Review of Murder Over New York

Basically, this is just another Charlie Chan film. It moves relatively well and has some good lines for Chan, but not much of it stays in your mind afterwards, except for the climax involving a plane and a clever trap devised by Chan to expose a saboteur. This sequence is pretty exciting, but it would have been even more exciting if Mr. Chan wasn't so utterly calm throughout, signaling to the viewer that it is all, indeed, merely a trap. The last-minute revelation of the real-real villain has become so customary, at least in the films of the series I have watched so far, that it has lost some of its shock impact. And despite the fact that "New York" appears in the title, it plays practically no part in the film, the action could have been set almost anywhere. My favorite Chan line (the last in the film): "Confidence of favorite son like courage of small boy at dentist: only evident after tooth extracted!" **1/2 out of 4.