She is well cast in this one.Ray Milland supplies the star quality as Layton's fiancée. Milland bear's that quality of sincerity that characterized him in later years.Not to be overlooked is that fine British actor, Alan Mowbray. Mowbray excelled at comedy and, in fact, became quite a favorite with audiences of the 30s and 40s. This is an example of his earlier work where he excelled in straight dramatic roles.The action takes place in a British mansion. Included in the goings-on is a fox hunt, an attempt on Charlie's life, and other events guaranteed to keep the audience guessing. Missing is Charlie Chan's number one son, Keye Luke. Luke makes his first appearance in the next production, CHARLIE CHAN IN Paris.Twentieth-Century Fox pulled these programs from their broadcast schedule because of the political pressure exerted by today's Asian-American actors in Hollywood who object to a non-Asian playing an Asian character. Accordingly, you will not find CHARLIE CHAN IN London, nor any other Chan film for that matter, on your television set. It's a shame, for this is an authentic piece of motion picture history. However, CHARLIE CHAN IN London can be purchased as a DVD release from Fox in the retail stores. This motion picture is well worth the purchase price.