It all starts with Birmingham Brown taking over a new job as a butler at the home of a couple who holds psychic séances; and Charlie's pretty daughter Frances attends the séance that is just being held as well; and on top of it all, in the middle of the 'summoning' of a spirit, Mr. Bonner, the spiritualist, is shot dead... So, since his daughter is involved, Charlie takes over the case, of course - this time with female family help (and, like all fathers, he's much less strict with her as he is with his sons...); and very soon, some queer facts come to light: not only is there no gun found, but no bullet is found in the body either!
Now, we've got of course a nice lot of suspects who were present at the séance, and who've all got something to hide as it turns out: two of them were being blackmailed by the 'spiritualist', another one's father committed suicide because Bonner had ruined his business; and there's always the fatal question asked during the fatal séance: 'What happened in London on the night of October 5th, 1935?' Sounds pretty creepy already - but it DOES get even better: Mrs. Bonner, like hypnotized, walks from the edge of a rooftop to her death, then another one of the suspects-victims is being hypnotized and almost killed - and finally, Charlie is kidnapped, given a drug and hypnotized himself into walking to the edge of the roof of that same building that Mrs. Bonner fell from...
This entry in the 'Charlie Chan' movies may - from a technical point of view - not be one of the best works; but it CERTAINLY gives true fans of Charlie Chan the creeps, seeing their hero being under the spell of a ruthless murderer with hypnotic powers... And Sidney Toler certainly gives one of his VERY best performances here, too! The change to a daughter assisting Charlie for once also works very nicely, Mantan Moreland is hilariously funny as always; and the screenplay sure is one of George Callahan's best, containing a MOST unusual forensic explanation for the missing bullets... A MUCH underrated Charlie Chan mystery which will thrill fans of the genre to the core!
Now, we've got of course a nice lot of suspects who were present at the séance, and who've all got something to hide as it turns out: two of them were being blackmailed by the 'spiritualist', another one's father committed suicide because Bonner had ruined his business; and there's always the fatal question asked during the fatal séance: 'What happened in London on the night of October 5th, 1935?' Sounds pretty creepy already - but it DOES get even better: Mrs. Bonner, like hypnotized, walks from the edge of a rooftop to her death, then another one of the suspects-victims is being hypnotized and almost killed - and finally, Charlie is kidnapped, given a drug and hypnotized himself into walking to the edge of the roof of that same building that Mrs. Bonner fell from...
This entry in the 'Charlie Chan' movies may - from a technical point of view - not be one of the best works; but it CERTAINLY gives true fans of Charlie Chan the creeps, seeing their hero being under the spell of a ruthless murderer with hypnotic powers... And Sidney Toler certainly gives one of his VERY best performances here, too! The change to a daughter assisting Charlie for once also works very nicely, Mantan Moreland is hilariously funny as always; and the screenplay sure is one of George Callahan's best, containing a MOST unusual forensic explanation for the missing bullets... A MUCH underrated Charlie Chan mystery which will thrill fans of the genre to the core!