Softwing
Most undeservingly overhyped movie of all time??
Afouotos
Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.
Huievest
Instead, you get a movie that's enjoyable enough, but leaves you feeling like it could have been much, much more.
Grimossfer
Clever and entertaining enough to recommend even to members of the 1%
bkoganbing
Nightclub singer Louise Henry returns to New York as it turns out with Warner Oland and number one son Keye Luke on the same boat. She hung around with a lot of criminal types like Marc Lawrence, Douglas Fowley, and Leon Ames and reputedly kept a diary of events that could mean long stretches in prison if she turns it over to law enforcement. Excellent reason for people wanting to do her harm.In addition to Warner Oland investigating to help Inspector Harold Huber of the NYPD, reporter and photographer Donald Woods and Joan Marsh are trying to scoop each other to please city editor J. Edward Bromberg who has a big interest in this case.I'm kind of divided in terms of my feelings about Charlie Chan On Broadway. On one hand the eventual perpetrator of both Henry and then Lawrence's homicide fits quite logically when you remember the sequence of events. But the casting will throw you off.Oland and Luke do some good work here helping clear up a pair of homicides of some people society won't miss unless you're a fan of Henry's singing.
Michael O'Keefe
The Oriental sleuth Charlie Chan(Warner Oland) rides a bumpy sea to attend a police testimonial in New York City. A wayward nightclub singer(Louise Henry)plans to collect a tidy sum of money by selling her diary that contains a wealth of information concerning previous criminal activities and naming names. When the chanteuse is murdered, Charlie and Number One Son Lee(Keye Luke)join Chief Inspector Nelson(Harold Huber)in piecing together clues to find the killer. An overzealous newspaper reporter (Donald Woods)and a spunky photojournalist (Joan Marsh) try to make the hunt easier...but do they? This film moves at a good pace and is typically true to the Charlie Chan formula. Other players: J. Edward Bromberg, Douglas Fowley and Joan Woodbury.
bensonmum2
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.
Mike-764
Billie Bronson returns to New York from Europe to blackmail Johnny Burke (a former flame) with her diary with contains information that the police would love to have in order to put Burke in the slammer. Billie hid the diary in Charlie's luggage and also plans to try to sell the diary to newspaper editor Murdock, while two reporters at Murdock's paper, reporter Speed Patten and photographer Joan Wendell, try to score an exclusive piece with Billie at Burke's nightclub, but after a meeting with Burke and girlfriend Marie Collins, Billie is found murdered in Burke's office. Charlie and Inspector Nelson rush to solve the case (with Lee also trying to work the case much to his father's enjoyment) where they find out that the person who also murdered Billie also stole the diary. Nelson arrests Burke on the circumstantial evidence, but has to turn him free when it doesn't pan out, but Charlie brings all the suspects in to present the murderer. This Chan entry seemed a lot better when thinking about it some time later, maybe one reason why is Huber's character (as well as the actor himself) is annoying as hell. The script plays more like it came from Warner Brothers with the nightclub and gangster motif, but it is good for its genre and film series. The actors playing the suspects are quite good in the portrayals. Rating, 7.