Good story, Not enough for a whole film

if their story seems completely bonkers, almost like a feverish work of fiction, you ain't heard nothing yet.

This film is so real. It treats its characters with so much care and sensitivity.

It is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties.

Review - Murder Over New York One of the best from Sidney Toler out the Fox Studios by far, due to an excellent story holding the actual identities of the guilty until the very end, with plenty of red-herrings, trickery present to prove the guilty parties, exceptional acting from the cast members, recognizing one supporting member, i.e. Donald MacBride as Inspector Vance. Actually there were other cast members, uncredited Shemp Howard, with a funny bit, deserves mention. Unique features included twenty-one uncredited cast members, along with the thirteen credited cast members, not including the star, Sidney Toler. This was a large cast compared to later Charlie Chan movies, and it worked well, everyone figuring into the story. Marjorie Weaver as Patricia Shaw was a welcome cast member in her second of two Charlie Chan movies, each from 1940, as was Joan Valerie playing June Preston, as the only blond. The movie is a good watch seeing how each character plays an important part in the ultimate apprehension of the guilty, both killer and accomplice. Careful study of the players as the plot moves along provides insight of the way Charlie Chan captures the killer-ringleader and nabs the accomplice first. His loyalty to his friend, Inspector Drake keeps him in New York, solving the case, with help from a few people furnishing evidence or clues for the quest to go forward to conclusion. His friend Drake is killed in an apartment during a party with several guests, and the killer was amongst them at the party. Charlie Chan learned from his late friend, a prime suspect was known to be involved in sabotage, but he was not found as yet, as was the man's wife. She is found through help from a party guest providing her address where Charlie visits to learn of her actual status and any insight he can learn of her missing ringleader husband. Her life is endangered while Charlie and the NYPD Inspector question her. The host of the party is found dead in his apartment where the party occurred. The prime suspect's valet is murdered just before an attempt was made on his wife, two bullet holes through a police headquarters' window. From the assistance of a few more people Charlie creates a ruse to force the guilty parties out into the open before there was any further bloodshed. Watch for all the clues to be presented as the case comes to a conclusion. There were no unnecessary scenes throughout the show, despite Charlie having help from son Jimmy.

Coincidentially, Charlie Chan meets an old colleague and friend of his, Inspector Drake from Scotland Yard, aboard the plane that takes him to New York for the annual police convention; and Drake reveals to him that he's now in the secret service, and he's been chasing dangerous saboteur Narvo literally all over the world - and he suspects him to have been involved in the crash of a new test plane only a few days ago. And the same night, Drake is murdered at a dinner party given by plane constructor Kirby, poisoned in his library by a newly invented gas (Jimmy, who's once more followed his dad, this time using the World Fair as an excuse, can identify it easily, being a chemistry student) that kills instantly and is usually put into small glass balls that smash easily... So, Charlie deduces that this was also the way the plane was made to crash - and immediately takes over his friend's case, investigating all the more or less suspicious characters who were present at Kirby's dinner party...Once again, Charlie proves a lot cleverer than even 'New York's Finest' (Donald MacBride as the slow-witted Inspector Vance used to specialize in this kind of roles anyway), and as always his psychological tricks work excellently - there's just nothing but oriental finesse to catch a cunning criminal! The whole cast is superb, the case is very intriguing, and of course the jokes aren't missing either (as usual at the expense of poor Jimmy...) - great 40s' murder and spy entertainment which really transfers us back into time!

This Charlie Chan mystery is a misnomer. There is no Murder Over New York, but not for lack of trying. And the attempt is made at the climax of the film so that Sidney Toler can get the murderer of three people to give himself away.Toler and number two son Victor Sen Yung are in New York for a police convention and Toler runs into a former Scotland Yard colleague Frederic Worlock who is on the trail of an international spy. Later on Worlock is found dead. Two other murders are committed.Note the presence of a lot of Hollywood's British colony here. Some are suspects, some are not. A whole lot of the cast has played villains in other films so that affords you no clue. The ultimate mastermind is someone who has played some incredibly slimy bad guys on screen.Quite a curve gets tossed us toward the end as all the suspects are put in a plane and are meant to be killed. Of course they're not as Charlie Chan gets his man.One of the best of the Sidney Toler Chan films.

Charlie's in New York catching pre-war spies with wise-cracking #2 son, Victor Sen-Yung. They make a delightful team. Yes, it's unfortunate that blacks are stereotyped, but we're certainly intelligent enough to place this within the proper prospective.As with every Chan film in the 30s & 40s, the film shows Charlie's high sense of family values, and he is accorded respect like no other character in the film as he easily outwits dimwitted white chief detective Don McBride and the others.Overall, the Chan series are an honorable and respectable part of our film history - and they're fun and entertaining as hell. These films deserve to be seen as often as any other film of the era.Please pass the popcorn and leave your over-sensitive political correctness at the door. It's show time!