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Murder Over New York is
one of the Chans that reflects the times when it was made, like City in Darkness.
It had saboteurs, fifth columnists and on-going development
of aircraft for private, commercial and military purposes.
So grab your favorite snacks and sit back to check out
some great background material that's guaranteed to make watching Murder Over New York that much more fun!
You can check out a new
page here
for aviation - and more
- at
Plus:
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.
(O)(O)(O)(O)(O)(O)
This was one of Fox Movie Channel's CHAN MARATHON (June 2, 2003) that ended
because of an anti-Chan protesters
. . . BUT . . .
Charlie Chan is once again being shown on TV!
(O)(O)(O)
Based on BEHIND THAT CURTAIN published in 1928 by Earl Derr Biggers; originally made in 1929
for Warner Baxter and then in 1931 as CHARLIE CHAN’S CHANCE. (O)(O)(O)
Bloopers:
The plane sitting on the tarmac is on an incline. The
passengers inside are sitting in a perfectly horizontal plane. This is a frequent boo boo.
Fingerprint man brushes off the tail of model plane on desk in study of (Ricardo
Cortez).
What are the figures on wall or bookcases.
Theme music sounds like theme to television’s Honeymooners.
DON T.: The airport in New York may be Los Angeles, probably Burbank Airport.
The airplane model on the desk maybe a Lockheed 10.
The plane in the hanger (later in the film) is a Lockheed 10 Electra.
(O)(O)(O)(O)(O)(O)
Most
Obvious Plot Flaw
Another plot flaw of sorts is in "Murder Over
NY". At the end of the film, we learn that the murderer was not recognized by anyone, including his wife, because of plastic
surgery which altered his face and voice. Despite this plastic surgery procedure, the murderer still has a perfect facial
contour, and no visible scars. As a physician myself, I am not aware of any plastic surgery procedure that could cause such
a large change in appearance that even one's spouse could be fooled. I would also think that plastic surgery would have been
much less successful and would have had fewer applications in the 1930's compared to now. As for the voice issues, I have
seen throat injuries and surgery cause voice changes, (or even a total loss of voice), but someone’s speech mannerisms
would not change due to surgery and would probably still be recognized.
Posted by John C.
Date: Wednesday,
28 April 2010, at 9:55 a.m.
The Cast*:
Sidney
Toler: Charlie Chan
Marjorie Weaver: Patricia Shaw (also known as Patricia West, Mrs. Paul Narvo)
Robert Lowrey: David
Elliott
Ricardo Cortez: George Kirby
Donald MacBride: Inspector Vance
Melville Cooper: Herbert Fenton
Joan
Valerie: June Preston
Kane Richmond: Ralph Percy
Sen Yung: Jimmy Chan
John
Sutton: Keith Jeffrey (also known as Paul Narvo)
Leyland Hodgson: [Robert] Boggs
Clarence Muse: Butler
Frederick
Worlock: Hugh Drake
Lal Chand Mehra: Ramullah (also known as Aga Singh)
Dorothy Dearing: Mrs. Percy (not credited)
Catherine Craig: Stewardess (not credited)
Lee Phelps: First Policeman (not credited)
Stanley Blystone: Fingerprint
Expert (not credited)
Ralph Dunn: Second Policeman (not credited)
Shirley Warde: Mrs. Felton (not credited)
George
Walcott: First Mechanic (not credited)
Paul Kruger: Guard (not credited)
Alan Davis: Pilot [Lt. Cooper] (not credited)
Carl Faulkner, Jimmie Dundee, Eddy Chandler,
Frank Fanning: Policemen (none credited)
Shemp Howard: "Shorty" McCoy (also known as
"The Canarsie Kid," "The Great Rashid") (not credited)
Trevor Burdette: Hindu Businessman (not credited)
Frank Coghlan,
Jr.: Frankie O'Shaunessy (not credited)
Bud Geary: Second Mechanic (not credited)
Jack
"Tiny" Lipson: Hindu in Police Lineup (not credited)
*Courtesy of www.charliechan.info
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