Best movie of this year hands down!

After playing with our expectations, this turns out to be a very different sort of film.

A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

The biggest problem with this movie is it’s a little better than you think it might be, which somehow makes it worse. As in, it takes itself a bit too seriously, which makes most of the movie feel kind of dull.

After solving the Stable Murder, Charlie finds his way to Paris and a meeting with a contact, who is a dancer, performing In a nightclub. After arriving in the City of Lights, pretending to be on vacation, he waits for the dancer to conclude her performance. Before he can talk to her, she is stabbed. A guy who is dressed like Father Guido Sarducci, is the culprit. This will be a significant development later in the story. An attractive young woman has connections to some guys who have been messing around with illegal treasury bonds. As a matter of fact, she is present when a man, with whom she has had a relationship, is gunned down. Because of her presence on the scene and her connection to the guy, she is blamed for the murder. Once again, however, the great Chinese detective looks for the small details which lead to his solving he case.

A reviewer wrote this: "Chan films, particularly those starring Oland, often use the device of allowing other characters to show vulgar racism toward Chan--and Chan often encourages such dismissiveness to his own ends; underestimation of Chan's talents often delivers the killer into the detective's hand. At times, however, the device has an unfortunate tone, and that occurs here, particularly in an early scene which presents Chan speaking in pidgin and then joining others in their laughter at the "joke." This sort of patronization would be soon dropped from the series, but it is significantly offensive when it occurs." Which, of course, couldn't be more wrong. Charlie embarrasses the drunken oaf who speaks the pidgin by answering in perfect English, and then twists the knife by finishing in the foolish pidgin. This scene is another example of how Fox went out of their way to point out the ignorance of those bigots who doubt Charlie's intelligence and dignity. I'm sure the message came through perfectly clear to the audience at the time.

20th Century Fox recognized a money-spinner when it saw one. Between 1931 and 1942 the studio produced no fewer than 27 Charlie Chan films, first starring Warner Oland and later Sidney Toler. Unfortunately, of the sixteen films starring Warner Oland, four have been "lost." For a great many years, however, the number of "lost" films stood at five--until a single print of the 1935 CHARLIE CHAN IN Paris was located.Like the earlier CHARLIE CHAN IN London, this film shows the series in full stride, a neat mixture of comedy and mystery bolstered by a solid cast. It is particularly notable as the first film in the series to introduce Chan's son Lee, memorably played by Asian-American actor Keye Luke, who would continue the role through several films. This episode finds Chan in, of course, Paris--pretending to be on vacation while in fact investigating counterfeit bank bonds in a mystery that leads Chan to the infamous sewers of the city.Chan films, particularly those starring Oland, often use the device of allowing other characters to show vulgar racism toward Chan--and Chan often encourages such dismissiveness to his own ends; underestimation of Chan's talents often delivers the killer into the detective's hand. At times, however, the device has an unfortunate tone, and that occurs here, particularly in an early scene which presents Chan speaking in pidgin and then joining others in their laughter at the "joke." This sort of patronization would be soon dropped from the series, but it is significantly offensive when it occurs.That aside, however, CHARLIE CHAN IN Paris is quite a good entry in the series, which features dancing spies, stolen love letters, and shots in the dark. The cinematography is typically static and the acting is a bit broad, as is typically of many mid-1930s films, but it's quite a bit of fun.Gary F. Taylor, aka GFT, Amazon Reviewer

Charlie Chan goes to Paris, he says on a vacation, but is investigating the Lamartine bank (the richest and most prestigious bank in France) where several forged bonds have circulated across Europe. Nardi, one half of an Apache dance and Chan's Parisian contact, is killed just before he can get any information from her. Looking through Nardi's room, Chan finds a book of her notes, which point suspicion on Albert Dufresne, a worker in the bank. Dufresne is murdered by a mysterious beggar, Xavier Marcel and the blame is placed on Yvette Lamartine, daughter of the bank's president. Chan, son Lee, and Victor Descartes (Yvette's fiancé) must uncover the counterfeiting ring and discover who is disguising himself as Marcel. This is one of the better Chan's in the series, with plenty of mysterious goings-on throughout the film. Nice set locations in the film giving the audience feelings of the Parisian nightlife, dark alleys, and even sewer system. This is the first film to feature Keye Luke as number one son Lee, which gives Oland to play Chan as the fatherly genial type, which is an improvement over the previous entry, Charlie Chan in London. Rating, 8.