Black Magic (1944)

Black Magic: Directed by Phil Rosen. With Sidney Toler, Mantan Moreland, Frances Chan, Joseph Crehan. Charlie searches for a murderer amidst numerous ghosts conjured up by a strange variety of spiritualists and occultists.

“This late-entry Charlie Chan movie gets marks simply for the entertainment, not for a deep-thinking suspenseful u0026quot;whodunnit.u0026quot; Itu0026#39;s just fun to watch with an always-smiling daughter (played by Frances Chen) replacing number-whatever-son and the eyes-popping-out-of-the-head Mantan Moreland adding humor, although of his humor is a bit stupid (and insulting to black folks, Iu0026#39;m sure). However, Moreland is a likable guy so itu0026#39;s hard to get annoyed at his silliness.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe story is a familiar one of the day, about the occult (seances) and, thankfully, another that exposes the mediums as crooks.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThese Sidney Toler-Mantan Moreland collaborations, as opposed to the early Warner Oland/Charlie Chan movies, replied more on comedy and gimmicks rather than brains, and once you accept that, you just go along with an entertaining hour of lamebrain fun, especially when Chan starts to put people down with his sarcasm.”