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City in Darkness

City in Darkness

  • Status: Released
  • 15-11-1939
  • Runtime: 75 min
  • Score: 6.4
  • Vote count: 17

Chan, in Paris for a reunion with friends from World War I, becomes involved in investigating the murder of a munitions manufacturer who was supplying arms to the enemy, even as the rising clouds of World War II force the city into nightly blackout status..

Sidney Toler

Charlie Chan

Harold Huber

Police Inspector Marcel Spivak

Pedro de Cordoba

Antoine

Lynn Bari

Marie Dubon

Richard Clarke

Tony Madero

Dorothy Tree

Charlotte Ronnell

Noel Madison

Belescu

Leo G. Carroll

Louis Santelle

C. Henry Gordon

Prefect of Police J. Romaine

Louis Mercier

Gentleman Max

George Davis

Alex

Barbara Leonard

Lola

Douglass Dumbrille

B. Petroff (as Douglas Dumbrille)

Adrienne D'Ambricourt

Hotel Proprietress

Harry Fleischmann

Baptiste

Lon Chaney Jr.

Pierre

Eugene Borden

Gendarme

Frederick Vogeding

Captain

André Cheron

Man wearing a robe in the hallway

Ann Codee

Complainant at Police

Albert Conti

Travel Agency Manager

Gino Corrado

Proprietor of Wine Cellar

Jean De Briac

Puppeteer

Jean Del Val

French Cabby

Fred Farrell

Minor Role

Constant Franke

Officer

Arno Frey

Pilot

John George

Victor the Gypsy, gangland bistro patron (cameo extra)

Helen Giere

Minor Role

Paul Irving

Doctor

Jeanne Lafayette

French Girl

Michael Mark

Mechanic

Alphonse Martell

Gendarme

Alberto Morin

Clerk

Nita Pike

Telephone Operator

Albert Pollet

Cabby

Frank Puglia

Gendarme at Steamship Office

Joseph Romantini

Gendarme

Rolfe Sedan

Hotel Clerk

Tom Seidel

Phillip

Lester Sharpe

Market Man

George Sorel

Plainclothesman

Larry Steers

Man Leaving Paris

Jacques Vanaire

Gendarme

Veola Vonn

French Girl

Poppy Wilde

One of Petroff's Girlfriends

Marek Windheim

Cabby

CinemaSerf

With war in Europe looming large, "Charlie" (Sidney Toler) is in Paris to celebrate with some of his colleagues from the previous conflagration when he finds himself embroiled in the mysterious killing of "Petroff" (Douglass Dumbrille). There are few clues, but those that there are seem to centre around the young "Marie" (Lynn Bari) who is constantly having to beg, borrow or maybe even steal money to pay for an all-important passenger to travel to Panama and thence onto the safety of the USA. The deeper he delves, though, the more suspicious the activities of the deceased man start to look, and together with local policeman "Antoine" (Pedro de Cordoba) they roll their sleeves up. I quite enjoyed this, especially the effort from de Cordoba as a French policeman who might make "Insp. Clouseau" look efficient. He also gels well with the meticulous Toler who isn't accompanied by any of his brood for this adventure. There are loads of red herrings and at the end the tiniest bit of prophesying as the dark clouds really were gathering in 1939. The production is all a bit stage bound and basic, but that doesn't really spoil the enjoyment and if you like Toler and his forensic approach to sleuthing coupled with his Confucian profundities, then it's an amiably paced watch.