''City in Darkness'', also known as ''Charlie Chan in City in Darkness'' is a 1939 American drama film directed by

Herbert I. Leeds Herbert I. Leeds (September 13, 1900 – May 15, 1954) was an American film director. Biography Herbert Irving Levy was born on September 13, 1900, to Abraham T. Levy and had a sister, Marjorie Levy Rudman. He married Evelyn C. and had Lydia as t ...

and starring Sidney Toler,

Lynn Bari Lynn Bari (born Marjorie Schuyler Fisher, December 18, 1919 – November 20, 1989) was a film actress who specialized in playing sultry, statuesque man-killers in roughly 150 films for 20th Century Fox, from the early 1930s through the 1940s. ...

, and Richard Clark. It is one of the films in the Charlie Chan film series, the fourth starring Toler, and was released on December 1, 1939.

Plot

Charlie Chan (Sidney Toler) is visiting Paris during the Czech annexation crisis in September 1938, but is having trouble finding a way to return to the United States, since there are transportation disruptions due to the threat of the impending war and the

Munich Crisis The Munich Agreement ( cs, Mnichovská dohoda; sk, Mníchovská dohoda; german: Münchner Abkommen) was an agreement concluded at Munich on 30 September 1938, by Germany, the United Kingdom, France, and Italy. It provided "cession to Germany ...

. While visiting the office of the Chief of Police Romaine (C. Henry Gordon), who is away on business, word is received that Petroff (Douglass Dumbrille), a well-known millionaire, has been murdered. Romaine's bumbling godson, Police Inspector Marcel Spivak (Harold Huber) has been left in charge during the chief's absence, and is terrified of handling such a high profile murder investigation. He asks for Chan's assistance, which is agreed to. Spivak suspects his butler, Antoine (Pedro de Cordoba), but spy Charlotte Ronnell (Dorothy Tree) is spotted fleeing the residence. Due to a chance encounter earlier, Chan realizes that local woman Marie Dubon (Lynn Bari) is involved, and the two detectives head to her hotel. Charlie learns that Dubon was helping her husband, Tony Madero (Richard Clarke), clear his name after Petroff accused him of smuggling. Following a clue in Dubon's room, Chan interrogates counterfeiter Louis Santelle (Leo G. Carroll). Returning to the Petroff household, Chan and Spivak track down burglars Lola (Barbara Leonard), Max (Louis Mercier), and Alex (George Davis) (who had broken into Petroff's house just before the murder) before interrogating Petroff's business partner, Belescu (Noel Madison). After nearly being killed by Santelle, Charlie realizes that three clues are the key to the case: A dropped franc coin, a wooden leg, and a telephone left off the hook. After Belescu is shot, Chan and Spivak chase Ronnell to Le Bourget Airport. But her plane crashes during takeoff and she dies. Chan returns to police headquarters, and reveals that Antoine (a French patriot) killed Petroff after returning home early and discovering that Petroff was selling arms to

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

. Prefect Romaine says Antoine will likely stand trial for murder, but is likely to receive the

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon, ...

instead of the guillotine.

Cast

* Sidney Toler as Charlie Chan *

as Marie Dubon *Richard Clark as Tony Madero * Harold Huber as Marcel * Pedro de Cordoba as Antoine * Dorothy Tree as Charlotte Ronnell *

C. Henry Gordon C. Henry Gordon (born Henry Racke; June 17, 1883 – December 3, 1940) was an American stage and film actor. Gordon was born in New York City, New York. He was educated both in New York and abroad in Switzerland and Germany. For some years ...

as Prefect of police * Douglass Dumbrille as Petroff *

Noel Madison Noel Madison (born Noel Nathaniel Moscovitch; April 30, 1897 – January 6, 1975) was an American character actor in the 1930s and 1940s and appeared in 75 films, often as a gangster. Born in New York City, Madison was the son of actor Ma ...

as Belescu * Leo G. Carroll as Louis Santelle * George Davis as Alex * Louis Mercier as Max * Barbara Leonard as Lola * Lon Chaney, Jr. as Pierre

Reception

Harrison's Reports ''Harrison's Reports'' was a New York City-based motion picture trade journal published weekly from 1919 to 1962. The typical issue was four letter-size pages sent to subscribers under a second-class mail permit. Its founder, editor and publisher ...

'' did not give the film a good review. They were critical of the plot, and a script which they found suffered "from an over-abundance of dialogue". They were highly critical of the role of Marcel, as well as Huber's performance.

External links

References

{{Reflist American black-and-white films 1939 drama films 1939 films Films directed by Herbert I. Leeds 20th Century Fox films American drama films Films scored by Samuel Kaylin 1930s American films