CHARLIE CHAN IN HONOLULU (1939) -- colorized
Charlie Chan in Honolulu is a 1939 American mystery film directed by H. Bruce Humberstone, starring Sidney Toler as the fictional Chinese-American detective Charlie Chan. The film is the first appearance of both Toler as Chan and Victor Sen Yung as "number two son" Jimmy.
Plot
Detective Chan rushes to the hospital to be with his daughter as she prepares to give birth to his first grandchild. While Charlie Chan waits at the hospital, his "number two" son Jimmy intercepts a message intended for Charlie about a murder on board the freighter Susan B. Jennings.
The freighter is on its way from Shanghai to Honolulu under the leadership of Captain Johnson (Robert Barrat). Jimmy wants to prove his investigative skills to his father and so boards the Jennings pretending to be Charlie Chan, with his younger brother Tommy (Layne Tom Jr.) in tow. The ruse doesn't last long and soon the real Chan arrives on board, interrogating a motley assortment of crooks, heiresses and crew as he works to solve a crime whose only witness is secretary Judy Haynes (Phyllis Brooks).
Cast
Sidney Toler as Charlie Chan
Sen Yung as Jimmy Chan
Phyllis Brooks as Judy Hayes
Eddie Collins as Al Hogan
John 'Dusty' King as Randolph
Claire Dodd as Mrs. Carol Wayne
George Zucco as Dr. Cardigan
Robert Barrat as Captain Johnson
Marc Lawrence as Johnny McCoy
Richard Lane as Joe Arnold
Layne Tom Jr. as Tommy Chan
Philip Ahn as Wing Foo
Paul Harvey as Inspector Rawlins
Rest of the Chan Family
Eugene Hoo as Chan Son
Frances Hoo as Chan Daughter
Hippie Hoo as Chan Son
Florence Ung as Ling Chan
Barbara Jean Wong as Chan Daughter (uncredited)
170
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CHARLIE CHAN AT THE WAX MUSEUM (1940) -- colorized
Charlie Chan at the Wax Museum is a 1940 mystery film starring Sidney Toler as detective Charlie Chan. Revisiting an old case results in fresh deaths.
Plot
Chan's testimony results in a death sentence for convicted murderer Steve McBirney (Marc Lawrence). However, he escapes and heads to a wax museum, a secret Mob hideout run by Dr. Cream (C. Henry Gordon). Cream, a crooked "facial surgeon", operates on McBirney, changing his appearance.
Chan is lured to the wax museum on the pretext of sparring over an old case with Dr. Otto Von Brom (Michael Visaroff) on a radio broadcast arranged by Cream. Based on Von Brom's testimony, Joe Rocke had been to be executed, but Chan is convinced that Rocke was innocent. In fact, it is all a setup so that McBirney can have his revenge, but Chan already suspects it. His son Jimmy (Victor Sen Yung) sneaks into the museum to investigate (without Chan's knowledge).
When everyone gathers at the museum, Carter Lane barges in, representing Mrs. Joe Rocke. His client also sneaks in. When the principals gather around a table to reenact a scene from the Rocke case for the broadcast, Cream makes sure Chan is in the seat wired for an electrocution. However, Von Brom insists on changing seats. Museum night watchman Willie Fern is tricked into throwing the switch. The lights go out, and Von Brom dies ... but not from electricity. (Lily Latimer, Cream's assistant, had cut the wire in an attempt to keep the museum's other function a secret.) Chan finds a small puncture wound in the dead man's neck and a bamboo blowgun dart.
Chan becomes certain that "Butcher" Dagan framed Rocke, his business partner, and that he killed Von Brom as well. Dagan was supposedly murdered by McBirney, another business partner and a friend of Rocke's. With Cream having operated on Dagan, no one knows who among those gathered at the museum is him (Jimmy even suspects Mrs. Rocke). Dagan kills McBirney and makes an attempt on Chan's life, before the detective finally unmasks and captures him.
Cast
Sidney Toler as Charlie Chan
Victor Sen Yung as Jimmy Chan (as Sen Yung)
C. Henry Gordon as Dr. Cream
Marc Lawrence as Steve McBirney
Joan Valerie as Lily Latimer, Cream's assistant
Marguerite Chapman as Mary Bolton, a reporter
Ted Osborne as Tom Agnew/"Butcher" Dagan, the radio program director and announcer
Michael Visaroff as Dr. Otto Von Brom, a criminologist who puts his faith in scientific methods
Hilda Vaughn as Mrs. Joe Rocke
Charles Wagenheim as Willie Fern
Archie Twitchell as Carter Lane, representing Mrs. Rocke
Eddie Marr as Grenock, McBirney's bodyguard
Joe King as Inspector O'Matthews
Harold Goodwin as Edwards, the radio program's engineer
121
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CHARLIE CHAN AT TREASURE ISLAND (1939) -- colorized
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 (1939-1940).
Plot
Charlie and Jimmy Chan are traveling by plane to San Francisco. Jimmy befriends insurance executive Thomas Gregory. Charlie's friend, novelist Paul Essex, dies aboard the aircraft after receiving a radiogram warning him not to ignore "Zodiac". His briefcase mysteriously disappears. Charlie meets with Deputy Police Chief J.J. Kilvaine, and runs into reporter and old friend Peter Lewis. Charlie also meets noted local magician Fred Rhadini, and discusses Essex's death with the three men. Rhadini tells Charlie about Dr. Zodiac, a psychic preying on the rich in San Francisco. Charlie, Rhadini, and Lewis go to Dr. Zodiac's home, where Dr. Zodiac conducts an eerie séance. Lewis' fiancée, Eve Cairo, has been meeting with Dr. Zodiac, angering Lewis. Later, Kilvaine reveals that Essex was poisoned, but can't rule out suicide. Jimmy spends the afternoon following Thomas Gregory, whom he believes stole Essex's briefcase when leaving the plane. He discovers Essex's manuscript in Gregory's hotel room.
That night, Charlie attends Rhadini's magic show at the Golden Gate International Exposition on Treasure Island. Rhadini's clumsy, comic acquaintance, Elmer Kelner, is helping to serve food and drink at the club. Charlie meets Eve Cairo and socialite Bessie Sibley, as well as Rhadini's jealous wife, Myra. During her telepathy act with Fred Rhadini, Eve comes into contact with someone thinking about murder and Charlie is almost killed when a knife is thrown at him.
After the show, Charlie, followed by Rhadini and Lewis, break into Dr. Zodiac's home. They find Jimmy already there. Charlie discovers evidence that Zodiac is a fraud. When Zodiac's Turkish houseman, Abdul, arrives, Charlie searches him and finds the holster that fits the knife. Abdul escapes, and the burglars discover Zodiac's vast files which he uses to frighten and blackmail others. Charlie realizes Bessie Sibley is providing information on others to protect herself, and that Zodiac was blackmailing Essex. Charlie burns Zodiac's office to protect the innocent.
Essex's manuscript is a fictional account of Dr. Zodiac's blackmail scheme, and the next morning Charlie finds that the last page revealing who the murder was committed is missing. Charlie meets with Gregory, who says he is an insurance company detective investigating mysterious suicides. Charlie believes Gregory's claim is false, and Gregory fails to steal the manuscript back. Charlie believes Dr. Zodiac suffers from pseudologia fantastica, and Rhadini challenges Dr. Zodiac to a public test of psychic skills. Dr. Zodiac accepts the claim by leaving a note on the front door of the Temple of Magic where Rhadini performs. It's written on the back side of the missing manuscript page. The manuscript mentions a pygmy arrow; a similar arrow from a display in the foyer of the Temple of Magic is missing.
That night, Charlie, Jimmy, Bessie Sibley, Myra Rhadini, and Peter Lewis attend Rhadini's magic show, where he is assisted by Eve Cairo and Elmer Kelner. Dr. Zodiac appears during the show, and is invited on stage. As Rhadini performs a levitation trick, Zodiac is killed with the pygmy arrow. Dr. Zodiac is revealed to be Abdul. Although a bow is found, it is too brittle to have fired the arrow. Zodiac must have been stabbed with the arrow. Gregory gives Rhadini an alibi after discovering Rhadini's wand in the aisle by his seat. Kilvaine reveals that Gregory is Stewart Salsbury, and that he really is an insurance company executive.
At Kilvaine's suggestion, the murder is re-enacted with Lewis standing in for Zodiac. The secret of Rhadini's levitation trick is revealed, and Rhadini is stabbed in the aisle during the act. Myra uses the "sphinx"—an upright metal pseudo-Egyptian coffin with a hidden elevator in its floor—to go from the stage to the below-stage area, where her husband's dressing room is located. Charlie encourages Eve to try to tap into the mind of the killer. Eve reads Charlie's thoughts, which describe the motivations of Stella Essex, Bessie Sibley, Thomas Gregory, Peter Lewis, Fred Rhadini, and Myra Rhadinia (although without mentioning their names). The mind of Dr. Zodiac interferes with Eve's mind. Eve reads Zodiac's mind, and discovers that the real Dr. Zodiac killed Abdul because only Abdul knew Dr. Zodiac's real identity.
The killer attempts to shoot Eve while she is on stage, but Jimmy spots the pistol and pushes the gun away just in time. Dr. Zodiac is revealed to be Fred Rhadini. While all eyes were on Eve, he sneaked into the wings, ran below the stage, and used the elevator in the sphinx to re-emerg on stage and attempt to kill Eve. Charlie reveals that Rhadini used a wand with a spring trigger to fire the arrow that killed Abdul. He then stabbed himself to divert attention from himself as a suspect.
Cast
Sidney Toler as Charlie Chan
Victor Sen Yung as Jimmy Chan
Cesar Romero as Fred Rhadini
Douglas Fowley as Peter Lewis
Pauline Moore as Eve Cairo
Donald MacBride as Deputy Police Chief J.J. Kilvaine
Wally Vernon as Elmer Kelner
Billie Seward as Bessie Sibley
Louis Jean Heydt as Paul Essex
Sally Blane as Stella Essex
June Gale as Myra Rhadini
Douglass Dumbrille as Stewart Salsbury, alias Thomas Gregory
Trevor Bardette as Abdul
Gerald Mohr as Dr. Zodiac (uncredited)
Possible cultural influence
Charlie Chan at Treasure Island may have influenced the Zodiac Killer.[1] In the movie, there is a character called "Dr. Zodiac" whom is found after a telegram to Charlie Chan warning about the danger of "Zodiac". In the telegram that provided the clue, the astrological symbol Scorpio is mentioned. Scorpio is the nom de guerre used in messages sent by the serial killer in the movie Dirty Harry, who was inspired by the Zodiac Killer case.
184
views
CHARLIE CHAN IN PANAMA (1940) -- colorized
Charlie Chan in Panama is a 1940 mystery film starring Sidney Toler. It is an unaccredited remake of Jacques Deval's novel "Marie Galante", produced by 20th Century Fox in 1934, directed by Henry King.
Plot
Charlie Chan must stop a spy from destroying the Panama Canal, trapping a Navy fleet on its way to the Pacific after maneuvers in the Atlantic. As the U.S. fleet prepares to navigate the waters of the Panama Canal, Panama City becomes rife with spies.
A new group of suspects appears with the arrival of a sea plane bound for Balboa. Among the suspects are novelist Clivedon Compton, matronly school teacher Miss Jennie Finch, sinister scientist Dr. Rudolph Grosser, café proprietor Manolo, singer Kathi Lenesch (real name Kathi von Tzardas), cigarette salesman Achmed Halide, government engineer Richard Cabot and government agent Godley.
Upon landing, Godley goes to a hat shop owned by Fu Yuen, alias Charlie Chan, to enlist the sleuth's help in unmasking the deadly spy known only as Reiner. Just as Godley is about to divulge Reiner's real identity, he falls to the ground, dead, leaving Chan to expose Reiner before the spy can sabotage the canal.
As the other suspects are murdered, one by one, first Compton, then Manolo, Chan learns that the canal's Miraflores locks are to be blown up at ten that night. Chan then sequesters the suspects at the plant, forcing Miss Finch to expose herself as Reiner in order to escape death. With Reiner under arrest, the fleet sails safely through the locks to protect democracy.
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 (as Sen Yung)
Kane Richmond as Richard Cabot
Chris-Pin Martin as Sergeant Montero
Lionel Royce as Dr. Rudolph Grosser
Helen Ericson as Stewardess
Jack La Rue as Emil Manolo
Edwin Stanley as Governor D.C. Webster
Donald Douglas as Captain Lewis
Frank Puglia as Achmed Halide
Addison Richards as R.J. Godley
Edward Keane as Dr. Fredericks
Charles Stevens as Native Fisherman
130
views
CHARLIE CHAN IN RIO (1941) -- colorized
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
In the beginning of the film, detective Charlie Chan is in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, along with his son, Jimmy, and the Rio chief of police, Chief Souto, to arrest singer Lola Dean, whom Chan suspects killed a man in Honolulu. After a performance, Lola’s boyfriend, Carlos, asks her to marry him, which she accepts. Her personal assistant, Helen Ashby, then reminds Lola she has an appointment with a Hindu psychic, Marana. Lola visits the psychic, who puts her in a semi-comatose state using coffee and cigarettes laced with a special natural herb. Lola reveals in this state that she did kill a man, Manuel Cardozo, after he refused to marry her in Honolulu. The psychic records the conversation. When Lola wakes up, the psychic tells her what she told him, but assures her that it will be kept confidential between them. On the way home, a worried Lola convinces Carlos to elope instead of marry at a later date. When she arrives home, she begins packing.
Later, Chan, Jimmy, and Chief Souto arrive at Lola’s house to arrest her, but instead find her dead in her room. The three conclude that Lola was murdered, and spot many obvious clues which they realize were left there on purpose to throw them off. They also notice Lola’s jewelry missing. Chan then informs Lola’s guests, who were there to celebrate her engagement, of her death, and brings in two suspects, the psychic and Paul Wagner. Wagner reveals that he was married to Lola, but they had separated. The psychic plays back his conversation with Lola, and reveals himself to be Alfredo Cardozo, the brother of the man Lola killed. Chief Souto asks everyone to stay in the house while the murder is being investigated.
Later, Jimmy witnesses a conversation between Lola’s butler, Rice, and maid, Lilly. Rice tells Lilly to stay quiet about something she saw earlier. Chan and Souto find scratch marks on the floor where Lola was murdered. Chan suspects that the scratch marks were from the brooch Lola was wearing, and that a pin on that brooch would still be stuck in the murderer’s shoe. Chan then finds similar scratch marks under one of the chairs at the dinner table where all of the guests had dined. Jimmy hides in Rice’s room and finds Lola’s jewelry there. He then takes Rice to Chan. Rice explains that he has the jewels but did not kill Lola. Before he can tell Chan who did, the lights go out and he is shot.
Chan then asks all of the guests to go back to their original positions at the dinner table. He reveals to them that the scratch marks he found were under Helen’s chair. When Helen protests her innocence, Chan suggests Cardozo put her in the semi-comatose state. When she still says she did not kill Lola, Chan asks that he go under the same treatment using the same cigarette. But when he does, Chan is unaffected. Cardozo tries to admit to killing Lola, but Helen stops him, revealing she did it. She further explains that she was the wife of Manuel Cardozo. After hearing of Alfredo’s conversation with Lola, Helen learned Lola was going to elope. Realizing that Lola was going to leave and escape justice, Helen killed her. When Rice walked in on the act, she offered him the jewels to keep him quiet, and later shot him. Chief Souto then arrests Helen and takes her to jail. Jimmy asks to take Lilly back to Honolulu with him, but Chan tells him he has been drafted in the United States Army.
Cast
Sidney Toler as Charlie Chan
Victor Sen Yung as Jimmy Chan
Harold Huber as Chief Souto
Iris Wong as Lili Wong
Kay Linaker as Helen Ashby / Barbara Cardozo
Ted North as Carlos Dantas
Victor Jory as Marana / Alfredo Cardozo
Leslie Denison as Rice
Hamilton MacFadden as Bill Kellogg
Jacqueline Dalya as Lola Dean / Lola Wagner
Truman Bradley as Paul Wagner
Eugene Borden as Armando
Mary Beth Hughes as Joan Reynolds
Cobina Wright, Jr. as Grace Ellis
Richard Derr as Ken Reynolds
Ann Codee as Margo
Production
Although not stated as a remake, the film follows the same basic storyline as The Black Camel from 1931.
530
views
CHARLIE CHAN IN RENO (1939) -- colorized
Charlie Chan in Reno is a 1939 American mystery 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.
Plot
Mary Whitman has arrived in Reno to obtain a divorce. While there, she is arrested on suspicion of murdering a fellow guest at her hotel (which specializes in divorcers).
There are many others at the hotel who wanted the victim out of the way. Charlie Chan travels from his home in Honolulu to Reno to solve the murder at the request of Mary's soon-to-be ex-husband. On arrival in Reno, Chan spars pleasantly with Sheriff Tombstone Fletcher, an old-timer who isn't up-to-date on modern police methods.
No. 2 Son Jimmy Chan's part in the case gets off to a rocky start. Driving to Reno to meet his father, he picks up some "friendly" hitch-hikers who steal his car, strip him to his underwear, and abandon him in the middle of nowhere. He is picked up for vagrancy, and his father first encounters him in a police lineup.
But Jimmy's friendship with a Chinese maid at the hotel later proves invaluable. Choy Wong had hidden a carpet burn in the murder room, fearing she would be discharged for carelessness. But it develops the burn is an unusual one caused by acid. Charlie exposes the murderer by revealing an acid burn on the arm that had been hidden by unfashionably long sleeves.
Chan also exposes the "respectable" Dr. Ainsley as a fortune hunter who had sought to poison one of his female patients for inheritance money.
Cast
Sidney Toler as Charlie Chan
Victor Sen Yung as Jimmy Chan ("Number 2 son")
Ricardo Cortez as Dr. Ainsley
Phyllis Brooks as Vivian Wells
Slim Summerville as Sheriff Tombstone Fletcher
Kane Richmond as Curtis Whitman
Pauline Moore as Mary Whitman (Mrs. Curtis Whitman)
Iris Wong as Choy Wong
Eddie Collins as Cab Driver
Robert Lowery as Walter Burke
Charles D. Brown as Chief of Police King
Louise Henry as Jeanne Bently
Morgan Conway as George Bently
87
views
CHARLIE CHAN'S MURDER CRUISE (1940) -- colorized
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 based on the Earl Derr Biggers 1930 novel Charlie Chan Carries On.
Plot
The famed detective seeks to unmask a killer on a voyage across the Pacific Ocean.
Cast
Sidney Toler as Charlie Chan
Victor Sen Yung as Jimmy Chan (as Sen Yung)
Robert Lowery as Dick Kenyon
Marjorie Weaver as Paula Drake
Lionel Atwill as Dr. Suderman
Don Beddoe as Fredrick Ross
Leo G. Carroll as Prof. Gordon (as Leo Carroll)
Cora Witherspoon as Susie Watson
Leonard Mudie as Gerald Pendleton
Harlan Briggs as Coroner
Charles Middleton as Jeremiah Walters
Claire Du Brey as Sarah Walters
Kay Linaker as Linda Pendleton
James Burke as Wilkie
Richard Keene as Buttons
Layne Tom Jr. as Willie Chan
C. Montague Shaw as Inspector Duff
Production
Charlie Chan's Murder Cruise is the second film adaptation of Earl Derr Biggers' novel Charlie Chan Carries On. The first version, with Chan played by Warner Oland, is now lost. Charlie Chan's role was expanded for Charlie Chan's Murder Cruise.
130
views
CHARLIE CHAN IN EGYPT (1935) -- colorized
Charlie Chan in Egypt is the eighth of 16 20th Century Fox Charlie Chan films starring Warner Oland in the title role. It was released in 1935.
Plot
Charlie Chan is brought in when an archaeologist disappears while excavating ancient art treasures in Egypt. Charlie must sort out the stories of the archaeological team, deal with the crazed son of the missing scientist, learn why priceless treasures are falling into the hands of private collectors, and battle many seemingly supernatural events.
Cast
Warner Oland as Charlie Chan
Pat Paterson as Carol Arnold, whose father has disappeared, and is engaged to Tom Evans
Thomas Beck as Tom Evans, an archaeologist assisting Professor Arnold at the Pyramids
Rita Hayworth as Nayda (billed as Rita Cansino)
Jameson Thomas as Dr. Anton Racine
Frank Conroy as Professor John Thurston, Carol and Barry's uncle
Nigel De Brulier as Edfu Ahmed, the Arnold family's servant
James Eagles as Barry Arnold, Carol's brother
George Erving as Professor Arnold, leader of the expedition to the Pyramids
Stepin Fetchit as Snowshoes, assistant on the expedition
125
views
CHARLIE CHAN AT THE RACE TRACK (1936) -- colorized
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
When a prominent racehorse owner winds up dead-allegedly kicked to death by his prized stallion, Charlie Chan is called in to investigate. But when the indomitable detective discovers evidence of foul play, he's soon hot on the hooves of an international gambling ring with an evil plot to turn the racetracks of the world into a trifecta of terror!
Cast
Warner Oland as Charlie Chan
Keye Luke as Lee Chan
Helen Wood as Alice Fenton
Thomas Beck as Bruce Rogers
Alan Dinehart as George Chester
Gavin Muir as Bagley
Gloria Roy as Catherine Chester
Jonathan Hale as Warren Fenton
George Irving as Major Kent
Max Wagner as Joe
Paul Fix as Lefty
John Rogers as Mooney
Frankie Darro as Tip Collins
Frank Coghlan Jr as Eddie Brill
John H. Allen as Streamline Jones
137
views
CHARLIE CHAN AT THE OPERA (1936) -- colorized
Charlie Chan at the Opera is considered by many to be the best Warner Oland Charlie Chan film, probably due to the presence of Boris Karloff as the principal suspect, as well as faux operatic music composed by Oscar Levant. This is the 13th film starring Oland as Chan; it was directed by H. Bruce Humberstone for 20th Century-Fox in 1936.
Oland and Demarest also appeared in The Jazz Singer (1927).
Plot
Charlie Chan (Warner Oland) gets a chance to watch a popular opera performance. For seven years, opera star Gravelle (Boris Karloff) has been locked in an insane asylum, his identity a mystery – even to himself. But when his memory unexpectedly returns, he begins to recall that his wife and her lover tried to murder him – and now he's determined to make them face the music. Gravelle escapes from the asylum and makes his way to the San Marco opera house and begins hiding out in the various rooms and passageways. Soon, members of the opera company are being murdered one by one.
Chan soon investigates the killings and despite the presence of Gravelle, there are other suspects who may be the real killer. The suspects, excluding Gravelle, include Lilli Rochelle, the opera company's prima donna who has been having a secret affair with Enrico Barelli, the baritone; Mr. Whitely, Madame Rochelle's husband who has warned Barelli to stay away from his wife; Anita Barelli, the opera company's number two soprano who has learned of her husband's affair with Lilli Rochelle; and Phil Childers, the fiancée of Lilli's unacknowledged daughter who has been refused permission to marry the daughter.
Clues found by Chan to apprehend the killer include a torn newspaper, a charred note, a heel mark on a newspaper picture, and a bloodstained belt. Among the questions asked are who has been threatening Lilli Rochelle's life, the mystery man in Barelli's dressing room before he is murdered, and why does Chan insist that the opera be performed twice in one evening?
Cast
Warner Oland as Charlie Chan
Boris Karloff as Gravelle
Keye Luke as Lee Chan, (Chan's "Number 1 Son")
Charlotte Henry as Mlle. Kitty
William Demarest as Sergeant Kelly
Guy Usher as Inspector Regan
Margaret Irving as Lilli Rochelle
Gregory Gaye as Enrico Borelli
Nedda Harrigan as Anita Borelli
Frank Conroy as Mr. Whitely
Stanley Blystone as Backstage Cop (uncredited)
Gladden James as Secretary (uncredited)
124
views
THE BLACK CAMEL (1931) -- colorized
The Black Camel is a 1931 American pre-Code mystery film directed by Hamilton MacFadden and starring Warner Oland, Sally Eilers, Bela Lugosi, and Dorothy Revier. It is based on the 1929 novel of the same name by Earl Derr Biggers. It is the second film to star Oland as detective Charlie Chan, and the sole surviving title of the first five Chan films starring Oland. The Black Camel marked the film debut of Robert Young.
Plot
Movie star Shelah Fayne is making a picture on location in Honolulu, Hawaii. She summons mystic adviser Tarneverro from Hollywood to help her decide whether to marry wealthy Alan Jaynes, a man she has known for only a week. Her friend Julie O'Neil worries, however, that the famous psychic has too much influence over Fayne. Meanwhile, Julie has fallen in love herself with local publicity director Jimmy Bradshaw.
Honolulu Police Inspector Chan pretends to be a humble merchant, but Tarneverro sees through his impersonation. Chan mentions to him the yet unsolved murder of film star Denny Mayo, committed years before.
Then Jimmy finds Shelah's body; she has been murdered. Julie makes him remove Shelah's ring before calling for the police.
Chan investigates. He invites Tarneverro to assist him. Tarneverro reveals that Shelah told him she was in love with Denny and was responsible for his death, but kept quiet to protect her career.
The suspects are many, but after various startling revelations, Chan eventually identifies the killer and the connection to Danny Mayo's death.
Cast
Warner Oland as Inspector Charlie Chan
Sally Eilers as Julie O'Neil
Bela Lugosi as Tarneverro / Arthur Mayo
Dorothy Revier as Shelah Fane
Victor Varconi as Robert Fyfe, Shelah's ex-husband
Murray Kinnell as Archie Smith
Robert Young as Jimmy Bradshaw
Violet Dunn as Anna
J.M. Kerrigan as Thomas MacMasters
Mary Gordon as Mrs. MacMasters
Rita Rozelle as Luana
Otto Yamaoka as Kashimo
Dwight Frye as Jessop (uncredited)
Hamilton MacFadden as Val Martino (uncredited)
487
views
CHARLIE CHAN AT THE OLYMPICS (1937) -- COLORIZED
Charlie Chan at the Olympics is a 1937 American mystery film directed by H. Bruce Humberstone and starring Warner Oland, Katherine DeMille and Pauline Moore. It 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. This is the 14th film starring Warner Oland as Chan and produced by Fox.
Plot
Charlie Chan is proud of his oldest son, swimmer Lee (Keye Luke), being chosen to represent the United States at the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin. Meanwhile, over the skies of Chan's Honolulu, the "Hopkins plane" is demonstrating an improvement of remote radio control to the US military. The aircraft is hijacked by a concealed stowaway, the device stolen, and the test pilot murdered. When Chan and his astute second son, Charlie Jr. (Layne Tom Jr.), identify the stowaway, he finds only the man's body.
On the passenger list of the only aircraft to leave Honolulu for the mainland after the incident are Richard Masters (Allan Lane) and Yvonne Roland (Katherine DeMille). Masters was the intended test pilot, but injured his shoulder and had to be replaced. He left on the Pan Am Clipper to travel to the Olympics himself as a competitor. Perusing the list, Hopkins (Jonathan Hale) recognizes the name of arms dealer Arthur Hughes (C. Henry Gordon). Several of the suspects head for Germany on SS Manhattan (1931) with the US Olympic team. Chan, Hughes, and the inventor Cartwright arrive before them by taking the Zeppelin Hindenburg.
Aboard Manhattan, Lee Chan suspects Roland of being an "adventuress". He spots her putting a piece of paper in her book, and Hughes taking it. He confides in fellow Olympian Betty Adams (Pauline Moore), Masters' girlfriend.
When the ship docks, German Inspector Strasser, Chan, and Hopkins go to question Roland, only to find her gone and her cabin rifled. Chan is reunited with his son Lee when the latter sneaks into the cabin through a porthole to play detective.
On the train trip to Berlin, Chan learns that Lee saw Roland borrow a camera from Adams. Hughes overhears the pair speculate that the invention was smuggled off the ship in it. Hughes advises Chan to stop investigating, then spots a gun barrel in a passing car and pushes the pair to safety. A shot strikes their compartment window. Later, Hughes arranges for Adams' camera to be stolen, but finds nothing inside.
A hotel maid tries to steal the invention, hidden in Adams' candy box, but is foiled by Chan and Strasser. When she runs to the window to warn her accomplices, Charlie substitutes a book for the device without being noticed. Hopkins insists on keeping the candy box in his hotel suite, where he is visited by Hughes. Chan and a policeman break in when they hear gunfire. They find Cartwright on the floor. He claims Hughes accused Hopkins of taking the device to double-cross the stockholders of his company, then after Hughes left, Hopkins took the invention at gunpoint and slugged him.
Roland takes the candy box to her employer, diplomat the Honorable Charles Zaraka (Morgan Wallace). When they discover the substitution, Roland surmises that Chan has the device. Zaraka sends Chan a ticket to the Olympic opening ceremony. While Chan verbally spars with him and Roland, Lee is kidnapped.
Chan allows himself to be taken to Zaraka to exchange the device for his son. Hopkins is brought in to verify it is the invention; he does (even though it is an imitation with a radio beacon inside). Satisfied, Zaraka orders his men to dispose of the Chans when Hughes and his men burst in. Hughes threatens to kill Lee if Chan does not produce the real equipment, but the police arrive just in time to rescue the detective. Hopkins is found unconscious from a gunshot in another room. Cartwright accuses Hughes of the shooting, but Chan proves that Cartwright was responsible for that and also the murder of his accomplice back in Honolulu. Afterward, Lee wins the 100 meter swim.
Cast
Warner Oland as Charlie Chan
Katherine DeMille as Yvonne Roland
Pauline Moore[3] as Betty Adams
Allan Lane as Richard Masters
Keye Luke as Lee Chan
C. Henry Gordon as Arthur Hughes
John Eldredge as Mr. Cartwright
Layne Tom Jr. as Charlie Chan, Jr.
Jonathan Hale as Mr. Hopkins
Morgan Wallace as Honorable Charles Zaraka
Frederik Vogeding as Inspector Strasser
Howard C. Hickman as Dr. Burton
Lee Shumway as Cop (uncredited)
Wilhelm von Brincken as Polizei Officer (uncredited)
Jesse Owens as himself
426
views
CHARLIE CHAN ON BROADWAY (1937) -- colorized
Charlie Chan on Broadway is a 1937 American mystery film directed by Eugene Forde and starring Warner Oland, Keye Luke and Joan Marsh.[1] This is the 15th film starring Oland as Charlie Chan and produced by 20th Century Fox.
Plot
While Charlie Chan and his number one son, Lee, are aboard a New York-bound transatlantic liner returning from Germany in their previous adventure (Charlie Chan at the Olympics), they have a run-in with a mysterious woman, named Billie Bronson, who secretes a package in the trunk of the Chans. After the liner docks, Chan and Lee are met at the pier by Inspector Nelson and two rival reporters, Joan Wendall and Speed Patton.
Billie, who left the country hurriedly a year ago when sought as a material witness in a political scandal, has returned to "blow the lid off the town". She follows the Chans to their hotel and attempts to regain her package from the trunk, only to be interrupted by Lee. She then goes to the "Hottentot Club", where "candid-camera night" is in full swing, followed by Lee. Already present are Joan and Speed. Billie is mysteriously murdered and Charlie is summoned from a police banquet in his honor. Present in the room with the body are club manager Johnny Burke; club dancer and Burke's girl-friend Marie Collins and the two reporters.
While Charlie seeks a motive for the murder, a second body is discovered in his hotel room, the package is missing from Charlie's trunk, and it is realized that it must have contained her diary. Charlie neatly puts together a few scattered clues and then springs a trap to confirm the identity of the killer.
Cast
Warner Oland as Charlie Chan
Keye Luke as Lee Chan
Joan Marsh as Joan Wendall
Marc Lawrence as Thomas Mitchell
J. Edward Bromberg as Murdock
Douglas Fowley as Johnny Burke
Harold Huber as Chief Inspector James Nelson
Donald Woods as Speed Patten
Louise Henry as Billie Bronson
Joan Woodbury as Marie Collins
Leon Ames as Buzz Moran
Eugene Borden as Louie
Creighton Hale as Reporter (uncredited)
111
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CHARLIE CHAN AT MONTE CARLO (1937) -- COLORIZED
Charlie Chan at Monte Carlo is a 1937 American mystery film directed by Eugene Forde and starring Warner Oland, Keye Luke and Virginia Field. The main character is Charlie Chan, a Chinese-Hawaiian detective. This was the sixteenth and final Charlie Chan film with Oland portraying Chan. The film features Keye Luke as Charlie's son Lee and character actor Harold Huber as a French police inspector. It was produced and distributed by 20th Century-Fox.
Warner Oland contracted bronchial pneumonia during his visit to Sweden and died there on August 6, 1938, at age 57. The series continued at Fox for another eleven entries with Sidney Toler. In 1942 Fox sold it to Monogram Pictures, and it continued on even after Toler's death in 1947 with Roland Winters in the role through six films into 1949. Keye Luke would also reprise his role as Lee Chan from the film in Mr. Moto's Gamble (1938), a film originally produced to be a Charlie Chan film prior to Oland's death.
Plot summary
Although Charlie and Lee are in Monaco for an art exhibit, they become caught up in a feud between rival financiers which involves the Chans in a web of blackmail and murder. The messenger for millionaire Victor Karnoff is ambushed and murdered, and $200,000.00 worth of bonds are missing. The taxicab of the two Chans passes the crime scene, and they become involved, with the blessing of the local law Chief Joubert (Huber).
Later on, a bartender who was apparently attempting to blackmail the killer is also murdered, and the bonds found in his room. But Chan notices that in order to make certain the bonds were discovered, their briefcase had been opened with a special key that very few people had access to, and the bartender was not one of them.
Back at the Karnoff mansion, Chan exposes the killer, who had been embezzling in order to keep femme' fate Evelyn Grey (Field) in the style to which she had become accustomed.
Cast
Warner Oland as Charlie Chan
Keye Luke as Lee Chan
Virginia Field as Evelyn Grey
Sidney Blackmer as Victor Karnoff
Harold Huber as Chief of Police Jules Etienne Joubert
Kay Linaker as Joan Karnoff
Robert Kent as Gordon Chase
Edward Raquello as Paul Savarin
George Lynn as Al Rogers
John Bleifer as Ludwig
Eugene Borden as Hotel Clerk (uncredited)
Leo White as French Butler (uncredited)
115
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CHARLIE CHAN AT THE CIRCUS (1935) --colorized
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.
The film's sets were designed by the art director Duncan Cramer.
Plot
Keye Luke and Warner Oland in Charlie Chan at the Circus
Charlie Chan takes his wife and twelve children on an outing to a circus after receiving a free pass from one of the owners, Joe Kinney. Kinney wants Chan to find out who is sending him anonymous threatening letters. Nearly all of the circus workers are suspects since Kinney is very unpopular. However, when Chan goes to meet him during the night's performance, he finds the man dead, seemingly killed by a rampaging gorilla who somehow escaped from his cage.
Lieutenant Macy takes charge of the investigation, assisted by Chan and his overzealous eldest son Lee, who also takes the opportunity to (unsuccessfully) romance Su Toy (Toshia Mori, credited as Shia Jung), the contortionist. On Chan's advice, Macy lets the circus continue to its next stop, with the trio tagging along. During the train ride, an attempt is made to murder Chan with a poisonous cobra.
Then someone tries to break into the circus's safe, but nothing is missing. Macy finds a marriage certificate inside, showing that Kinney supposedly married circus wardrobe lady Nellie Farrell in Mexico. However, Kinney's fiance Marie Norman claims that she can prove Kinney was not in Mexico on the day indicated on the certificate. Before she can prove it, during her act, someone shoots one of the ropes of her trapeze swing and she falls to the ground, seriously injured, but still alive.
A doctor is summoned. Chan states that Marie is too badly hurt to move, so the doctor must operate on the spot. Chan asks everyone to keep quiet and clear the area, so as not to cause a potentially fatal distraction for the medical staff during the delicate operation.
Meanwhile, Chan has noticed a newspaper article about a crime committed at a casino on the day of Kinney's alleged marriage. He sends his son to a phone for a description of the crooks involved by the police. When Lee returns, he sees a man slug the policeman guarding the gorilla's cage and letting the ape out again. He struggles with the man but is knocked out.
The gorilla reaches the tent where the operation is in progress and tries to cause trouble. The operation is a fake, as is the gorilla. He is shot to death by policemen masquerading as doctors. It is revealed to be snake charmer Tom Holt in a costume, trying to pin a second death on the escaped animal. He and Kinney had robbed the casino and hidden out at the circus. However, they had a falling out over the division of the money, leading to Kinney's murder. Nellie Farrell and her brother Dan are also arrested for trying to use a forgery to gain half interest in the circus. Charlie Chan agrees to obtain a lifetime pass to the circus for his family. He sees Lee Chan and Su Toy having some romance together wondering if any future grandchildren will be able to see the circus, too.
Cast
Warner Oland as Charlie Chan
Keye Luke as Charlie's Number One Son, Lee Chan
George Brasno as Colonel Tim, a midget performer at the circus
Olive Brasno as Lady Tiny, Colonel Tim's midget wife
Francis Ford as John Gaines, half-owner of the circus
Maxine Reiner as Marie Norman, an aerialist and fiancée of Joe Kinney
John McGuire as Hal Blake
Shirley Deane as Louise Norman, Marie's sister
Paul Stanton as Joe Kinney, the other half owner
J. Carrol Naish as Tom Holt
Booth Howard as Dan Farrell
Drue Leyton as Nellie Farrell
Wade Boteler as Lieutenant Macy
Shia Jung as Su Toy, a contortionist (love interest to Lee Chan)
198
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CHARLIE CHAN'S SECRET (1935)
Charlie Chan's Secret is a 1936 American mystery film directed by Gordon Wiles and starring Warner Oland, Henrietta Crosman and Rosina Lawrence. It is the tenth film in Fox's Charlie Chan series featuring Oland as the detective.
Plot
Charlie Chan has been investigating the whereabouts of Allen Colby, heir to a vast fortune. He recently made contact with his relations in San Francisco: his Aunt Henrietta Colby Lowell, her daughters Alice and Janice, and Janice's husband, Fred. The story opens as Allen is traced to a ship that has sunk, but it cannot be confirmed that he is dead. On the contrary, evidence is found that someone is trying to kill him to prevent his return to San Francisco to claim the estate.
Allen arrives at Colby House and is promptly murdered. His body is revealed in the course of a seance conducted that evening at Colby House with Chan in attendance. He is an old friend of Mrs Lowell; who, like her late brother, is a devout believer in psychic research. She has retained the services of Professor Bowen and his wife, Carlotta, who is a medium. Someone subsequently attempts to kill Mrs Lowell and eventually appears to succeed. The truth is revealed in another seance, at which the murderer makes a foolish mistake.
Cast
Warner Oland as Charlie Chan, famous Chinese-American detective from Honolulu
Jerry Miley as Allen Colby, the murdered heir, son of Bernard Colby and nephew of Henrietta Colby Lowell
Henrietta Crosman as Mrs Lowell, Allen's aunt, who is currently administering her late brother's fortune as she awaits his son's return
Rosina Lawrence as Alice Lowell, one of Henrietta Lowell's daughters, engaged to Dick Williams, lives at Lowell House with her mother
Charles Quigley as Dick Williams, Alice's fiancé, a newspaper reporter, always on the lookout for a big story
Astrid Allwyn as Janice Lowell Gage, Mrs Lowell's other daughter; she thinks her mother should be entitled to something from her late uncle's estate, regardless of Allen's claims
Edward Trevor as Fred Gage, Henrietta's son-in-law, married to Janice; he is the accountant for the estate and knows the layout of Colby House
Herbert Mundin as Mrs Lowell's butler, Baxter, who despite the butler stereotype decidedly did not do it; he provides comic relief throughout the film
Jonathan Hale as Warren Phelps, Mrs Lowell's attorney and executor of Bernard Colby's estate; he recently suffered serious losses on the stock market, and will be out of a job if Allen returns
Egon Brecher as Ulrich, the caretaker at Colby House; he has a grudge against Allen for jilting his daughter, who subsequently committed suicide
Arthur Edmund Carewe as Prof. Bowen, Mrs Lowell's advisor psychic researcher; he apparently knows of Allen Colby's death, but it is not explained how
Gloria Roy as Carlotta, Prof. Bowen's wife; she is a genuine medium although Bowen is somewhat fraudulent; but both will no longer be employed by Mrs Lowell if Allen returns
Ivan Miller as Detective Inspector Morton of the San Francisco Police, in charge of the case
William Bailey as Detective Harris
Bud Geary, Chuck Hamilton and Brick Sullivan as SFPD officers
James T. Mack as the forensic officer dusting for fingerprints
Landers Stevens as the pathologist who examines Allen Colby's body at the scene
Francis Ford as the captain of a ship salvaging the remains of the S.S. Nestor, on which Allen Colby was travelling when it sank
457
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DEAD MEN TELL (1941) --colorized
Dead Men Tell is a 1941 American mystery film starring Sidney Toler, who played Charlie Chan in 22 feature films, beginning with Charlie Chan in Honolulu (1938), and ending with The Trap (1946). The first 11 Charlie Chan films were produced by 20th Century Fox Studios, thereafter sold to Monogram Pictures.
The interiors for Dead Men Tell were filmed in 1941 at Fox Studios in Hollywood. Exterior shots were filmed on the 20th Century Fox backlot, which is now Century City.
Plot
Charlie Chan is engaged by an heir to solve a mystery on a boat. Miss Nodbury seeks a pirate treasure on Cocos Island, and her ship has recently hosted a museum of pirate lore. For safety, she has split her map into four pieces, which she gave to some of the passengers whom she has invited, but tells no one who they are. When she is given a fright and succumbs to her heart disease, Chan must clear up the mystery while the ship is still at the dock.
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
George Reeves as Bill Lydig
Ethel Griffies as Miss Patience Nodbury
Lenita Lane as Dr. Anne Bonney
Milton Parsons as Gene La Farge, patient of Dr. Bonney
47
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CHARLIE CHAN IN LONDON (1934) -- colorized
Charlie Chan in London is a 1934 American mystery film directed by Eugene Forde. The film stars Warner Oland as Charlie Chan. This is the sixth film produced by Fox with Warner Oland as the detective, and the second not to be lost, after The Black Camel (1931).
Plot
A young English man is convicted of the murder of one Captain Hamilton of the Royal Air Force and sentenced to hang, His sister and her fiancé, convinced of his innocence, ask visiting detective Charlie Chan to investigate and find the real murderer. In order to solve the mystery, Chan must visit a lavish English country manor house, where the suspects vary from the housekeeper to a lawyer. Events soon indicate that the murderer is still actively trying to avoid capture, but Charlie Chan must set a trap to reveal the criminal's identity. He turns out to be Paul Frank, a spy masquerading under the name Geoffrey Richmond, who had murdered Captain Hamilton to steal plans of a military invention Hamilton had made.[1]
Cast
Warner Oland as Charlie Chan[1]
Drue Leyton as Pamela Gray
Ray Milland as Neil Howard (as Raymond Milland)
Mona Barrie as Lady Mary Bristol
Douglas Walton as Paul Gray
Alan Mowbray as Paul Frank, alias Geoffrey Richmond
George Barraud as Maj. Jardine
Paul England as Bunny Fothergill
Madge Bellamy as Becky Fothergill
Walter Johnson as Jerry Garton
Murray Kinnell as Captain Seton (alias Phillips, the butler)
E. E. Clive as Detective Sergeant Thacker
Elsa Buchanan as Alice Perkins (maid)
Reginald Sheffield as Flight Commander King
Perry Ivins as Assistant Home Secretary Kemp
John Rogers as Lake (chief groom)
C. Montague Shaw as Doctor
David Torrence as Home Secretary Sir Lionel Bashford
Claude King as RAF aerodrome commander
Arthur Clayton as Warden
152
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CHARLIE CHAN IN PARIS (1935)-- colorized
Charlie Chan in Paris is the seventh film produced by Fox with Warner Oland as Charlie Chan. Long thought lost, Hamilton MacFadden directed some early scenes before Lewis Seiler took over. It is the first entry in the series to feature actor Keye Luke, who would become a mainstay in his role as Chan's "Number One Son" Lee.
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 he is innocently there. He is on a case for some London bankers and customers who say that some bonds from the Lamartine Bank in Paris are forged, so they hired Chan to solve the case. Chan is on his way to meet the new ward of the head of the Lamartine Bank, Paul. A blind man named Marcel Xavier comes up to him, and asks him for some change. After a police officer escorts Xavier away, Chan calls his assistant, Nardi, who promises to talk with him later about new information she found out. He meets with Victor Descartes, Mr. Lamartine's ward who is about to own the bank. Chan also meets Victor's friends: Max Corday, an alcoholic painter and his girlfriend, and Yvette Lamartine, the daughter of Mr. Lamartine. Victor tells Chan that Yvette is the special one: the two are engaged.
That night, Chan, Max and his girlfriend, Yvette, and Victor go to a cafe/club, where Nardi works as a dancer. After her performance, she is thrown into a room by her dance partner (part of the routine), where Marcel murders her by throwing a knife at her. Her last words to Chan instruct him to look in her apartment, where he finds a letter hidden in a cuckoo clock which explains that Albert is spending beyond his income.
As Chan leaves Nardi's house, Marcel throws a giant rock down in an attempt to kill him, which fails. He goes home and reveals his secret to Lee, his #1 son. That night, another attempt is made on Chan's life, this time with another thrown knife. However, Chan has outsmarted the culprit by throwing pillows onto his bed. The next morning, he interviews Paul Lamartine. As he is leaving, he sees Xavier making a scene, as he feels that the bank is cheating him out of his money. His escort gets him to leave, but not before he threatens everyone there. Chan instructs Lee to do some spy work around town. Chan is then accosted by his old friend, an inspector. They go and eat together.
Later, Victor drops Yvette off at her house. However, after Victor leaves, she goes to Albert's apartment to get some love letters, which she doesn't want Victor to see. Albert is seen calling a mysterious person, revealing that he is in the forging business. Unbeknownst to him, Marcel is secretly watching him through the window. Albert welcomes Yvette in. As he is about to give her the letters, he is shot by an unseen assailant. The other tenants rush up after Yvette screams. They believe her to be the murderer. She is jailed by the inspector, but Charlie points out an overlooked clue: footprints leading to Albert's room. They release Yvette.
That night, Charlie goes to the bank and asks the bank manager, Latouche, to give him Xavier's address. Afterwards, they catch Corday in the act of leaving town. Lee keeps Corday company while Charlie goes with Victor to Marcel's house. They are followed by Xavier as they make their way to the basement. Inside, they discover printing machines. Xavier comes in and shoots at Chan, but Chan is revealed to have blocked it. They capture Xavier as Lee and the police arrive. Charlie reveals that Xavier is the murderer, but he is not a real person. He has "Xavier" take off his false face. The murderer is revealed to be Latouche, as well as Corday. Chan goes into a summary of how they each became "Marcel" as so not to incriminate one another.
Cast
Warner Oland as Charlie Chan
Mary Brian as Yvette Lamartine, Mr Lamartine's daughter, engaged to Victor Descartes
Thomas Beck as Victor Descartes, Mr. Lamartine's ward, who is going to take over the bank
John Miljan as Albert Dufresne
Erik Rhodes as Max Corday, a sketch artist
Murray Kinnell as Henri Latouche
Keye Luke as Lee Chan, Charlie's #1 son
Henry Kolker as Mr. Paul Lamartine, the current head of the Lamartine Bank and father of Yvette
Dorothy Appleby as Nardi, Charlie's agent in Paris, who is killed before he can ask her questions
John Qualen as Concierge
Minor Watson as Renard
Harry Cording as Gendarme Arresting Yvette (uncredited)
222
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THE OLD DARK HOUSE (1934) --colorized
The Old Dark House is a 1932 American pre-Code comedy horror film directed by James Whale. Based on the 1927 novel Benighted by J.B. Priestley, the film features an ensemble cast that includes Boris Karloff, Melvyn Douglas, Gloria Stuart, Charles Laughton, Lilian Bond, Ernest Thesiger, Raymond Massey and Eva Moore.[2][3] Set in interwar Wales, the film follows five travellers who seek shelter from a violent storm in the decaying country house home of the eccentric Femm family.
The adaptation rights to Priestley's novel, a social commentary on contemporary British class structures, were acquired by Universal Pictures at Whale's insistence following the completion of Frankenstein (1931) and during development on The Invisible Man (1933). The screenplay was written by Benn W. Levy, who had previously scripted Waterloo Bridge (1931) for Whale and Universal, with uncredited contributions by The Invisible Man's R. C. Sheriff, and serves as a largely faithful adaptation of the story. Whale was entrusted with selecting the film's largely British cast, several of whose members were theatre colleagues of his with minimal film experience, and would appear in several of his later films.[4]
The Old Dark House failed to match the contemporary critical and commercial success of Whale's other films, and was withdrawn from circulation after Universal lost the rights to Priestley's novel, which was adapted for film again in 1963 by William Castle for Columbia Pictures and Hammer Film Productions. Initially deemed a lost film, Whale's colleague Curtis Harrington eventually succeeded in recovering most of its original elements, which were restored by the George Eastman House.[4] With the re-evaluation of Whale's filmography, The Old Dark House has garnered widespread critical acclaim, and is recognized as both a cult classic and one of the director's most significant works. It was placed at number 71 on a Time Out poll of the best horror films.
Plot
Philip Waverton, his wife Margaret and their friend Roger Penderel are lost while driving at night in a heavy storm. They come upon an old house in the Welsh countryside where they receive shelter from Horace Femm and his sister Rebecca. Horace fears that the storm will trap the guests inside. He also warns them that their mute butler Morgan is a dangerous, heavy drinker. As Rebecca escorts Margaret to a bedroom to change clothes, she tells her about the Femm family, which Rebecca says was sinful and godless. She accuses Margaret of being sinful as well. Rebecca reveals that her 102-year-old father, Sir Roderick Femm, still lives in the house.
During dinner, the group are joined by Sir William Porterhouse and a chorus girl with the stage name Gladys DuCane, who also seek refuge from the storm. As the group chats by the fireplace, Gladys reveals her real last name is Perkins. Roger and Gladys go to retrieve some whiskey from his car. The electric lights go out and Rebecca tells Horace to get a lamp from an upstairs landing. Horace is afraid to go upstairs, so Philip goes instead. As he fetches the lamp, he notices a locked room and hears a voice coming from another room. William goes to help Rebecca close a window, leaving Margaret alone. Morgan, now drunk, attacks her and chases her up the stairs to Philip, who is coming down with the lamp. Philip throws the lamp at Morgan, knocking him down the stairs.
Roger and Gladys begin flirting while they drink and smoke. Gladys says her relationship with William is platonic, and suggests she should live with Roger instead. They go back to the house, where they wake up William and tell him about their new romance. Meanwhile, Philip and Margaret go into the room where he heard the voice; they find Roderick Femm there. He warns them about his eldest son, Saul, a crazed pyromaniac kept in the locked room. Philip and Margaret discover that Morgan has let Saul out; they go downstairs to warn the other guests. Morgan comes downstairs and charges at Margaret. Philip and William drag Morgan into the kitchen while Rebecca flees to her bedroom. Roger tells Margaret and Gladys to hide in a closet. Saul comes downstairs and knocks Roger out. Saul steals a burning branch from the fireplace and sets fire to a curtain before Roger awakes. They fight and fall off a landing; Saul is killed and Roger injured. Morgan breaks out of the kitchen and returns to the main room. He frees Margaret and Gladys from the closet before taking Saul's body upstairs.
By morning, the storm has subsided. Saul's attempt at burning the house has caused little damage. Philip and Margaret leave to get an ambulance, while Gladys and William stay behind to tend to Roger's injuries. Upon awakening, Roger asks Gladys to marry him, and she happily kisses him in response.
Cast
Boris Karloff as Morgan
Melvyn Douglas as Roger Penderel
Raymond Massey as Philip Waverton
Gloria Stuart as Margaret Waverton
Charles Laughton as Sir William Porterhouse
Lilian Bond as Gladys DuCane/Perkins
Ernest Thesiger as Horace Femm
Eva Moore as Rebecca Femm
Brember Wills as Saul Femm
Elspeth Dudgeon as Sir Roderick Femm (credited as "John Dudgeon")
119
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NIGHT KEY (1937)--colorized
Night Key is a 1937 American science fiction crime film starring Boris Karloff and released by Universal Pictures
Plot
The inventor of a burglar alarm attempts to get back at the man who stole the profits to his invention (Hinds) before he goes blind. The device is then subverted by gangsters who apply pressure to the inventor and use his device to facilitate burglaries.
Cast
Boris Karloff - David Mallory (billed as Boris Karloff)
Warren Hull - Jimmy Travis (billed as J. Warren Hull)
Jean Rogers - Joan Mallory
Alan Baxter - "The Kid"
Samuel S. Hinds - Stephen Ranger (billed as Samuel Hinds)
Hobart Cavanaugh - "Petty Louie"
David Oliver - "Mike"
Ward Bond - "Fingers"
Frank Reicher - Carl
Edwin Maxwell - Kruger
28
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MR. WONG, DETECTIVE (1938) -- colorized
Mr. Wong, Detective is a 1938 American crime film directed by William Nigh and starring Boris Karloff in his first appearance as Mr. Wong.[1]
Plot
Lobby card for the film
Simon Dayton is in fear for his life and seeks the help of Mr. Wong to protect him. Just prior to meeting Mr. Wong, Dayton is found dead in his office in San Francisco without a mark on him. Several witnesses testify Dayton was alone in his office that was locked from the inside. Though the police view Dayton's death as due to a heart attack, Mr. Wong discovers a broken glass ball that contained poison gas.
Among the suspects are agents of a foreign power wishing to stop Dayton's chemicals being sent to use on the foreign power in the form of the same poison gas that killed Dayton, Dayton's business partners who will have Dayton's share of the business come to them after Dayton's death and the actual inventor of the chemical who has been cheated out of profits and recognition by Dayton.
Cast
Boris Karloff as Mr. James Lee Wong
Grant Withers as Capt. Sam Street
Maxine Jennings as Myra Ross
Evelyn Brent as Olga - aka Countess Dubois
George Lloyd as Devlin
Lucien Prival as Anton Mohl
John St. Polis as Carl Roemer
William Gould as Theodore Meisle
Hooper Atchley as Christian Wilk
John Hamilton as Simon Dayton
Wilbur Mack as Russell
Lee Tung Foo as Tchin
Lynton Brent as Tommy
Grace Wood as Mrs. Roemer
58
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SALUTE THE TOFF (1952)
Salute the Toff is a 1952 British crime film directed by Maclean Rogers and starring John Bentley and Carol Marsh. The film was based on the 1941 novel of the same name by John Creasey, the sixth in the series featuring upper-class sleuth Richard Rollinson, also known as "The Toff". This film and another Toff adaptation, Hammer the Toff, were shot back-to-back at Nettlefold Studios in the summer of 1951. They were released to cinemas in January and May 1952 respectively.
Neither film was thought to have survived and both were classed as "missing, believed lost", although there was a degree of hope that they might be lurking as yet uncatalogued in British TV archives. Both films are included on the British Film Institute's "75 Most Wanted" list of missing British feature films. This changed in 2013 when Salute The Toff was finally released on DVD from Renown Pictures Limited.[1]
Plot
The Honourable Richard Rollinson (Bentley) is a well-known private detective who has friends and contacts in all echelons of society from the wealthy West End set to the lowest East End hovels. He likes to take on cases on behalf of underdogs, and is feared by the criminal underworld for his fearsome reputation of always getting his man.
Young secretary Fay Gretton (Marsh) comes to Rollinson, worried that her employer has not shown up for work for several days and cannot be contacted. Rollinson breaks into the man's flat and finds a body – not that of Fay's missing boss, but the son of a millionaire businessman. The missing man is the prime suspect, and it is up to Rollinson to get to the bottom of the case, aided by his East End contacts. After a series of dramatic events, including Fay being abducted and tied up, the truth is finally revealed, the missing man is found, and Rollinson proves that he is innocent of any wrongdoing.
Cast
John Bentley as Richard Rollinson
Carol Marsh as Fay Gretton
Valentine Dyall as Inspector Grice
Shelagh Fraser as Myra Lorne
June Elvin as Lady Anthea
Arthur Hill as Ted Harrison
Michael Golden as Benny Kless
Roddy Hughes as Jolly
Wally Patch as Bert Ebbutt
Vi Stevens as Emily Ebbutt
Tony Britton as Draycott
John Forbes-Robertson as Gerald Harvey
Peter Bull as Lorne
Peter Gawthorne as Mortimer Harvey
Pauline Johnson as Phyllis Harvey
Peter Dyneley as Lady Anthea's Husband
Peter Swanwick as Night Porter
Andreas Malandrinos as Frederico
121
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THE NEW ADVENTURESOF CHARLIE CHAN s1e2 (1957)--colorized
"The Secret of the Sea"
Starring J. Carroll Naish and James Hong
Charlie Chan is asked to investigate the death of a young man on a ship bound for Hawaii. Charlie realizes the mystery is a lot deeper when acts of sabotage begin to occur and some of the crew's lives may be in danger.
62
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SHERLOCK HOLMES TV #1 (1954)--colorized
Starring Ronald Howard, C. Marion Crawford, and Archie Duncan.
"The Case of the Cunningham Heritage"--After his return from Afghanistan, Dr. Watson meets Sherlock Holmes and is recruited as his assistant. Together they investigate a murder, with a young lady as the prime suspect. Holmes finds the real murderer and learns his motive.
50
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