Charlie Chan- Meeting at Midnight [VHS]

Frances Chan was my mom.
My mother Frances Chan, a.k.a. Frances C. Eng is now passed away. She and my father owned the Sunset Pacific Motel for 40 years which is only a mile away from the studios where she filmed "Meeting at Midnight" back in 1943 at age 18. She was 79 years old when she fell down the stairs and passed away in 2004. She never saw the moving "Meeting at Midnight" until age 70 when I saw it on TV and called her on the phone. Until then it was on some shelf at some studio archives. Her pay at the time was only $800.00. Frances Chan's career ended when she married my father Edward J. Eng in 1944. They lived about a mile from the Monogram Studios where "Meeting at Midnight" was filmed. It is now KCET studios. They have 5 children, 4 daughters and 1 son, myself. The have 9 grandchildren. My parents owned a lot of real estate around Los Angeles. So even though her career as an actress did not endure her career as the landlady collecting rent lasted for 60 years. Frances Chan's movie career included "The Good Earth 1937", "Samurai 1945" and "God is My Copilot." Her parents Anthony (Suey) Chan and Mary Chan also acted and had numerous bit parts as Chinese actors during the 1930s and 1940s. They were close friends with Keye Luke, Peanuts, and Anna Mae Wong, who were the major Chinese actors during this time period. Frances Chan got her start by being Miss Chinatown in 1939, and a search of the Los Angeles Times from that period will bring up several articles on her.

Popular Chan "B" Entry
Despite its "B" origins, this was actually one of the most popular of the Charlie Chan franchise. When Sidney Toler bought the rights to Chan, as the "A" series at Fox was winding down, and moved him to smaller studios, the films became lesser tier entries, and need to be viewed as such, within that context. Too often, these "B" entries in the Charlie Chan series are compared unfavorably to the topflight Fox films starring Warner Oland, then Sidney Toler. This is actually a fun little gem for Chan fans, and one of the best in the "B" series of films from Poverty Row. When this film begins, Mantan Moreland has taken a job at a spooky house where a crooked seance racket is going on. Birmingham (Mooreland) is a hoot throughout the film, attempting to make himself disappear from the spooks. Frances Chan, Charlie's bright and adorable daughter, is present at one of the seances when a man is killed, so becomes a suspect. Charlie is headed back to Honolulu but is coerced into helping Frances and Birmingham by Police Sgt. Matthews (Joseph Crehan) who obviously needs Chan to solve the case for him. Lovely Helen Beverly is among those Chan must inquire of to get to the bottom of the mystery. Old secrets and a bit of magic will make this a delight for Chan fans. This one is fun for a rainy night. Its blend of humor and a solid little mystery belie its "B" origins, making it an entertaining surprise. Charlie takes a chance and has a scene atop a skyscraper reminiscent of Basil Rathbone's in Sherlock Holmes and the Woman in Green. Interestingly, Frances Chan had appeared as a little girl in the 1933 Chan "A" entry "Charlie Chan's Greatest Case" which is now considered lost. It was based on the first Earl Derr Biggers' novel featuring the detective, The House Without a Key, which has recently been rereleased and is a fantastic read. She adds energy to Meeting at Midnight and is quite adorable, making one wish she'd had more opportunities as Chan's perky daughter. All in all, this is a fun "B" entry for Charlie Chan fans to enjoy.

Cherished Chan Chow!
This film was originally known as "Meeting at Midnight" but when you run the DVD you'll see that the title was changed to "Black Magic". It features Sidney Toler as Charlie Chan and Mantan Moreland is right there as needed for great comic relief. We also get to meet one of Charlie's shrewder kids who is played by the talented Frances Chan. (Yes, her real name is Chan!) THE STORY: Mantan Moreland replaces the current butler in a big spooky house where scam artists are running seances. Not long after he arrives, a seance takes place and it just so happens that Charlie Chan's daughter is participating... and then a murder takes place during the seance. The man was shot by the infamous "disappearing bullet"! (How many urban legends have been launched from this idea, I cannot say). In any event, Charlie's daughter becomes one of several suspects in the crime which is a caveat that the police use to twist Charlie's arm a bit to get him to investigate the case. One of the more heinous acts of the scamsters includes the use of a secret drug which makes the victim very succeptible to suggestion under hypnosis, even to the point that they will commit suicide. Charlie makes progress in the case until he too is slipped some of the drug and commanded to step off a tall building into nothing firmer than air space! This is a fine mystery, perhaps not the very best of Charlie Chan films, but still very watchable. This 1944 film is, of course, shot in black-and-white and the aspect is full-screen. It was directed by Phil Rosen and the characters are "suggested" by Earl Derr Biggers' Charlie Chan stories. The running time is 65 minutes. If you're looking for the very best Charlie Chan Films you can view either "Charlie Chan and the Jade Mask" (Sidney Toler), "Charlie Chan at the Wax Museum" (Sidney Toler), "Charlie Chan's Secret" (Warner Oland), or, "Castle in the Desert" (Sidney Toler). Charlie Chan in The Jade Mask Charlie Chan: At the Wax Museum Charlie Chan's Secret Charlie Chan: Castle in the Desert Unfortunately, some of these titles are difficult to obtain on DVD and you are relegated to watching them in the VHS format. In any case, "Meeting at Midnight" is a fine old mystery film and Chan Fans in particular will savor it.

A Little Black Magic...
1944's "Meeting at Midnight", originally released as "Black Magic", features Sidney Toler as the famous Honolulu detective, on break from his wartime duties with the government to solve a case of murder involving his daughter Frances. Mantan Moreland provides the comic relief as Birmingham Brown, here working as the new butler for a family hosting ghostly seances. As the story opens, a Mr. Bonner is mysteriously murdered while hosting a seance with his wife. The local police can make nothing of the case, in which the victim seems to die of a disappearing bullet. Charlie Chan is asked to assist. His investigation casts a wider net, but he soon discovers that he is dealing with a ruthless foe. When Mrs. Bonner dies under equally mysterious circumstances, Charlie suspects the clever hand of man behind the death. The killer will make two attempts on Charlie's life, and only some 1940's forsenics and telegrams to Scotland Yard can keep him ahead of the killer or killers. The Monogram Pictures versions of Charlie Chan were done on a shoestring, but this movie does a nice job of sending up seances by exposing all the clever tricks involved. The murderer turns out to have his or her own secrets, including a couple of clever murder weapons the audience may not see coming. Birmingham Brown spends much of the movie humorously dodging skeletons and ghostly voices when not assisting Chan daughter Frances in tailing suspects. "Meeting at Midnight" is harmless fun and will appeal primarily to serious fans of the Charlie Chan series.

Murder and Black Magic
The film starts with a seance at William Bonner's home. In the dark the medium falls silent; he has been shot. We see the man and woman who work the machinery behind the curtain that creates the special effects. The people around the table are taken in for questioning. Charlie Chan is summoned (his daughter Frances was there); he shows his detecting skills. Nancy Wood explains why she used a false name and attended Bonner's seance. Chan has a lot of work to do. Brown hears some strange sounds (the hidden couple who work the special effects). The people who were around the table are questioned; they all have some secret or scandal. A call brings Chan to see Norma Duncan, but she can not remember a thing. Chan gets a message about the disappearing bullet; he can keep a secret. Mrs. Bonner seems to be in a trance when she goes to the top floor of a tall building. Chan learns of a drug that allows a person to be hypnotized; there is an antidote. Chan goes to look around, then is captured and hypnotized by that drug. But he has the antidote! Chan almost follows Mrs. Bonner. Then a cablegram arrives for Chan from Scotland Yard. The suspects are gathered for a seance, then questioned. We learn why a bullet wasn't found, and the name of the tricky murderer. [But that seems like an unlikely weapon.] Houdini and other worked to expose the frauds of spiritualism. After gathering secrets from people they can be blackmailed for money or for their influence. Like in "The Ministry of Fear".