Charlie Chan on Broadway *** (1937, Warner Oland, Keye Luke, Joan Marsh) – Classic Movie Review 9039

Director Eugene Forde’s 1937 mystery crime thriller Charlie Chan on Broadway stars Warner Oland as Chan, Keye Luke as Lee Chan, Joan Marsh as Joan Wendall, J Edward Bromberg as Murdock, Donald Woods as Speed Patten, Harold Huber as Inspector Nelson, Marc Lawrence as Thomas Mitchell, Joan Woodbury as Marie Collins, Douglas Fowley as Johnny Burke, Louise Henry and Leon Ames as Buzz Moran.

There is a lengthy wait for a body to turn up in this new original story about political graft. It is the corpse of a singer who foolishly kept a record of top criminals and their crimes.

But Charles Belden and Jerry Cady’s screenplay is amusing, the nightclub atmosphere is fun and the cast is crowded with good character players, thanks to 20th Century Fox. The original story is by Art Arthur, Robert Ellis and Helen Logan, based on the character Charlie Chan created by Earl Derr Biggers.

Also in the cast are Charles Williams, Eugene Borden, Toshia [Tashia] Mori, Lon Chaney Jr, Sam Ash, Lester Dorr, James Flavin, Creighton Hale, Robert Middlemass, Robert Lowery, Chuck Hamilton, George Regas, Cyril Ring, Lee Shumway, and Harry Strang.

Charlie Chan on Broadway follows Charlie Chan at the Olympics (1937) and is followed by Charlie Chan at Monte Carlo (1937).

© Derek Winnert 2019 Classic Movie Review 9039

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