Charlie Chan is a
fictionalA character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
Chinese-AmericanChinese Americans represent Americans of Chinese descent. Chinese Americans constitute one group of overseas Chinese and also a subgroup of East Asian Americans, which is further a subgroup of Asian Americans...
detectiveA detective is an investigator, either a member of a police agency or a private person. The latter may be known as private investigators or "private eyes"...
created by
Earl Derr BiggersEarl Derr Biggers was an American novelist and playwright. He is remembered primarily for adaptations of his novels, especially those featuring the Chinese-American detective Charlie Chan.-Biography:...
in 1919. Loosely based on Honolulu detective
Chang ApanaChang Apana was a Chinese-Hawaiian member of the Honolulu Police Department, first as an officer, then as a detective. He is the officially acknowledged inspiration for the fictional Asian detective character, Charlie Chan.-Early life:Ah Ping Chang was born December 26, 1871 in Waipio, Oahu,...
, Biggers conceived of the benevolent and heroic Chan as an alternative to
Yellow PerilYellow Peril was a colour metaphor for race that originated in the late nineteenth century with immigration of Chinese laborers to various Western countries, notably the United States, and later associated with the Japanese during the mid 20th century, due to Japanese military expansion.The term...
stereotypes, such as villains like
Fu ManchuDr. Fu Manchu is a fictional character introduced in a series of novels by British author Sax Rohmer during the first half of the 20th century...
. Chan is a detective for the
Honolulu policeThe Honolulu Police Department is the principal law enforcement agency of the City and County of Honolulu, Hawai'i, headquartered in the Alapa'i Police Headquarters in Honolulu CDP....
, though many stories feature Chan traveling the world as he investigates mysteries and solves crimes.
Chan first appeared in Biggers' novels, but went on to be featured in a number of media. Over four dozen films featuring Charlie Chan have been made, beginning in 1926. The character was at first portrayed by
AsiaAsia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
n actors, and the films met with little success. In 1931, the Fox Film Corporation cast Swedish actor
Warner OlandWarner Oland was a Swedish American actor most remembered for his screen role as the detective Charlie Chan.-Biography:He was born Johan Verner Ölund in the village of Nyby, Bjurholm Municipality,...
as Chan in
Charlie Chan Carries OnCharlie Chan Carries On is the fifth novel in the Charlie Chan series by Earl Derr Biggers.-Plot summary:Inspector Duff, a Scotland Yard detective and friend of Chan's, first introduced in Behind That Curtain, is pursuing a murderer on an around-the-world voyage; so far, there have been murders in...
; the film was a success, and Fox went on to produce 15 more Chan films with Oland in the title role. After Oland's death,
AmericanThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
actor
Sidney TolerSidney Hooper Toler was an American actor, playwright, and theatre director. Of primarily Scottish ancestry, he was the second non-Asian actor to play the role of Charlie Chan.-Early life and career:...
was cast as Chan; Toler made 22 Chan films, first for Fox and then for Monogram Studios. After Toler's death, six more films were made, starring
Roland WintersRoland Winters was an American actor who portrayed Charlie Chan in six films.-Biography:Born Roland Winternitz in Boston, Massachusetts on 22 December 1904, Winters was the son of Felix Winternitz, a violinist and composer who was teaching at New England Conservatory of Music...
.
In addition, a number of Spanish- and Chinese-language Chan films were made during the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s. American-made Chan films were shown in
ChinaChinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
to much success, where the character was popular and respected. More recent film adaptations in the 1990s have been unsuccessful. The character has also been featured in several radio programs, two television shows, and a number of
comicsComics denotes a hybrid medium having verbal side of its vocabulary tightly tied to its visual side in order to convey narrative or information only, the latter in case of non-fiction comics, seeking synergy by using both visual and verbal side in...
.
Interpretations of Chan by critics are split, especially as relates to his ethnicity. Positive assessors of Chan argue that he is portrayed as intelligent, benevolent and honorable — in contrast to the adverse depictions of evil or conniving Chinese then current on page and screen. Others state that Chan, despite his good qualities, reinforces certain Asian stereotypes, such as an alleged incapacity to speak fluent English and the possession of an overly tradition-bound and subservient nature.
Books
It overwhelms me with sadness to admit it ... for he is of my own origin, my own race, as you know. But when I look into his eyes I discover that a gulf like the heaving Pacific lies between us. Why? Because he, though among Caucasians many more years than I, still remains Chinese. As Chinese to-day as in the first moon of his existence. While I – I bear the brand – the label – Americanized.... I traveled with the current.... I was ambitious. I sought success. For what I have won, I paid the price. Am I an American? No. Am I, then, a Chinese? Not in the eyes of Ah Sing. |
| Charlie Chan, speaking of a criminal, in Keeper of the Keys, by Earl Derr Biggers |
The character of Charlie Chan was created by
Earl Derr BiggersEarl Derr Biggers was an American novelist and playwright. He is remembered primarily for adaptations of his novels, especially those featuring the Chinese-American detective Charlie Chan.-Biography:...
. In 1919, while on vacation in
HawaiiHawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
, Biggers planned a detective novel to be called
The House Without a KeyThe House Without a Key is a novel that was written in 1925 by Earl Derr Biggers. It is the first of the Charlie Chan mysteries written by Biggers....
. He did not begin to write the novel until four years later, however, when he was inspired to add a
Chinese AmericanChinese Americans represent Americans of Chinese descent. Chinese Americans constitute one group of overseas Chinese and also a subgroup of East Asian Americans, which is further a subgroup of Asian Americans...
police officer to the plot after reading in a newspaper of
Chang ApanaChang Apana was a Chinese-Hawaiian member of the Honolulu Police Department, first as an officer, then as a detective. He is the officially acknowledged inspiration for the fictional Asian detective character, Charlie Chan.-Early life:Ah Ping Chang was born December 26, 1871 in Waipio, Oahu,...
(鄭阿平) and Lee Fook, two Chinese-American detectives on the Honolulu police force. Biggers, who disliked the
Yellow PerilYellow Peril was a colour metaphor for race that originated in the late nineteenth century with immigration of Chinese laborers to various Western countries, notably the United States, and later associated with the Japanese during the mid 20th century, due to Japanese military expansion.The term...
stereotypes he found when he came to California, explicitly conceived of the character as an alternative to them: "Sinister and wicked Chinese are old stuff, but an amiable Chinese on the side of law and order has never been used."
The "amiable Chinese" made his first appearance in
The House Without a Key (1925). The character was not central to the novel and was not mentioned by name on the dustjacket of the first edition. In the novel, Chan is described as walking with "the light dainty step of a woman" and as being "very fat indeed ... an undistinguished figure in his Western clothes." According to critic Sandra Hawley, this description of Chan allows Biggers to portray the character as non-threatening, the opposite of such evil Chinese characters as
Fu ManchuDr. Fu Manchu is a fictional character introduced in a series of novels by British author Sax Rohmer during the first half of the 20th century...
, while simultaneously emphasizing supposedly Chinese characteristics such as impassivity and stoicism.
Films
The first Charlie Chan film was
The House without a KeyThe House Without a Key is a 1926 mystery film serial directed by Spencer Gordon Bennet. It is based on the novel of the same name and is the first onscreen appearance of the fictional detective Charlie Chan, although the main stars are Allene Ray and Walter Miller. The film is now considered to be...
(1926), a 10-chapter serial produced by
PathéPathé or Pathé Frères is the name of various French businesses founded and originally run by the Pathé Brothers of France.-History:...
Studios, starring
George KuwaGeorge Kuwa was a Japanese and American Issei film actor of the silent era. He appeared in 58 films between 1916 and 1931...
, a Japanese actor, as Chan. A year later
Universal Pictures-1920:* White Youth* The Flaming Disc* Am I Dreaming?* The Dragon's Net* The Adorable Savage* Putting It Over* The Line Runners-1921:* The Fire Eater* A Battle of Wits* Dream Girl* The Millionaire...
followed the film with
The Chinese Parrot, starring another Japanese actor, Kamiyama Sojin, in the starring role. In both productions, Charlie Chan's role was minimized. Contemporary reviews were unfavorable; in the words of one reviewer, speaking of
The Chinese Parrot, Sojin plays "the
ChinkChink, chinki, chinky or chinkie is a pejorative term referring mainly to a person of Chinese ethnicity but sometimes generalized to refer to any person of East Asian descent...
sleuth as a
Lon ChaneyLon Chaney , nicknamed "The Man of a Thousand Faces," was an American actor during the age of silent films. He was one of the most versatile and powerful actors of early cinema...
cook-waiter ... because Chaney can't stoop that low."
In 1929, the Fox Film Corporation acquired the rights to Charlie Chan and produced
Behind That Curtain, starring Korean actor E.L. Park. Again, Chan's role was minimized, with Chan appearing only in the last 10 minutes of the film. Not until a white actor was cast in the title role did a Chan film meet with success, beginning with 1931's
Charlie Chan Carries OnCharlie Chan Carries On is the fifth novel in the Charlie Chan series by Earl Derr Biggers.-Plot summary:Inspector Duff, a Scotland Yard detective and friend of Chan's, first introduced in Behind That Curtain, is pursuing a murderer on an around-the-world voyage; so far, there have been murders in...
, starring Swedish actor
Warner OlandWarner Oland was a Swedish American actor most remembered for his screen role as the detective Charlie Chan.-Biography:He was born Johan Verner Ölund in the village of Nyby, Bjurholm Municipality,...
as Chan. Oland, who claimed some
MongolianMongols ) are a Central-East Asian ethnic group that lives mainly in the countries of Mongolia, China, and Russia. In China, ethnic Mongols can be found mainly in the central north region of China such as Inner Mongolia...
ancestry, played the character as much more gentle and self-effacing than he had been in the books, perhaps in "a deliberate attempt by the studio to downplay such an uppity attitude in a Chinese detective." Oland starred in 15 more Chan films for Fox, often with
Keye LukeKeye Luke was a Chinese-born American actor. He was the first Chinese-American contract player signed with RKO, Universal and, later, MGM and is generally acknowledged as the leading Asian-American actor of this era of American cinema.-Background:...
, who played Chan's "Number One Son", Lee Chan. Oland's "warmth and gentle humor" helped make the character and films quite popular; the Oland Chan films were among Fox's most successful of the period, attracting "major audiences and box-office grosses on a par with A's" and "[keeping] Fox afloat" during the
Great DepressionThe Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
.
Oland died in 1938, and the Chan film he had been working on,
Charlie Chan at the Ringside, was transformed at the last minute into
Mr. Moto's GambleMr. Moto's Gamble is the third film in the Mr. Moto series starring Peter Lorre as the title character. It was released in 1938. It was originally intended to be a Charlie Chan film called Charlie Chan at Ringside, but Warner Oland, who had played Chan in several previous films, left the set after...
, an entry in the
Mr. MotoMr. Moto is a fictional Japanese secret agent created by the American author John P. Marquand. He appeared in six novels by Marquand published between 1935 and 1957. Marquand initially created the character for the Saturday Evening Post, which was seeking stories with an Asian hero after the death...
series, another contemporary series featuring an Asian protagonist; Luke still appeared as Lee Chan, not only in already shot footage but also in scenes with Moto actor
Peter LorrePeter Lorre was an Austrian-American actor frequently typecast as a sinister foreigner.He caused an international sensation in 1931 with his portrayal of a serial killer who preys on little girls in the German film M...
. Fox hired another white actor,
Sidney TolerSidney Hooper Toler was an American actor, playwright, and theatre director. Of primarily Scottish ancestry, he was the second non-Asian actor to play the role of Charlie Chan.-Early life and career:...
, to play Charlie Chan, and produced 11 more Chan films through 1942. Toler's Chan was less mild-mannered than Oland's, a "switch in attitude that did much to add some of the vigor of the original books to the films." He is frequently accompanied, and irritated, by his Number Two Son, Jimmy Chan, played by Sen Yung.
When Fox decided not to produce any further Chan films, Sidney Toler purchased the film rights. Producers Philip N. Krasne and James S. Burkett of Monogram Pictures decided to release further Chan films, starring Toler. The budget for each film was reduced from Fox's average of $200,000 to $75,000. For the first time, Chan was portrayed on occasion as "openly contemptuous of his suspects and superiors." African-American actor
Mantan MorelandMantan Moreland was an American actor and comedian most popular in the 1930s and 1940s.-Career:Born in Monroe, Louisiana, Moreland began acting by the time he was an adolescent, reportedly running away to join the circus...
was hired as regular character Birmingham Brown, a fact which led to criticism of the Monogram films in the forties and since; some call these performances "brilliant comic turns", while others describe Moreland's roles as an offensive and embarrassing stereotype. Toler died in 1947 and was succeeded by
Roland WintersRoland Winters was an American actor who portrayed Charlie Chan in six films.-Biography:Born Roland Winternitz in Boston, Massachusetts on 22 December 1904, Winters was the son of Felix Winternitz, a violinist and composer who was teaching at New England Conservatory of Music...
for a final six films. Keye Luke, missing from the series after 1938's Mr.Moto rework, returned as Charlie's son in the last two entries.
Spanish-language adaptations
Three Spanish-language Charlie Chan films were made in the 1930s and 1950s. The first of these,
Eran Trece (There Were Thirteen) (1931), is a Spanish-language version of
Charlie Chan Carries On (1931). The two films were made concurrently and followed the same production schedule, with each scene being filmed twice the same day, once in English and once in Spanish. The film followed essentially the same script as the English-language version, with minor additions such as short songs and skits and some changes to characters' names (for example, the character Elmer Benbow was re-named Frank Benbow). A Cuban production,
La Serpiente Roja, followed in 1937. In 1955, Producciones Cub-Mex produced a Mexican version of Charlie Chan called
El Monstruo en la Sombra (Monster in the Shadow), starring Orlando Rodriguez as "Chan Li Po" (Charlie Chan in the original script). The film was inspired by
La Serpiente Roja (The red serpent) as well as the American Warner Oland films.
Chinese-language adaptations
During the 1930s and 1940s, at least five Chan films were produced in Shanghai and Hong Kong. In these films, Chan owns his own detective agency and is aided, not by a son, but by a daughter, Manna, played first by Gu Meijun (顾梅君) in the Shanghai productions and then by Bai Yan (白燕) in post-war Hong Kong.
Chinese audiences also watched the original American Charlie Chan films. They were by far the most popular American films in 1930s China and among
overseas ChineseOverseas Chinese are people of Chinese birth or descent who live outside the Greater China Area . People of partial Chinese ancestry living outside the Greater China Area may also consider themselves Overseas Chinese....
; "one of the reasons for this acceptance was this was the first time Chinese audiences saw a positive Chinese character in an American film, a sharp departure from the sinister Oriental stereotypes in earlier movies like
Thief of BaghdadThe Thief of Bagdad is a 1924 American swashbuckler film directed by Raoul Walsh and starring Douglas Fairbanks. Freely adapted from One Thousand and One Nights, it tells the story of a thief who falls in love with the daughter of the Caliph of Bagdad...
and
Welcome Danger, which incited riots that shut down the Shanghai theater showing it." Oland's visit to China was reported extensively in Chinese newspapers, and the actor was respectfully called "Mr. Chan".
Modern adaptations
In 1980, Jerry Shylock began production on comedy film to be called
Charlie Chan and the Dragon Lady. A group calling itself C.A.N. (
Coalition of
Asians to
Nix) was formed, protesting the fact that non-Chinese actors,
Peter UstinovPeter Alexander Ustinov CBE was an English actor, writer and dramatist. He was also renowned as a filmmaker, theatre and opera director, stage designer, author, screenwriter, comedian, humourist, newspaper and magazine columnist, radio broadcaster and television presenter...
and
Angie DickinsonAngie Dickinson is an American actress. She has appeared in more than fifty films, including Rio Bravo, Ocean's Eleven, Dressed to Kill and Pay It Forward, and starred on television as Sergeant Suzanne "Pepper" Anderson on the 1970s crime series Police Woman.-Early life:Dickinson, the second of...
, had been cast in the primary roles. Others protested that the film itself contained a number of stereotypes; Shylock responded that the film was not a documentary. The film was released the following year as
Charlie Chan and the Curse of the Dragon Queen and was an "abysmal failure." An updated film version of the character was planned in the 1990s by Miramax; this new Charlie Chan was to be "hip, slim, cerebral, sexy and... a martial-arts master," but the film did not come to fruition. Actress
Lucy LiuLucy Alexis Liu is an American actress and film producer. She became known for playing the role of the vicious and ill-mannered Ling Woo in the television series Ally McBeal , and has also appeared in several Hollywood films including Charlie's Angels, Chicago, Kill Bill, and Kung Fu Panda.-Early...
is slated to star in and executive-produce a new Charlie Chan film for Fox. The film has been in preproduction since 2000; as of 2009 it is still slated to be produced.
Radio
On radio, Charlie Chan was heard in different series on four networks (Blue, NBC, ABC,
MBSThe Mutual Broadcasting System was an American radio network, in operation from 1934 to 1999. In the golden age of U.S. radio drama, MBS was best known as the original network home of The Lone Ranger and The Adventures of Superman and as the long-time radio residence of The Shadow...
) between 1932 and 1948.
Walter ConnollyWalter Connolly was an American character actor who appeared in almost fifty films between 1914 and 1939.Connolly was a successful stage actor who appeared in twenty-two Broadway productions between 1916 and 1935, notably revivals of Pirandello's Six Characters in Search of an Author and Chekhov's...
initially portrayed Chan as part of Esso Oil's
Five Star Theater, which serialized adaptations of Biggers novels.
Ed Begley, Sr.Edward James Begley, Sr. was an Academy Award-winning American actor.-Biography:Born in Hartford, Connecticut, Begley began his career as a Broadway and radio actor while in his teens. He appeared in the hit musical Going Up on Broadway in 1917 and in London the next year. He later acted in...
had the title role in NBC's
The Adventures of Charlie Chan (1944–45), followed by
Santos OrtegaSantos Ortega was an American actor.-Radio:Ortega was active in radio, starring in The Adventures of Nero Wolfe and narrating a popular radio show called Gangbusters as well as Stroke of Fate. Perhaps his most famous and notable radio role was Commissioner Weston on The Shadow...
(1947–48). Leon Janney and Rodney Jacobs were heard as Lee Chan, Number One Son, and Dorian St. George was the program's announcer.
Radio Life magazine described Begley's Chan as "a good radio match for Sidney Toler's beloved film enactment."
Television adaptations
From 1956-57,
The New Adventures of Charlie ChanThe New Adventures of Charlie Chan was a syndicated television crime drama series made in 1957. The first five episodes were made by Vision Productions in the United States, before production switched to the United Kingdom under ITC Entertainment and Television Programs of America.The series,...
, starring
J. Carrol NaishJoseph Patrick Carrol Naish was an American character actor born in New York City. Naish was twice nominated for an Academy Award for film roles, and he later found fame in the title role of CBS Radio's Life With Luigi , which was also on CBS Television .Naish appeared on stage for several years...
in the title role, were made independently for TV syndication in a series of 39 episodes, by
Television Programs of AmericaTelevision Programs of America, Inc was a New York-based US television production company in the 1950s. TPA had a Canadian subsidiary, Normandie Productions....
. The series was filmed in England. In this series, Chan is based in London rather than the United States. Ratings were poor, and the series was quickly canceled.
In the 1960s,
Joey FormanJoey Forman was an American comedian and comic actor. He first attracted attention in Las Vegas as the opening act for Mickey Rooney...
played an obvious parody of Chan named "Harry Hoo" in two episodes of
Get SmartGet Smart is an American comedy television series that satirizes the secret agent genre. Created by Mel Brooks with Buck Henry, the show starred Don Adams , Barbara Feldon , and Edward Platt...
.
In the 1970s,
Hanna-BarberaHanna-Barbera Productions, Inc. was an American animation studio that dominated North American television animation during the second half of the 20th century...
produced an animated series called
The Amazing Chan and the Chan ClanThe Amazing Chan and the Chan Clan The voice of Mr...
.
Keye LukeKeye Luke was a Chinese-born American actor. He was the first Chinese-American contract player signed with RKO, Universal and, later, MGM and is generally acknowledged as the leading Asian-American actor of this era of American cinema.-Background:...
, who had played Chan's son in many Chan films of the 1930s and '40s, lent his voice to Charlie, who had a much-expanded vocabulary this time around. The series focused, however, on Chan's children, played mostly by Asian-American child actors.
Jodie FosterAlicia Christian "Jodie" Foster is an American actress, film director, producer as well as a former child actress....
alternated with Leslie Kumamota in voicing Chan's daughter Anne.
The Return of Charlie ChanThe Return Of Charlie Chan is a 1973 American film. It stars Ross Martin.-Summary:Charlie Chan investigates a murder case aboard the yacht of a wealthy Greek shipping tycoon....
, a television film starring
Ross MartinRoss Martin was a Polish-born American Emmy-nominated actor known for playing Artemus Gordon in the western TV series The Wild Wild West, starring Robert Conrad, and Andamo on Mr...
as Chan, was made in 1971 but was not aired until 1979.
Comics and games
A
Charlie Chan comic stripA comic strip is a sequence of drawings arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often serialized, with text in balloons and captions....
, drawn by
Alfred AndriolaAlfred James Andriola was an American cartoonist best known for the comic strip Kerry Drake, for which he won a Reuben Award in 1970. His work sometimes appeared under the pseudonym Alfred James....
, was distributed by the
McNaught SyndicateThe McNaught Syndicate was an American newspaper syndicate founded in 1922. It was established by Virgil Venice McNitt and Charles V. McAdam. Its best known contents were the columns by Will Rogers and O. O. McIntyre, the Dear Abby letters section and comic strips, including Joe Palooka and...
beginning October 24, 1938. Andriola was chosen by Biggers to draw the character. Following the Japanese attack on
Pearl HarborPearl Harbor, known to Hawaiians as Puuloa, is a lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. Much of the harbor and surrounding lands is a United States Navy deep-water naval base. It is also the headquarters of the U.S. Pacific Fleet...
, the strip was dropped at the end of May 1942.
Over decades, several other Charlie Chan comic books have been published:
Joe SimonJoseph Henry "Joe" Simon is an American comic book writer, artist, editor, and publisher. Simon created or co-created many important characters in the 1930s-1940s Golden Age of Comic Books and served as the first editor of Timely Comics, the company that would evolve into Marvel Comics.With his...
and
Jack KirbyJack Kirby , born Jacob Kurtzberg, was an American comic book artist, writer and editor regarded by historians and fans as one of the major innovators and most influential creators in the comic book medium....
created Prize Comics'
Charlie Chan (1948) which ran for five issues. It was followed by a
Charlton ComicsCharlton Comics was an American comic book publishing company that existed from 1946 to 1985, having begun under a different name in 1944. It was based in Derby, Connecticut...
title (four issues, 1955).
DC ComicsDC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...
published
The New Adventures of Charlie Chan, a 1958 tie-in with the TV series; the DC series lasted for six issues.
Dell ComicsDell Comics was the comic book publishing arm of Dell Publishing, which got its start in pulp magazines. It published comics from 1929 to 1973. At its peak, it was the most prominent and successful American company in the medium...
did the title for two issues in 1965. In the 1970s,
Gold Key ComicsGold Key Comics was an imprint of Western Publishing created for comic books distributed to newsstands. Also known as Whitman Comics, Gold Key operated from 1962 to 1984.-History:...
published a short-lived series of Chan comics based directly on the Hanna-Barbera animated series.
In addition, a board game,
The Great Charlie Chan Detective Mystery Game (1937), and a
Charlie Chan Card Game (1939), have been released.
Modern interpretations and criticism
The character of Charlie Chan has been the subject of much controversy. Some find the character to be a positive role model, while others argue that Chan is an offensive stereotype. Critic John Soister argues that Charlie Chan is both; when Biggers created the character, he offered a unique alternative to stereotypical evil Chinamen who was at the same time "sufficiently accommodating in personality... unthreatening in demeanor... and removed from his Asian homeland... to quell any underlying xenophobia."
Critic Michael Brodhead argues that "Biggers's sympathetic treatment of the Charlie Chan novels convinces the reader that their author consciously and forthrightly spoke out for the Chinese - a people to be not only accepted but admired. Biggers's sympathetic treatment of the Chinese both reflected and contributed to the greater acceptance of the Chinese in America in the first third of [the twentieth] century." S. T. Karnick writes in the
National ReviewNational Review is a biweekly magazine founded by the late author William F. Buckley, Jr., in 1955 and based in New York City. It describes itself as "America's most widely read and influential magazine and web site for conservative news, commentary, and opinion."Although the print version of the...
that Chan is "a brilliant detective with understandably limited facility in the English language [whose] powers of observation, logic, and personal rectitude and humility made him an exemplary, entirely honorable character."
Ellery QueenEllery Queen is both a fictional character and a pseudonym used by two American cousins from Brooklyn, New York: Daniel Nathan, alias Frederic Dannay and Manford Lepofsky, alias Manfred Bennington Lee , to write, edit, and anthologize detective fiction.The fictional Ellery Queen created by...
called Biggers's characterization of Charlie Chan "a service to humanity and to inter-racial relations." Dave Kehr of
The New York TimesThe New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
said Chan "might have been a stereotype, but he was a stereotype on the side of the angels." Luke agreed; when asked if he thought that the character was demeaning to the race, he responded, "Demeaning to the race? My God! You've got a
Chinese hero!" and "[W]e were making the best damn murder mysteries in Hollywood."
Other critics, such as Yen Le Espiratu and Huang Guiyou, argue that Chan, while portrayed positively in some ways, is not on a par with white characters, but a "benevolent Other" who is "one-dimensional." The films' extensive use of white actors to portray Asian characters indicates the character's "absolute Oriental Otherness;" the films were only successful when they were "the domain of white actors who impersonated slant-eyed, heavily-accented masters of murder mysteries as well as purveyors of cryptic proverbs in what Eugene Wong calls a 'racist cosmetology.'" Chan's character "embodies the stereotypes and stigmas of Chinese Americans, particularly of males: smart, subservient, effeminate." Chan is representative of a
model minorityModel minority refers to a minority ethnic, racial, or religious group whose members achieve a higher degree of success than the population average. It is most commonly used to label one ethnic minority higher achieving than another ethnic minority...
, the good stereotype that counters a bad stereotype: "Each stereotypical image is filled with contradictions: the bloodthirsty Indian is tempered with the image of the noble savage; the
bandido exists along with the loyal sidekick; and Fu Manchu is offset by Charlie Chan." However, Fu Manchu's evil qualities are presented as inherently Chinese, while Charlie Chan's good qualities are exceptional; "Fu represents his race; his counterpart stands away from the other Asian Hawaiians."
Some argue that the character's popularity is dependent on its contrast with stereotypes of the Yellow Peril or the Japanese in particular. American opinion of China and Chinese Americans grew more positive in the 1920s and 30s in contrast to the Japanese, who were increasingly viewed with suspicion. Sheng-mei Ma argues that the character is a psychological overcompensation to "rampant paranoia over the racial other."
In June, 2003, the
Fox Movie ChannelThe Fox Movie Channel is a channel which shows movies uncut and commercial-free.-Overview:Movie content consists mainly of selections from 20th Century Fox's library of releases through the 1990s and movies produced exclusively for television. Widescreen versions are shown whenever available....
discontinued a planned Charlie Chan Festival, soon after beginning restoration for special cablecasting, after a special interest group protested. Fox reversed its decision two months later in August, 2003, and on September 13, 2003, the first film in the festival was aired Fox. The films, when broadcast on the Fox Movie Channel, were followed by round table discussions by prominent Asian-Americans in the entertainment industry, led by
George TakeiGeorge Hosato Takei Altman is an American actor, author, social activist and former civil politician. He is best known for his role in the television series Star Trek and its film spinoffs, in which he played Hikaru Sulu, helmsman of the...
, most of whom were against the films. Collections such as
Frank ChinFrank Chin is an American author and playwright.- Life and career :Frank Chin was born in Berkeley, California, but was raised to the age of six by a retired Vaudeville couple in Placerville, California. At six his mother brought him back to the San Francisco Bay Area to live in Oakland Chinatown...
's
Aiiieeee! An Anthology of Asian-American Writers and Jessica Hagedorn's
Charlie Chan is Dead are put forth as alternatives to the Charlie Chan stereotype and "[articulate] cultural anger and exclusion as their animating force." Fox began releasing the restored versions on
DVDA DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
in 2006; as of mid-2008, Fox has released all of the extant Warner Oland titles and has begun issuing the Sidney Toler series. The first six Monogram productions, all starring Sidney Toler, were released by MGM in 2004.
Some modern critics, particularly Asian-Americans, dismiss the Charlie Chan character as "bovine" and "asexual", allowing "white America ... [to be] securely indifferent about us as men." Charlie Chan's good qualities are the product of what Frank Chin and Jeffery Chan call "racist love", arguing that Chan is a model minority and "kissass". Fletcher Chan, however, argues that the Chan of Biggers's novels is not subservient to whites, citing
The Chinese Parrot as an example; in this novel, Chan's eyes blaze with anger at racist remarks and in the end, after exposing the murderer, Chan remarks "Perhaps listening to a 'Chinaman' is no disgrace." In the films, both
Charlie Chan in LondonCharlie Chan in London is a 1934 American mystery film directed by Eugene Forde. The film stars Warner Oland as Charlie Chan, with Drue Leyton....
(1934) and
Charlie Chan in ParisCharlie Chan in Paris is the seventh film produced by Fox with Warner Oland as Charlie Chan.-Plot:Chan is on his way back from completing the London case -- they always mentioned the previous case -- to go on "vacation" to Paris, but this is just a way to make people think that heis innocently there...
(1935) "contain scenes in which Chan coolly and wittily dispatches other characters' racist remarks."
Filmography
Unless otherwise noted, information is taken from Charles P. Mitchell's
A Guide to Charlie Chan Films (1999).
| Film title |
Starring |
Directed by |
Released |
Notes |
| The House Without a Key The House Without a Key is a 1926 mystery film serial directed by Spencer Gordon Bennet. It is based on the novel of the same name and is the first onscreen appearance of the fictional detective Charlie Chan, although the main stars are Allene Ray and Walter Miller. The film is now considered to be...
|
George KuwaGeorge Kuwa was a Japanese and American Issei film actor of the silent era. He appeared in 58 films between 1916 and 1931...
|
Spencer G. Bennet |
1926 |
Lost film A lost film is a feature film or short film that is no longer known to exist in studio archives, private collections or public archives such as the Library of Congress, where at least one copy of all American films are deposited and catalogued for copyright reasons...
|
| The Chinese Parrot The Chinese Parrot is a silent film, the second in the Charlie Chan series and was directed by Paul Leni. The film is an adaptation of the 1926 Earl Derr Biggers novel of the same name. It is a lost film....
|
Kamayama Sojin Sōjin Kamiyama or just Sōjin was a Japanese film actor. He appeared in over 70 films between 1917 and 1954...
|
Paul Leni Paul Leni born Paul Josef Levi was a German filmmaker and a key figure in German Expressionist filmmaking, making Backstairs and Waxworks in Germany, and The Cat and the Canary , The Chinese Parrot , The Man Who Laughs , and The Last Warning in...
|
1927 |
Lost film |
| Behind That Curtain Behind That Curtain is a 1929 mystery film directed by Irving Cummings, starring Warner Baxter and featuring Boris Karloff. It was the first Charlie Chan film to be made at Fox Studios. It was based on the novel of the same name. Charlie Chan is played by Korean American actor E. L...
|
E.L. Park |
Irving Cummings |
1929 |
|
| Charlie Chan Carries On |
Warner Oland Warner Oland was a Swedish American actor most remembered for his screen role as the detective Charlie Chan.-Biography:He was born Johan Verner Ölund in the village of Nyby, Bjurholm Municipality,...
|
Hamilton MacFadden |
1931 |
Lost film |
Eran Trece (in SpanishSpanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
) |
Manuel Arbó |
David Howard (uncredited) |
1931 |
|
| The Black Camel The Black Camel is a 1931 mystery film, the second starring Warner Oland as the detective Charlie Chan and the sole survivor of the first five Oland/Chan films. It was based on the novel of the same name by Earl Derr Biggers...
|
Warner Oland |
Hamilton MacFadden |
1931 |
|
| Charlie Chan's Chance Charlie Chan's Chance is a 1932 murder mystery film, the third to star Warner Oland as detective Charlie Chan. It is based on the novel Behind That Curtain by Earl Derr Biggers, who also contributed to the film. The film is considered to be lost....
|
Warner Oland |
John Blystone |
1932 |
Lost film |
| Charlie Chan's Greatest Case Charlie Chan's Greatest Case is a murder mystery film starring Warner Oland as the Oriental detective Charlie Chan. It was based on the Earl Derr Biggers novel The House Without a Key....
|
Warner Oland |
Hamilton MacFadden |
1933 |
Lost film |
| Charlie Chan's Courage Charlie Chan's Courage is the fifth film in which Warner Oland played detective Charlie Chan. It is a remake of the 1927 silent film The Chinese Parrot; both are considered lost films.-Plot:Chan is hired to transport a pearl necklace...
|
Warner Oland |
George Hadden and Eugene Forde |
1934 |
Lost film |
| Charlie Chan in London Charlie Chan in London is a 1934 American mystery film directed by Eugene Forde. The film stars Warner Oland as Charlie Chan, with Drue Leyton....
|
Warner Oland |
Eugene Forde |
1934 |
|
| Charlie Chan in Paris Charlie Chan in Paris is the seventh film produced by Fox with Warner Oland as Charlie Chan.-Plot:Chan is on his way back from completing the London case -- they always mentioned the previous case -- to go on "vacation" to Paris, but this is just a way to make people think that heis innocently there...
|
Warner Oland |
Lewis Seiler |
1935 |
|
| Charlie Chan in Egypt Charlie Chan in Egypt is the eighth 20th Century Fox Charlie Chan film starring Warner Oland in the title role. It was released in 1935. -Plot:Charlie Chan is hired when an archaeologist disappears during the excavation of ancient art treasures in Egypt...
|
Warner Oland |
Louis King |
1935 |
|
| Charlie Chan in Shanghai Charlie Chan in Shanghai is the ninth Charlie Chan film produced by Fox with the title character played by Warner Oland.-Plot:Charlie Chan arrives in Shanghai at the behest of the U.S. government to help stop an opium smuggling ring. He receives a warning aboard ship not to stop in Shanghai...
|
Warner Oland |
James Tinling |
1935 |
|
| Charlie Chan's Secret Charlie Chan's Secret is the tenth Fox-produced film in the Charlie Chan series with Warner Oland as the detective.- Plot :Alan Colby, heir to a vast fortune, reappears after a seven year absence, only to be murdered before he can claim his inheritance. The Lowells have been living off the Colby...
|
Warner Oland |
Gordon Wiles |
1936 |
Public domain due to the omission of a valid copyright notice on original prints. |
| Charlie Chan at the Circus Charlie Chan at the Circus is the 11th film produced by Fox starring Warner Oland as Charlie Chan. A seemingly harmless family outing drags a vacationing Chan into a murder investigation.- Plot :...
|
Warner Oland |
Harry Lachman Harry B. Lachman was an American artist, set designer, and film director.Born La Salle, Illinois, Lachman was educated at the University of Michigan before becoming a magazine and book illustrator, contributing 4 colour illustrations to the 1907 work John Smith, Gentleman Adventurer by Charles...
|
1936 |
|
| Charlie Chan at the Race Track Charlie Chan at the Race Track is the 12th film in the 20th Century Fox-produced Charlie Chan series starring Warner Oland in the title role.- Plot :...
|
Warner Oland |
H. Bruce Humberstone H. Bruce 'Lucky' Humberstone was a movie actor , a script clerk, an assistant director, working with directors such as King Vidor, Edmund Goulding and Allan Dwan and, ultimately, a director.One of twenty-eight founders of the Directors Guild of America, Humberstone worked on several...
|
1936 |
|
| Charlie Chan at the Opera Charlie Chan at the Opera is considered by many to be the best Warner Oland Charlie Chan film, probably due to the co-acting of Boris Karloff. This is the 13th film starring Oland as Chan and produced by Fox in 1936.- Plot :...
|
Warner Oland |
H. Bruce Humberstone |
1936 |
|
| Charlie Chan at the Olympics Charlie Chan at the Olympics is possibly the most topical Charlie Chan film, as it features actual footage from the 1936 Berlin Olympics. There is also a scene where Charlie crosses the Atlantic in the Hindenburg...
|
Warner Oland |
H. Bruce Humberstone |
1937 |
|
| Charlie Chan on Broadway Charlie Chan On Broadway is a Charlie Chan film. This is the 15th film starring Oland as Chan and produced by Fox.- Synopsis :It starts out with Chan in this exotic locale . He's there on business, but before he can do anything about his business, someone shows up dead...
|
Warner Oland |
Eugene Forde |
1937 |
|
| The Disappearing Corpse (in Chinese) |
? |
? |
1937 |
|
La Serpiente Roja (in SpanishSpanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
) |
Aníbal de Mar |
Ernesto Caparrós |
1937 |
|
| Charlie Chan at Monte Carlo Charlie Chan at Monte Carlo is a 1937 movie directed by Eugene Forde. The main character is Charlie Chan, a Chinese-Hawaiian detective. This was the sixteenth and final Charlie Chan film with Warner Oland portraying Chan...
|
Warner Oland |
Eugene Forde |
1937 |
|
| Charlie Chan in Honolulu Charlie Chan in Honolulu is a 1938 American film directed by H. Bruce Humberstone, starring Sidney Toler as the fictional Chinese-American detective Charlie Chan...
|
Sidney Toler Sidney Hooper Toler was an American actor, playwright, and theatre director. Of primarily Scottish ancestry, he was the second non-Asian actor to play the role of Charlie Chan.-Early life and career:...
|
H. Bruce Humberstone |
1938 |
|
| Charlie Chan in Reno Charlie Chan in Reno is a 1939 American film directed by Norman Foster, starring Sidney Toler as the fictional Chinese-American detective Charlie Chan, based on an original story, "Death Makes a Decree," by Philip Wylie.-Cast:...
|
Sidney Toler |
Norman Foster Norman Foster was an American film director and actor.Born John Hoeffer in Richmond, Indiana, Foster originally became a cub reporter on a local newspaper in Indiana before going to New York in the hopes of getting a better newspaper job but there were no vacancies...
|
1938 |
|
| The Pearl Tunic (in Chinese) |
? |
? |
1938 |
|
| Charlie Chan at Treasure Island Charlie Chan at Treasure Island is a 1939 American film directed by Norman Foster, starring Sidney Toler as the fictional Chinese-American detective Charlie Chan, that takes place on Treasure Island during San Francisco's Golden Gate International Exposition.-Cast:* Sidney Toler as Charlie Chan*...
|
Sidney Toler |
Norman Foster |
1939 |
|
| City in Darkness Charlie Chan in City in Darkness, also titled City in Darkness, is a 1939 mystery film starring Sidney Toler in his fourth performance as detective Charlie Chan.-Cast:*Sidney Toler as Charlie Chan*Lynn Bari as Marie Dubon...
|
Sidney Toler |
Herbert I. Leeds |
1939 |
|
| The Radio Station Murder (in Chinese) |
? |
? |
1939 |
|
| Charlie Chan's Murder Cruise Charlie Chan's Murder Cruise is a 1940 murder mystery film starring Sidney Toler in his fifth of many performances as Charlie Chan. It is a remake of the 1931 lost film Charlie Chan Carries On, which is also the title of the Earl Derr Biggers novel on which both movies are based.-Cast:*Sidney Toler...
|
Sidney Toler |
Eugene Forde |
1940 |
|
| Charlie Chan at the Wax Museum Charlie Chan at the Wax Museum is a 1940 mystery film starring Sidney Toler as detective Charlie Chan.-Cast:*Sidney Toler as Charlie Chan*Victor Sen Yung as Jimmy Chan *C. Henry Gordon as Dr. Cream*Marc Lawrence as Steve McBirney...
|
Sidney Toler |
Lynn Shores |
1940 |
|
| Charlie Chan in Panama -Cast:*Sidney Toler as Charlie Chan*Jean Rogers as Kathi Lenesch*Lionel Atwill as Cliveden Compton*Mary Nash as Miss Jennie Finch*Victor Sen Yung as Jimmy Chan *Kane Richmond as Richard Cabot*Chris-Pin Martin as Sergeant Montero...
|
Sidney Toler |
Norman Foster |
1940 |
|
| Murder Over New York Murder Over New York is a 1940 mystery film starring Sidney Toler. Charlie chan must solve a murder mystery while attending a police convention...
|
Sidney Toler |
Harry Lachman |
1940 |
|
| Dead Men Tell -Cast:* Sidney Toler as Charlie Chan* Sen Yung as Jimmy Chan* Sheila Ryan as Kate Ransome* Robert Weldon as Steve Daniels* Don Douglas as Jed Thomasson* Katharine Aldridge as Laura Thursday* Paul McGrath as Charles Thursday / Mr. Parks...
|
Sidney Toler |
Harry Lachman |
1941 |
|
| Charlie Chan in Rio Charlie Chan in Rio is a 1941 film featuring the Asian detective Charlie Chan. It was the tenth film to feature Sidney Toler as the title character, who is called upon to investigate the death of a suspected murderer in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.- Plot :...
|
Sidney Toler |
Harry Lachman |
1941 |
|
| Charlie Chan Smashes an Evil Plot (in Chinese) |
徐莘园 (Xu Xinyuan) |
徐莘夫 (Xu Xinfu) |
1941 |
|
| Castle in the Desert Castle in the Desert is a 1942 film featuring the Asian detective Charlie Chan. It was the eleventh film to feature Sidney Toler as the title character, and the last made by 20th Century Fox...
|
Sidney Toler |
Harry Lachman |
1942 |
|
| Charlie Chan in the Secret Service Charlie Chan in the Secret Service is a 1944 mystery film starring Sidney Toler as Charlie Chan. It is the first film made by Monogram Pictures after the series was dropped by 20th Century Fox, and it marks the introduction of Number Three Son and taxi driver , Birmingham Brown .-Plot:Charlie...
|
Sidney Toler |
Phil Rosen Phil Rosen was an American film director and cinematographer. He directed 142 films between 1915 and 1949....
|
1944 |
|
| The Chinese Cat The Chinese Cat is a 1944 mystery film starring Sidney Toler as Charlie Chan.-Plot:Charlie Chan investigates the locked-room murder of a chess expert with the aid of bumbling Number Three Son and knuckle-headed chauffeur .-Cast:*Sidney Toler as Charlie Chan*Mantan Moreland as Birmingham Brown, Taxi...
|
Sidney Toler |
Phil Rosen |
1944 |
|
| Black Magic Black Magic, later retitled Meeting at Midnight for television, is a 1944 mystery film starring Sidney Toler as Charlie Chan.-Plot:...
|
Sidney Toler |
Phil Rosen |
1944 |
|
| The Shanghai Cobra The Shanghai Cobra is a 1945 mystery film starring Sidney Toler as Charlie Chan.-Synopsis:When three bank employees are killed with cobra venom, Detective Chan is recalls an oddly similar case ten years earlier in Shanghai...
|
Sidney Toler |
Phil Karlson Phil Karlson was a film director known for his no-nonsense film noirs. Karlson directed 99 River Street, Kansas City Confidential and Hell's Island all with actor John Payne in the early 1950s...
|
1945 |
|
| The Red Dragon The Red Dragon is a 1946 mystery film starring Sidney Toler as Charlie Chan, who has to sift through a host of suspects for three murders.-Cast:*Sidney Toler as Charlie Chan*Fortunio Bonanova as Insp...
|
Sidney Toler |
Phil Rosen |
1945 |
|
| The Scarlet Clue The Scarlet Clue is a 1945 American film directed by Phil Rosen.The film is also known as Charlie Chan in the Scarlet Clue and Charlie Chan: The Scarlet Clue in Australia...
|
Sidney Toler |
Phil Rosen |
1945 |
Public domain due to the omission of a valid copyright notice on original prints. |
| The Jade Mask The Jade Mask is a 1945 film featuring Sidney Toler as Charlie Chan and the only appearance of Number Four Son, Eddie Chan, played by Edwin Luke, the real-life younger brother of Keye Luke, who had depicted Number One Son all through the 1930s....
|
Sidney Toler |
Phil Rosen |
1945 |
|
| Dangerous Money Dangerous Money is a 1946 American film directed by Terry O. Morse, featuring Sidney Toler as Charlie Chan. The is the second and last appearance of Willie Best as Chattanooga Brown, the cousin of Charlie Chan's usual chauffeur, Birmingham Brown .- Cast :* Sidney Toler as Charlie Chan* Gloria...
|
Sidney Toler |
Terry O. Morse Terry O. Morse was an American film director and editor.Born in St. Louis, Missouri, Morse began his career as a film editor in 1927, and early in his career was credited as Terrell Morse, and later Terry Morse...
|
1946 |
Public domain due to the omission of a valid copyright notice on original prints. |
| Dark Alibi Dark Alibi is a 1946 American film directed by Phil Karlson featuring Sidney Toler as Charlie Chan.- Plot :Charlie Chan works with a public defender to clear a man wrongly convicted and scheduled for execution.- Cast :* Sidney Toler as Charlie Chan...
|
Sidney Toler |
Phil Karlson Phil Karlson was a film director known for his no-nonsense film noirs. Karlson directed 99 River Street, Kansas City Confidential and Hell's Island all with actor John Payne in the early 1950s...
|
1946 |
Public domain due to the omission of a valid copyright notice on original prints. |
| Shadows Over Chinatown Shadows Over Chinatown is the second to last film featuring Sidney Toler as Charlie Chan.- Synopsis :Chan investigates a murder for profit racket in San Francisco...
|
Sidney Toler |
Terry O. Morse |
1946 |
|
| The Trap Charlie Chan In the Trap is a 1946 crime film directed by Howard Bretherton. The main premise is two members of a show troupe are murdered, and Charlie Chan is called in to solve the case.This was Sidney Toler's final film and his final one as Charlie Chan...
|
Sidney Toler |
Howard Bretherton Howard Bretherton was an American film director, film editor, and the father of film editor David Bretherton. He began his career as a propman and then became a film editor during the early 1920s for MGM...
|
1946 |
Public domain due to the omission of a valid copyright notice on original prints. |
| The Chinese Ring The Chinese Ring is a 1947 American film directed by William Beaudine.The film is also known as Charlie Chan in the Chinese Ring .- Cast :*Roland Winters as Charlie Chan*Victor Sen Yung as Tommy Chan...
|
Roland WintersRoland Winters was an American actor who portrayed Charlie Chan in six films.-Biography:Born Roland Winternitz in Boston, Massachusetts on 22 December 1904, Winters was the son of Felix Winternitz, a violinist and composer who was teaching at New England Conservatory of Music...
|
William Beaudine William Beaudine was an American film actor and director. He was one of Hollywood's most prolific directors, turning out films in remarkable numbers and in a wide variety of genres.-Early life and career:...
|
1947 |
Public domain due to the omission of a valid copyright notice on original prints. |
| Docks of New Orleans Docks of New Orleans is a 1948 American film featuring Roland Winters in his second appearance as Charlie Chan.- Cast :*Roland Winters as Charlie Chan*Victor Sen Yung as Tommy Chan*Mantan Moreland as Birmingham Brown*Virginia Dale as Rene Blanchette...
|
Roland Winters |
Derwin Abrahams |
1948 |
|
| Shanghai Chest Shanghai Chest is a 1948 American film featuring Roland Winters in his third appearance as Charlie Chan.- Cast :*Roland Winters as Charlie Chan*Victor Sen Yung as Tommy Chan*Mantan Moreland as Birmingham Brown*Tim Ryan as Lt. Mike Ruark...
|
Roland Winters |
William Beaudine |
1948 |
|
| The Golden Eye The Golden Eye is a 1948 American film directed by William Beaudine and starring Roland Winters in his fourth appearance as Charlie Chan. The film is also known as Charlie Chan in Texas and Charlie Chan in the Golden Eye .- Cast :*Roland Winters as Charlie Chan*Victor Sen Yung as Tommy Chan*Mantan...
|
Roland Winters |
William Beaudine |
1948 |
Public domain due to the omission of a valid copyright notice on original prints. |
| The Feathered Serpent The Feathered Serpent is a 1948 mystery film, the fifth of six in which Roland Winters portrayed Charlie Chan. It is the only Chan film which featured both Keye Luke and Victor Sen Yung together. Luke had been popular in the Warner Oland Chan films while Yung appeared primarily in the Sidney...
|
Roland Winters |
William Beaudine |
1948 |
|
| Charlie Chan Matches Wits with the Prince of Darkness (in Chinese) |
徐莘园 (Xu Xinyuan) |
徐莘夫 (Xu Xinfu) |
1948 |
|
| Sky Dragon Sky Dragon is a 1949 mystery film, the sixth in which Roland Winters portrayed Charlie Chan. This film is the last Chan film in the series that originated in 1930 with Fox Film Corporation production of Charlie Chan Carries On, starring Warner Oland.-Synopsis:After passengers on an airplane...
|
Roland Winters |
Lesley Selander Lesley Selander was a prolific American film director of Westerns and science fiction movies. His career as director, spanning 127 feature films and 15 TV episodes, lasted from 1936 to 1968...
|
1949 |
|
| El Monstruo en la Sombra |
Orlando Rodríguez |
Zacarias Urquiza |
1955 |
|
| The Return of Charlie Chan (aka Happiness is a Warm Clue) |
Ross Martin Ross Martin was a Polish-born American Emmy-nominated actor known for playing Artemus Gordon in the western TV series The Wild Wild West, starring Robert Conrad, and Andamo on Mr...
|
Daryl Duke Daryl Duke was a Canadian film producer and director.Duke was born at Vancouver, British Columbia, where he became one of CBC Television's earliest regional producers...
|
1973 |
|
| Charlie Chan and the Curse of the Dragon Queen |
Peter UstinovPeter Alexander Ustinov CBE was an English actor, writer and dramatist. He was also renowned as a filmmaker, theatre and opera director, stage designer, author, screenwriter, comedian, humourist, newspaper and magazine columnist, radio broadcaster and television presenter...
|
Clive Donner Clive Stanley Donner was a British film director who was a defining part of the British New Wave, directing films such as The Caretaker, Nothing But the Best, Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush and What's New Pussycat?...
|
1981 |
|
Further reading
External links