(CHARLIE CHAN IN LONDON, USA 1934) - Honolulu detective Charlie Chan (Warner Oland) spends an eventful
weekend at an English country estate in this fog-bound series entry.
Young Neil Howard (Ray Milland) has been accused of murder, but family
friend Geoffrey Howard (Alan Mowbray) expresses the hope that Chan will
be able to locate the genuine killer. The weapons this time include a
set of poison darts, while a series of cryptic notes provide vital clues
to Chan and his Scotland Yard counterpart Sgt. Thacker (E.E. Clive),
who
insists upon calling the
humble oriental sleuth "Mr. Chang" throughout the picture. Crucial to
the plot's development is a fox hunt, predating a similar sequence in
John Huston's The List of Adrian Messenger by nearly 30 years. At 79
minutes, Charlie Chan in London is the longest of Fox's Chan series --
unnecessarily so, since the identity of the "surprise killer" is obvious
from reel one. Once again I would like to point out that Charlie Chan movies had a deep impact on me during my childhood due to their charming atmosphere and dauting performances, not to mention the intringing plots. By the way, a 29-year-old Ray Milland is in the cast.
