Charlie Chan
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Charlie Chan is a fictional Chinese-Hawaiian detective created by Earl Derr Biggers, reportedly in part under inspiration from the career of Chang Apana. Chan is the hero of a number of books and dozens of movies. At first a sergeant (but later promoted) in the Honolulu Police Department, he and his wife have eleven children and live in a house on Punchbowl Hill. He is a large man but moves gracefully.
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Progress of the Chan literature
Charlie Chan appeared in six novels by Earl Derr Biggers from 1925 to 1932.
The first three novels were each adapted to film during the 1920s, by different studios, but the best-known Charlie Chan movies are those of the long-running series that began in 1931 with Charlie Chan Carries On, starring Warner Oland for Fox Film Corp. Oland starred in a further fifteen Chan movies, up to the time of his death, after which the mantle passed to Sidney Toler. By this time, Fox had merged and been succeeded by 20th Century Fox which, produced eleven more Charlie Chan films through 1942, but sold the rights to the series to Monogram Pictures in 1944. Monogram made another eleven Chan films starring Toler and then six starring Roland Winters after Toler's death. The progression of Chan films from Oland to Toler (under the two incarnations of Fox), and especially to Monogram's films (whether with Toler or Winters), involved poorer scripts and lower budgets, and generally less modern respect.
A Charlie Chan comic strip drawn by Alfred Andriola was syndicated from 1938 to 1942. There was also The Great Charlie Chan Detective Mystery Game (1937) - a board game, and the Charlie Chan Card Game (1939).
In 1957-1958, "The New Adventures of Charlie Chan", starring J. Carroll Naish in the title role, were made independently for TV syndication in a series of 39 episodes, by Television Programs of America.
Image:Chan clan.jpg The Amazing Chan and the Chan Clan, an animated series made in the 1970s by Hanna-Barbera Productions and starring Keye Luke, was noteworthy only because it was the only occasion on which Charlie Chan has been played by an actor of Chinese descent. (Two Charlie Chan films made in the 1920s had starred Japanese actors; and several of the Chan sons had been played by Chinese American actors in the 1930s movies, including Keye Luke himself as the eldest son and Benson Fong as son #3.)
Two offbeat Chan films appeared to little fanfare years after the main canon. The Return of Charlie Chan in 1973 was a made-for-TV film starring Ross Martin. It had a challenging plot, but was otherwise unengaging. Charlie Chan and the Curse of the Dragon Queen in 1981, was a theatrical feature starring Peter Ustinov, Angie Dickinson, and Michelle Pfeiffer. Apparently intended as a satire, it was not funny in the conventional sense, though it was visually appealing.
The pre-1950 film character was portrayed as intelligent, stalwart, kind, responsible, and heroic in the pursuit of (almost invariably) white villains who were able to outwit the (almost invariably) white police or government establishments which hired him. In the 21st century, however, those films have come under criticism from at least one group concerned with Asian-Americans, on the grounds that Chan was played only by white actors in makeup rather than by any Chinese/Asian performer. The portrayal of Chan by white actors has been likened to "blackface" type films. In 2003, the Fox Movie Channel discontinued showing pre-1950 Chan films, soon after beginning restoration for special cablecasting. After a lengthy delay, Fox finally began releasing these restored versions on DVD in 2006, beginning with volume one (Charlie Chan in London, Charlie Chan in Paris, Charlie Chan in Egypt, and Charlie Chan in Shanghai) on June 30. (The first six Monogram productions were released by MGM in 2004, but these are generally considered inferior to the earlier Fox productions and were less desired by fans of the series.)
Whether the Chan films of the 1930s and '40s are racially offensive is a matter of personal judgment. But their treatment of Chan was undoubtedly less negative than Hollywood portrayals of other ethnic minorities at the time. Chan, though quaint in his speech and manner, was both the moral and intellectual equal of white characters in the film. The portrayal of the black sidekicks and servants of the Chan family in some of the movies has also been controversial; however, the characters themselves were a popular and recurring fixture in the Chan films.
Bibliography
By Earl Derr Biggers
- The House Without a Key (1925)
- The Chinese Parrot (1926)
- Behind That Curtain (1928)
- The Black Camel (1929)
- Charlie Chan Carries On (1930)
- Keeper of the Keys (1932)
By Others
- Charlie Chan Returns (1974) by Dennis Lynds, a novelization of the TV film
- Charlie Chan and the Curse of the Dragon Queen (1981) by Michael Avallone, a novelization of the film.
- Charlie Chan in the Pawns of Death by Bill Pronzini
- Charlie Chan in The Temple of the Golden Horde by Michael Collins
Filmography
Early Chan films
With Warner Oland
- The Black Camel (1931)
- Charlie Chan Carries On (1931) - this film is widely considered lost. However, the film was also filmed in Spanish with a Spanish-speaking cast under the title Eran Trece. This version is available. See the article for more information.
- Charlie Chan's Chance (1932) lost
- Charlie Chan's Greatest Case (1933) lost
- Charlie Chan's Courage (1934) lost
- Charlie Chan in London (1934)
- Charlie Chan in Paris (1935)
- Charlie Chan in Egypt (1935)
- Charlie Chan in Shanghai (1935)
- Charlie Chan's Secret (1936)
- Charlie Chan at the Circus (1936)
- Charlie Chan at the Race Track (1936)
- Charlie Chan at the Opera (1936)
- Charlie Chan at the Olympics (1937)
- Charlie Chan on Broadway (1937)
- Charlie Chan at Monte Carlo (1938)
With Sidney Toler
- Charlie Chan in Honolulu (1938)
- Charlie Chan in Reno (1939)
- Charlie Chan at Treasure Island (1939)
- City in Darkness (1939)
- Charlie Chan's Murder Cruise (1940)
- Charlie Chan at the Wax Museum (1940)
- Charlie Chan in Panama (1940)
- Murder Over New York (1940)
- Dead Men Tell (1941)
- Charlie Chan in Rio (1941)
- Castle in the Desert (1942)
- Charlie Chan in the Secret Service (1944)
- The Chinese Cat (1944)
- Meeting at Midnight (1944)
- The Shanghai Cobra (1945)
- The Red Dragon (1945)
- The Scarlet Clue (1945)
- The Jade Mask (1945)
- Shadows Over Chinatown (1946)
- Dangerous Money (1946)
- Dark Alibi (1946)
- The Trap (1946, AKA: Murder at Malibu Beach)
With Roland Winters
- The Chinese Ring (1947)
- Docks of New Orleans (1948)
- Shanghai Chest (1948)
- The Golden Eye (1948)
- The Feathered Serpent (1948)
- The Sky Dragon (1949)
Source: Translated from German Wikipedia Article.