THE AMC INTRODUCTION FOR
MURDER OVER NEW YORK
John Burke's Introduction:
Listen to what happened on
the Charlie Chan film of "Murder
Over New York":
This is great.
Sidney Toler and Marjorie
Weaver were performing a scene,
sneaking out of the shadows
of a darkened building. Now, off camera, the director pulled out a gun and just at the right moment he fired into the
air and the actors reacted to the shot.
And then something unusual
happened. A sparrow dropped dead at Sidney Toler's feet, apparently dead.
But how could a gun loaded
with blanks kill a bird inside a sound stage?
It didn't take Sidney Toler
long to solve the mystery. The bird was stuffed. And when they looked up, # 2 son, Victor Sen Yung was hiding
in the catwalk, happy that he had finally mystified the brilliant Charlie Chan.
And here he is in "Murder
Over New York."
John Burke's Epilog:
When Sidney Toler took on
the role of Charlie Chan, he was able to chose the actor that would play his son. He chose Victor Sen Yung, a promising
but inexperienced Chinese actor.
Toler took him under his
wing and showed him every acting trick he knew and taught him the ropes. As a result, they had a relationship on
the set that brought out the best of their performances as father and son.
For American Movie Classics,
I'm John Burke.
