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Fantastic!

Excellent but underrated film

It’s an especially fun movie from a director and cast who are clearly having a good time allowing themselves to let loose.

The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.

Charlie Chan (minus family members) has just delivered a British criminal he caught to London when a distraught woman tells him about her brother about to be executed for a murder she is convinced he did not commit, of a house guest at a country mansion. Though all others believe the brother guilty, Chan investigates the evidence and become suspicious, and visits the mansion. Unfortunately more deaths occur as Chan launches his own investigation.This is a straightforward story with some subplots and red herrings, no comic relief from Number One Son or anyone else. But at least the ending is not what I had anticipated.

With three more 'lost' films of the Charlie Chan series in between, this is the second one starring Warner Oland after "The Black Camel" (1931) that we can still enjoy today - and it certainly is another masterpiece of a classic whodunit; and set this time in the 'natural environment' of the genre: England...Just as Charlie Chan is about to leave London to travel home to Honolulu, he's approached by a desperate young lady: Pamela Gray, whose brother Hugh has been found guilty of murder and will be hung in three days... She's just tried to convince even the Home Secretary himself that they're making a mistake, that Hugh is innocent, but he also insisted that the trial was regular and the sentence has to be carried out - quite a direct criticism on the 'institution' of the death penalty there, by the way: Pamela tells the Home Secretary openly that the state is about to 'commit a murder'! But, since everybody else is relentless, her only hope is Charlie Chan; and her fiancée, Hugh's attorney Neil Howard (played by young Ray Milland) - until she overhears the private conversation between Charlie and Neil, where Charlie asks him directly if he believes that Hugh is innocent, and Neil answers 'no'... At that point, Pamela throws her engagement ring at him and tells him she never wants to see him anymore - and now the only one who can save the whole situation is, as usual, Charlie Chan...He investigates at the scene of the crime, the country house of Geoffrey Richmond, whose secretary Hugh was. The murdered man had been a weekend guest, and his throat had been cut at night in the stable near the house; and all the evidence still points to Hugh, although there are quite some other suspicious characters gathered in that old country house - until Charlie (with very little help from the local police: here we've got the typical kind of dumb British country cop, in direct comparison to the clever Chinese...) goes deeper into things, and into danger...A VERY cleverly developed and suspenseful story, in the REAL 'classic mystery' atmosphere of the 30s (had Agatha Christie's novels been made into movies at that time, they would look just about like this one...), perfectly acted and directed - and, as always, with that touch of 'typical' Charlie Chan humor: when the Brits start trying to explain in their 'own' language, Charlie politely reminds them: 'Please - do not understand English; only American!'...Don't miss this movie, it's a CLASSIC piece of Hollywood entertainment!

Although primitive in some ways, this is one of the better Charlie Chan mysteries for many reasons--the main one, perhaps, is that this viewer did not easily deduce the identity of the murderer until late in the film. It also presents Chan as a figure of no little dignity, especially when confronted with a slammed door, or a racial slur, or assumptions that he is ignorant. "Excuse, please," says Charlie Chan, and through methodical thinking and quiet assurance, proves himself completely able to do what others cannot. Another reason I enjoyed this film is the absence of stupid humor crammed into the later films, gag stuff that plays down to the audience or featuring funny characters that are not funny, such as Harold Huber in City of Darkness, on screen far too long and insufferable. For Chan fans, this one is a keeper

"Charlie Chan in London" is the first Chan film I've seen and I'm very impressed.This movie should be studied in film classes because it's so nicely paced and well edited. There isn't one wasted scene or extraneous action - every step of the plot happens at just the right moment, making the film a very satisfying experience. Add Warner Oland's wonderful depiction of Chan (even so early in the series), an intriguing story, the fun of seeing a young Ray Milland, and the great architecture, clothing, and cars of the period, and you have one fine film. Enjoy!