"Black Magic" or "Meeting at Midnight" from 1944 is a Charlie Chan film from a Poverty Row studio, Monogram. It's pretty good and definitely fun, as it involves séances. There is a lot of opportunity for floating skulls, disembodied voices, and dead apparitions.
En route back to Honolulu after a vacation, Charlie (Sidney Toler) decides to get involved with a murder when his daughter Frances (Frances Chan) is going to be detained unless he helps. The murder victim is a psychic medium, shot during the séance. Alas, there is no gun or bullet found on the premises.
There are no Chan sons this time, only Frances Chan, an attractive young woman and bad actress who did a lot of smiling throughout the film. Mantan Moreland is back as Birmingham, hilarious as usual. The story has a neat twist, and for what it is, it's enjoyable.
En route back to Honolulu after a vacation, Charlie (Sidney Toler) decides to get involved with a murder when his daughter Frances (Frances Chan) is going to be detained unless he helps. The murder victim is a psychic medium, shot during the séance. Alas, there is no gun or bullet found on the premises.
There are no Chan sons this time, only Frances Chan, an attractive young woman and bad actress who did a lot of smiling throughout the film. Mantan Moreland is back as Birmingham, hilarious as usual. The story has a neat twist, and for what it is, it's enjoyable.