Excellent, smart action film.

Excellent characters with emotional depth. My wife, daughter and granddaughter all enjoyed it...and me, too! Very good movie! You won't be disappointed.

If you're interested in the topic at hand, you should just watch it and judge yourself because the reviews have gone very biased by people that didn't even watch it and just hate (or love) the creator. I liked it, it was well written, narrated, and directed and it was about a topic that interests me.

The movie really just wants to entertain people.

One of Warner Oland's last appearances as Charlie Chan was this short and sweet mystery where Charlie happens to be involved in the smuggling of a diary intended to be used for blackmail. The blackmailer (Louise Henry) is all of sudden murdered and Chan must gather all the clues he can to find the killer. As it happens, he was on a cruise ship with the victim, and the diary somehow ended up in his trunk. This gets Number One Son (Keye Luke) involved, which of course, isn't a shining light in pop's eyes. "Does that mean I can go to?", Lee Chan asks his dad. "Unfortunately yes", Oland wryly replies, gathering up enough clues to prepare to uncover the killer amongst a list of sordid suspects (including J. Edward Bromberg, Donald Woods and Leon Ames) before they strike again. Even on their lowest budgets, the Chan mysteries always had some surprises, and this gives plenty of suspense as well before the culprit is named in the dramatic conclusion.

I can never get upset with a Charlie Chan film, they're all simply classics. That being said, I already have a bias in favor of the Chan series so my review may be tainted.In this Chan outing, Charlie (Oland) and #1 son Lee (Keye Luke) find themselves hot on the trail of the murderer of an infamous ex-mob lady Billie Bronson (played by the sultry Louise Henry). Added to the fray is her missing diary which contains secrets that could blow the lid off of New York's underworld. We have the usual Chan formula, with a fast-paced, New York twist. You have the usual suspects (who more often than not turn out to be not guilty) and the big surprise ending where we learn who the real killer is. I can honestly say I didn't see it coming.The things which separate this film from others in the series are the hectic New York setting and a few very interesting characters. Huber's character Inspector Nelson seems to be one of those characters you either love or hate. I'm a lover because he adds so much flair to the movie. We even have him telling a woman to shut-up near the ending, which is something you don't see in many (if any) Chan flicks. A woman has never been treated so crudely up until now and I just love it. I found myself cracking up and rewinding the scene just so I can hear its delivery again.Lastly, this film's killer shocked me in more ways than one. He/she was actually a character I liked and cared for and I was a little heartbroken when I found out. That's something a Chan film hasn't ever made me feel, sad. But boy this movie sure is a wild ride and it ended up being one of the Chan films I like to watch over and over.Be sure to see this one soon and enjoy. You can thank me later!

I enjoyed CHARLIE CHAN ON Broadway but also have to admit that there isn't much new or special that sets it apart from all the other later Warner Oland films from the Charlie Chan series. It has all the usual elements--the assistance (whether wanted or not) of #1 son, plot twists and clever "Chanisms"--the clever aphorisms Charlie makes during the course of the film. So the film isn't a disappointment nor is it particularly distinguished.The plot involves a gangster's moll who is killed just before she reveals mob secrets. Despite the movie making it look like the mobsters Burke or Moran did it, I found this plot much easier to unravel than most when I noticed the exact same clue that Chan did when he gives a summation of the case at the end of the film--so it's not one of the more baffling mysteries of the series.Decent acting, plot and dialog--this is yet another fine Chan film. A bit better than the later Sidney Toler films of the series but not up to the standards of the better Chan films like CHARLIE CHAN IN London or CHARLIE CHAN AT THE OPERA.By the way, despite the title, there really isn't much about Broadway in this film--nothing about plays like you might expect. It just happens that the murders happened in the Broadway neighborhood, so don't expect anything like CHARLIE CHAN AT THE OPERA.

Charlie Chan and #1 son Lee get mixed up with a mysterious woman on board a ship bound for New York. Unbeknownst to Chan, the woman is the former girlfriend of a gangster with information that, if published, could blow the lid off the underworld. She hides a small package in Chan's luggage to make sure it gets to New York safely. Shortly after arriving in New York, the woman is murdered in an office at the Hottentot Club. Can Chan discover the woman's secret and find her killer? Charlie Chan on Broadway is yet another very solid entry in the Chan series. Warner Oland and Keye Luke are as good and entertaining as ever. Plus, anytime I see the names Marc Lawrence or Leon Ames in the credits, I know I'm in for a good time. But the highlight of this one has to be the killer's identity. It completely caught me off guard.BIG TIME SPOILERS – If you've seen enough of the Charlie Chan movies (or any other detective type movies from the 30s and 40s), there are a few absolutes you can generally count on. One of them is that the Chan movies usually feature a young couple in love. While both may come under suspicion at some point in the movie, they are always exonerated by the end to continue their dreamy relationship. That's not the case in Charlie Chan on Broadway. One of the last people I expected – the male half of the ideal couple – is found to be the killer. It really threw me for a loop! END OF BIG TIME SPOILERS Overall, I'm very pleased to have discovered a "new" Charlie Chan film. I look forward to revisiting it many times in the future.