Charlie Chan on Broadway

68 minutesCountryUnited StatesLanguageEnglish

Charlie Chan on Broadway is a 1937 American mystery film directed by Eugene Forde and starring Warner Oland, Keye Luke and Joan Marsh.^[1] This is the 15th film starring Oland as Charlie Chan and produced by 20th Century Fox.

Plot

While Charlie Chan and his number one son, Lee, are aboard a New York-bound transatlantic liner returning from Germany in their previous adventure (Charlie Chan at the Olympics), they have a run-in with a mysterious woman, named Billie Bronson, who secretes a package in the trunk of the Chans. After the liner docks, Chan and Lee are met at the pier by Inspector Nelson and two rival reporters, Joan Wendall and Speed Patton.

Billie, who left the country hurriedly a year ago when sought as a material witness in a political scandal, has returned to "blow the lid off the town". She follows the Chans to their hotel and attempts to regain her package from the trunk, only to be interrupted by Lee. She then goes to the "Hottentot Club", where "candid-camera night" is in full swing, followed by Lee. Already present are Joan and Speed. Billie is mysteriously murdered and Charlie is summoned from a police banquet in his honor. Present in the room with the body are club manager Johnny Burke; club dancer and Burke's girl-friend Marie Collins and the two reporters.

While Charlie seeks a motive for the murder, a second body is discovered in his hotel room, the package is missing from Charlie's trunk, and it is realized that it must have contained her diary. Charlie neatly puts together a few scattered clues and then springs a trap to confirm the identity of the killer.

Cast

• Warner Oland as Charlie Chan
• Keye Luke as Lee Chan
• Joan Marsh as Joan Wendall
• Marc Lawrence as Thomas Mitchell
• J. Edward Bromberg as Murdock
• Douglas Fowley as Johnny Burke
• Harold Huber as Chief Inspector James Nelson
• Donald Woods as Speed Patten
• Louise Henry as Billie Bronson
• Joan Woodbury as Marie Collins
• Leon Ames as Buzz Moran
• Eugene Borden as Louie
• Creighton Hale as Reporter (uncredited)

References

Bibliography

• Backer, Ron. Mystery Movie Series of 1930s Hollywood. McFarland, 2012.

External links

• Charlie Chan on Broadway at the American Film Institute Catalog
• Charlie Chan on Broadway at IMDb
• Charlie Chan on Broadway at Rotten Tomatoes