JohnHowardReid Charlie Chan in City in Darkness (1939) certainly ranks as one of the oddest movies in the series. Although it was palmed off on the public as "Charlie Chan in City in Darkness" and sold as a mystery thriller, this entry is actually a knockabout comedy. Chan is a subsidiary character whose principle job is to feed lines and bits of business to Harold Huber, who not only has more lines than Toler (and more than twice as many words) but more scenes including that delightful episode in which Harry Fleischmann picks him up and then throws his double down the stairs, not once but twice! Chan is not only forced to stand on the sidelines while Huber runs rings around him, but is up-staged by three comic thieves as well. True, Chan has a few timely words, does a bit of detecting and even foolishly dispenses with Huber's assistance for a scene in which he is nearly killed by Leo G. Carroll and Lon Chaney. All the same, Charlie Chan in City in Darkness will certainly disappoint Chan fans.

GManfred Always loved Charlie Chan movies, especially with Sidney Toler. He was the first CC I ever saw, as they were always on TV in the 50's. As I got older I appreciated Warner Oland, but Sidney was first. I also realized that the CC films with Oland were better than the later ones."City In Darkness", however, was a disappointment, and, as several reviewers mentioned, Harold Huber spoiled the whole show for me. He chewed the scenery and was a grating presence whenever he was on screen. He had a pretty big part, so you couldn't get away from his outrageous overacting and using a poor imitation of a French accent. That, and the final scene was confusing - you had to remember when all the suspects were in the room with the murdered man, which was supposed to be before (or after?) midnight. Too bad, but with a long-lived series like CC's they were bound to come up with a clinker.

utgard14 Charlie Chan (Sidney Toler) investigates a murder in Paris on the eve of World War II. No sons to help him out this time. Instead, he has buffoonish French policeman Marcel (Harold Huber) to assist him. Despite a solid cast and a then-topical storyline, it's one of the weaker entries in the Fox Chan series. The supporting cast includes some great character actors such as C. Henry Gordon, Douglas Dumbrille, Leo G. Carroll, and Pedro de Cordoba. Also the lovely Lynn Bari. It's a good cast. The problem is with Harold Huber, an enjoyable actor that has appeared twice before in the Charlie Chan series with Warner Oland. His character is overbearing and appears way too much. He pretty much doesn't leave Charlie's side and he shouts almost every line. Still, despite this fault, it's not a bad movie. Just weak for this exceptional series. It has some added historical value for WWII buffs. Also Lon Chaney, Jr. appears in a bit part.

Lin21 A dreary, boring film from the usually entertaining Charlie Chan series. Harold Huber dominates the film and Charlie merely stands around most of the time. It might have been different if Huber was funny, but he just comes across as annoying. Huber's character and Chan do not mesh well either. The film really misses #1 or #2 son. The plot isn't well spelled out and is not that interesting nor are the characters involved. There was potential here with the backdrop of WWII, but it does not get developed. The worst Chan film ever follows what many consider the best Chan film, Charlie Chan at Treasure Island. In fact, the next three Chan films are all excellent. Puzzling as to why they made this clunker.