Charlie Chan in Reno. Norman Foster. 1939.
I may never have seen a Charlie Chan movie before? I mean, I must have, but I can’t recall doing so. So this comes as something of a surprise: It feels pretty much like a TV episode of a long-running show (which I guess it is, except it’s not on TV), but the production values are higher than I expected. I mean, the basics — the film is crisp, the audio’s good, the actors are fine… and Charlie Chan’s son is played by a guy that looks East Asian.
Sidney Toler’s facial prosthetics are horrible, though.
I’m liking this. The mystery is pretty interesting, and it’s got plenty of charm.
They had more fun matches back then.
This blog post is part of the 1939
series.