Magic Lantern Video & Book StoreCharlie Chan
Page Two
![Honolulu homicide detective Charlie Chan, as played by actor Roland Winters [1904-1989]](images/CharlieChanRW.jpg) |
on page one:
short history links Charlie Chan movies
here on page two:
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[continued]
"The Chinese Ring" [Monogram Dec 1947]
 | A Chinese princess is killed by a poison dart at Chan's home (now in San Francisco).
Directed by William Beaudine; starring Roland Winters {as Chan}, Victor Sen Yung, Mantan Moreland, Warren Douglas, Louise Currie, Philip Ahn, Byron Foulger, Thayer Roberts, Barbara Jean Wong & Chabing video/DVD not available; full credits from IMDb |
"Docks of New Orleans" [Monogram March 1948]
 | Managers at a New Orleans chemical company load a mysterious shipment onto a ship; the company's head is mugged, his partners purchase a large life insurance policy on him, and the angry inventor of some poison gas shows up with a gun Directed by Derwin Abrahams; starring Roland Winters {as Chan}, Victor Sen Yung, Mantan Moreland, John Gallaudet, Carol Forman, Douglas Fowley, Harry Hayden, Howard Negley, Stanley Andrews, Emmett Vogan, Boyd Irwin, Rory Mallinson & George J. Lewis
video/DVD not available; full credits from IMDb |
"The Shanghai Chest" [Monogram July 1948]
 | A young man arrives at his uncle's home and is knocked out by the uncle's killer; the police arrive and arrest the nephew for the crime Directed by William Beaudine; starring Roland Winters {as Chan}, Victor Sen Yung, Mantan Moreland, Tim Ryan, Deannie Best, Tristram Coffin, John Alvin, Russell Hicks & Pierre Watkin
video/DVD not available; full credits from IMDb |
"The Golden Eye" [Monogram Aug 1948]
 | Charlie vacations at a dude ranch in Arizona to investigate a money-losing gold mine that is suddenly making a fortune Directed by William Beaudine; starring Roland Winters {as Chan}, Victor Sen Yung, Mantan Moreland, Tim Ryan, Wanda McKay, Bruce Kellogg, Evelyn Brent, Ralph Dunn, Lois Austin & Forrest Taylor
video/DVD not available; full credits from IMDb |
"The Feathered Serpent" [Monogram Dec 1948]
 | An archeologist at a dig in Mexico kidnaps a colleague to translate clues to a fabled Aztec treasure. Directed by William Beaudine; adapted by Oliver Drake from his story "Riders of The Whistling Skull"; starring Roland Winters {as Chan}, Keye Luke, Victor Sen Yung, Mantan Moreland, Robert Livingston, Beverly Jons, Martin Garralaga, George J. Lewis, Charles Stevens, Nils Asther, Carol Forman, Leslie Denison & Erville Alderson
video/DVD not available; full credits from IMDb |
"The Sky Dragon" [Monogram April 1949]
 | The passengers on a plane bound for San Francisco are drugged and a million dollars is missing. Directed by Lesley Selander; starring Roland Winters {as Chan}, Keye Luke, Mantan Moreland, Tim Ryan, Iris Adrian, Lyle Talbot, Noel Neill, Elena Verdugo, Milburn Stone, Paul Maxey, Joel Marston, John Eldredge & Eddie Parks
video/DVD not available; full credits from IMDb |
"Charlie Chan Returns"
[N.B.C./Universal tv movie 1973]
 | Charlie investigates a murder on the yacht of a Greek tycoon Directed by Daryl Duke; teleplay by Gene R. Kearney & Simon Last; starring Ross Martin {as Chan}
video/DVD not available full credits from IMDb 1974 novelization by Dennis Lynds
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"Murder By Death" [Rastar/Columbia June 1976]
 | Detective spoof written by playwright Neil Simon: Five famous literary detectives and their sidekicks are invited by an eccentric millionaire for dinner and a 'murder at midnight' performance; but before midnight, the butler is found dead, and then other murders follow. Peter Sellers portrays the Charlie Chan spoof 'Sidney Wang', and Richard Narita plays his #1 son; DVD extras include trailers & Neil Simon interview Co-produced by Ray Stark; directed by Robert Moore; also starring Eileen Brennan, Truman Capote, James Coco, Peter Falk, Alec Guinness, David Niven & Maggie Smith; W.G.A. nom for Best Original Script
Sony widescreen color DVD [12/2001] for $8.99 Sony color VHS [6/94] out of prodn/many used full credits at IMDb movie entry at Wikipedia |
"Charlie Chan and The Curse of The Dragon Queen"
[American Cinema Releasing Feb 1981]
 | A San Francisco detective asks retired detective Charlie Chan for help solving a series of murders; the primary suspect is an enemy from Chan's past known as the Dragon Queen. Co-produced & co-written by Jerry Sherlock; directed by Clive Donner; starring Peter Ustinov {as Chan}, Angie Dickinson {as the Dragon Queen}, Lee Grant, Richard Hatch, Brian Keith, Roddy McDowall, Rachel Roberts & Michelle Pfeiffer
Trinity Home Ent. color DVD [4/2007] for $5.99 Trinity Home Ent. color DVD [9/2004] for $13.99 color VHS [undated] out of prodn/used full credits from IMDb 1981 novelization by Michael Avallone Pinnacle Books mass pb [1/81] out of print/used |
"Charlie Chan" [planned for 2011 Fox release] 
still stuck in development hell (as-of early 2017); starring Lucy Liu as Charlie's granddaughter
latest info at IMDb
Other Media
"Charlie Chan" radio programs (1932 to 1949)
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"The Radio Adventures of Charlie Chan" [2009] each volume is also available as cheaper MP3 downloads Volume 1: "Escaped Musician" {24:21} & "The Frightened Sharaf" {26:42} Radio Library audio CD-R [4/2009] for $9.99 Volume 2: "The Man Who Murdered Santa Claus" {26:18} & "The Romantic Engineer" {26:14} Radio Library audio CD-R [4/2009] for $9.99 Volume 3: "Telltale Hands, 1949" {27:43} Radio Library audio CD-R [5/2009] for $9.99 |
"Charlie Chan" syndicated TV series [I.T.C./T.P.A. 1957-58]
  | 39 half-hour b&w episodes, mostly filmed in U.K. Produced by Rudolph C. Flothow; starring J. Carrol Naish [1896-73] with James Hong as 'Number One Son' Barry Chan; guest actors include Rupert Davies, Strother Martin, Hans Conried, Dabbs Greer, Honor Blackman, Victor Sen Yung
complete series on DVD [2011] 5 disks for $28.99 via Amazon third party series credits at IMDb series entry at Wikipedia watch episode #33 "Man With A 100 Faces" from 'The Wayback Machine' [28:29] at YouTube |
1972 16-episode animated tv series with Key Luke as Charlie's voice
Charlie Chan's Mystery Magazine (circa 1974)
Works About Charlie Chan's Movies
 | "Saturday Afternoon At The Bijou: A Nostalgic Look At Charlie Chan, Andy Hardy & Other Movie Heroes We Have Known & Loved" [1970] by David Zinman Arlington House 9x6¼ hardcover [1973] out of print/many used |
 | "Charlie Chan At The Movies: History, Filmography & Criticism" [1989] by Ken Hanke McFarland & Co. 7¾x6 pb [3/2004] for $35.00 |
 | "A Guide To Charlie Chan Films" [1999] by Charles P. Mitchell Greenwood Press 9½c6½ hardcover [6/99] for $96.95 |
 | "The Charlie Chan Film Encyclopedia" [2000] by Howard M. Berlin McFarland & Co. 10x7 pb [10/2005] for $38.17 McFarland & Co. 10¼x7 library hardcover [10/2005] out of print/used |
 | "Charlie Chan's Words of Wisdom: 600 Proverbs" [2003] by Howard M. Berlin Wildside Press 9x7 pb [8/2003] for $11.69 Wildside Press 9½x6¼ hardcover [8/2003] for $24.95 |
documentary "Charlie Chan: The Fox Years" [undated]
35-minute featurette available as part of DVD box set #5 [9/2008] 8 disks for $34.99 not listed on IMDb
 | "Charlie Chan: The Untold Story of The Honorable Detective and His Rendezvous With American History" [2010 national bestseller] by Yunte Huang W.W. Norton & Co. 8x5½ pb [8/2011] for $10.66 W.W. Norton & Co. 9¼x6 deckle-edge hardcover [8/2010] for $17.79 |
Earl Derr Biggers [1884-1933]
| Playwright & mystery author Earl Derr Biggers was born in Warren, Ohio on 24 August 1884, and graduated from Harvard University in 1907.
His novel "Seven Keys To Baldpate" [1913] was adapted for at least seven feature films; vaudeville-Broadway star George M. Cohan adapted the novel as a stage play; Biggers himself starred in the 1917 film version. Earl Derr Biggers is most-famous for his Charlie Chan mystery novels [1925-32] and the 60+ feature films starring the Chinese-American Honolulu-based detective in a wide range of exotic venues, such as Hollywood, London, Rio, Paris, Egypt, and Shanghai. Biggers lived in San Marino, California (near Pasadena), and died there 5 April 1933 after a heart attack suffered in Palm Springs. |
Earl Derr Biggers movie credits [1917-83] at Internet Movie Database
Earl Derr Biggers entry at Wikipedia
all books by Earl Derr Biggers
 | "Making The Detective Story American: Biggers, Van Dine, and Hammett and The Turning Point of The Genre, 1925-1930" [2010] by J.K. Van Dover
Kindle Edition from McFarland & Co. [4/2010] for $14.74 McFarland & Co. 9x6 pb [4/2010] for $35.00 see also BlackHat Mystery Bookstore's pages about Dashiell Hammett [1894-1961], |
 | "Earl Derr Biggers: A Complete Anthology" for Kindle [2014] Collection includes all six Charlie Chan novels; four other novels by Earl Derr Biggers: "Seven Keys To Baldpate", "Love Insurance", "The Agony Column", and "Fifty Candles"; and selections from "Earl Derr Biggers Tells Ten Stories" Kindle Edition from Amazon Digital Services [6/2014] for 99’ {sic} |
The Charlie Chan Novels
 | "The House Without A Key" [#1 Bobbs-Merrill 1925] A strait-laced young bond trader comes to Honolulu to bring his uncle back to Boston; among the surprises in Hawaii are his uncle's murder and the Chinese-American police detective who solves the case. Academy Chicago Publrs 7½x5 pb [10/2008] for $10.91 Echo Library 9x6 pb [5/2007] out of print/used Popular Library mass pb [9/86] out of print/used Bantam mass pb [1/74] out of print/plenty used book entry at Wikipedia |
 | "The Chinese Parrot" [#2 Curtis 1926] A wealthy eccentric in the California desert buys a string of pearls, and Charlie helps transport them to him. After the killing of a parrot and of the Chinese houseboy, Charlie masquerades as a pidgin-speaking Chinese cook. Academy Chicago Publrs 8x5½ pb [10/2008] for $10.91 Echo Library 9x6 pb [5/2007] out of print/used Mysterious Press pb [1/87] out of print/used book entry at Wikipedia |
 | "Behind That Curtain" [#3 Bobbs-Merrill 1928] A Scotland Yard detective inspector tracking a fifteen-year series of murders is killed after meeting Charlie Chan at a dinner party in San Francisco. IndoEuropean Publng 9x6 pb [6/2011] for $19.95 Mysterious Press pb [4/87] out of print/used Pyramid mass pb [1969] out of print/used book entry at Wikipedia |
 | "The Black Camel" [#4 Bobbs-Merrill 1929] A Hollywood actress on location in Hawaii is killed, and Charlie Chan finds connections to a murder three years previous and to a mysterious psychic. Academy Chicago Publrs 8x5¾ pb [5/2009] for $10.91 Popular Library pb [10/87] out of print/used Bobbs-Merrill hardcover [1929] out of print/used book entry at Wikipedia |
 | "Charlie Chan Carries On" [#5 Bobbs-Merrill 1930] A Scotland Yard detective inspector in pursuit of the perpetrator of murders in London, France, Italy & Japan is shot while his ship is docked in Honolulu. The Englishman sur-vives, but is unable to continue with the cruise, so Charlie Chan takes his place instead. Academy Chicago Publrs 8x5¼ pb [9/2009] for $10.91 Mysterious Press 11x7¾ pb [11/87] out of print/used Pyramid mass pb [1969] out of print/used book entry at Wikipedia |
 | "Keeper of The Keys" [#6 Bobbs-Merrill 1932] A world-famous opera singer is hosting her four ex-husbands at her California estate when she is murdered. {The only Chan novel not adapted as a feature film.} Academy Chicago Publrs 8x5¼ pb [9/2009] for $11.21 Popular Library pb [2/88] out of print/used Benediction Classics 9x6 pb [2/2011] for $31.99 Bobbs-Merrill 7½x5¼ hardcover [1932] out of print/used book entry at Wikipedia Broadway play [1933] credits at IBDb |
 | "Celebrated Cases of Charlie Chan: The Master Sleuth" [1930] includes all six Charlie Chan novels by Earl Derr Biggers New Orchard movie tie-in re-issue 8½x5½ hardcover [6/85] out of print/used Bobbs-Merrill hardcover [1930] out of print/used |
 | "Charlie Chan: Five Complete Novels" by Earl Derr Biggers [1981]
includes "The House Without A Key", "The Chinese Parrot", "Behind That Curtain", "The Black Camel" & "Keeper of The Keys" {absent #5 "Charlie Chan Carries On"} Avenel Books hardcover [12/88] out of print/many used "A Charlie Chan Omnibus" [2007] - same five novels, also absent #5 Wordsworth Editions hardcover [2007] out of print/used |
 | "The Charlie Chan Omnibus" [2008] includes "The House Without A Key", "The Chinese Parrot", and "Behind That Curtain" with an Introduction by M.J. Elliot Wordsworth Editions pb [2008] out of print/used |
 | "The Complete Charlie Chan: Six Unabridged Novels" [2012]
Benediction Classics 9½x6¾ hardcover [9/2012] for $69.99 {sic} Benediction Classics 9½x6¾ hardcover [9/2012] out of print/used |
 | listings on Amazon USA circa 2007 are gone
Charlie Chan Volume 1: "The House Without A Key" & "The Chinese Parrot" Leonaur Books Ltd. UK 8¼x5½ pb [7/2007] for £12.99 at Amazon U.K. Leonaur Books Ltd. UK 8½x6 hardcover [7/2007] for £19.94 at Amazon U.K. Charlie Chan Volume 2: "Behind That Curtain" & "The Black Camel" Leonaur Books Ltd. UK 8¼x5½ pb [7/2007] for £12.99 at Amazon U.K. Leonaur Books Ltd. UK 8½x5½ hardcover [7/2007] for £19.94 at Amazon U.K. Charlie Chan Volume 3: "Charlie Chan Carries On" & "Keeper of The Keys" Leonaur Books Ltd. UK 8½x5½ pb [7/2007] for £11.99 at Amazon U.K. Leonaur Books Ltd. UK 8½x5¾ hardcover [8/2007] for £18.99 at Amazon U.K. |
Charlie Chan Novels by Other Authors
| | "Charlie Chan Returns" [1974] novelization of the TV film by Dennis Lynds Charlie investigates a murder on the yacht of a Greek tycoon. Bantam mass pb [1/74] out of print/used based on the 1973 N.B.C. tv movie: full credits at IMDb |
 | "Charlie Chan and The Curse of The Dragon Queen" [1981] novelization of the film by Michael Avallone A San Francisco detective asks retired detective Charlie Chan for help solving a series of murders; the primary suspect is an enemy from Chan's past known as the Dragon Queen. Pinnacle Books mass pb [1/81] out of print/used based on the 1981 movie starring Peter Ustinov: full credits at IMDb |
 | "Charlie Chan in The Pawns of Death" [2002] by Bill Pronzini & Jeffrey M. Wallmann (under the pseudonym Robert Hart Davis) A French policeman asks for help from vacationing famous detective Charlie Chan after two murders at the Transcontinental Chess Tournament. Borgo Press mass pb [8/2003] for $12.99 Wildside Press 8½x5½ hardcover [12/2002] for $29.95 |
 | "Charlie Chan in The Temple of The Golden Horde" [2003] by Michael Collins (under the pseudonym Robert Hart Davis) Charlie investigates a shadowy ancient Oriental cult that may be connected to modern crime and a series of recent murders. Wildside Press 8¼x5½ pb [12/2004] for $12.99 Wildside Press 8½x5½ hardcover [3/2003] for $29.95 |
Other Works by Earl Derr Biggers
 | "Seven Keys To Baldpate" [1913 play] After a bet that he can write a novel in 24 hours, a writer agrees to use a remote cabin for seclusion, but many other people have keys to the cabin. Wildside Press 8¾x6 pb [1/2005] for $13.65 Kessinger Publng 9x6 pb [6/2007] for $28.08 Wildside Press 9x6 hardcover [4/2003] for $35.00 Broadway play credits at IBDb adapted as feature films "Seven Keys To Baldpate" in 1917 {silent} starring George M. Cohan; 1925 {silent}; 1929 {sound} starring Richard Dix; 1935 & 1947; adapted for tv movie in 1946; and adapted as "House of The Long Shadows" [1983] starring Vincent Price, Christopher Lee, Peter Cushing & John Carradine |
 | "Love Insurance" [1914 novel]
Wildside Press 8¾x6 pb [7/2003] for $19.99 Wildside Press 9x6 hardcover [7/2003] for $35.00 adapted as feature films "Love Insurance" [1919 silent]; "The Reckless Age" [1924 silent] starring Reginald Denny; and "One Night In The Tropics" [1940] {below} |
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"One Night In The Tropics" [Universal Oct 1940] A musical-comedy based on the 1914 novel "Love Insurance" by Earl Derr Biggers; famed as the movie debut of the Abbott & Costello comedy team. Jim, an insurance salesman, sells Steve a policy that will pay Steve if his fiancιe won't marry him; nightclub owner Roscoe backs the policy, Jim starts to fall for the girl, and Roscoe hires two stooges to make sure that Steve and the girl marry. Directed by A. Edward Sutherland; original music by Jerome Kern; starring Allan Jones, Robert Cummings, Nancy Kelly, Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Mary Boland, William Frawley, Peggy Moran & Leo Carrillo b&w DVD available as part of "Best of Abbott & Costello Volume 1" box set Universal b&w VHS [1/98] out of prodn/many used full credits from IMDb |
 | "Inside The Lines" [February 1915 play; Bobbs-Merrill novel 1915] Play written by Earl Derr Biggers; novelization by Robert Welles Ritchie A female spy for Germany poses as the long-lost friend of a woman with access to information on the British fleet in Gibraltar; the spy's former boyfriend plays along, hoping to figure out what she is up to. Wildside Press 8½x6 pb [8/2003] for $19.95 Wildside Press hardcover [8/2003] for $39.95 play credits at Internet Broadway Database adapted as feature films in 1918 {silent} and 1930 |
 | "The Agony Column" [1916 novel] An American visiting London makes the mistake of checking the personals column and finds himself mixed up in murder! Wildside Press 9x6 pb [1/2005] for $12.50 Wildside Press 9½x6 hardcover [9/2003] for $22.95 adapted as feature films "The Blind Adventure" [1918 silent] and "The Second Floor Mystery" [1930] starring Grant Withers, Loretta Young & H.B. Warner |
"The Gown of Destiny" silent movie [Triangle Dec 1917]
Written & directed by Lynn Reynolds; video/DVD not available;
full credits from IMDb
"A Cure For Curables" Broadway play [February 1918]
play credits at Internet Broadway Database
"See-Saw" Broadway musical [September 1919]
Victrola Publng pb [1919] out of print/rare
play credits at Internet Broadway Database
"Three's A Crowd" Broadway comedy [December 1919]
play credits at Internet Broadway Database
"Her Face Value" silent movie [Realart/Paramount Oct 1921]
full credits from IMDb
"The Ruling Passion" silent movie [United Artists Jan 1922]
Starring George Arliss; full credits from IMDb
"Broadway Broke" silent feature
[Selznick Distributing Oct 1923]
  | A retired Broadway actress has a small dog who is part of a vaudeville act and is the sole support of the family; looking for ways to make more money, she begins to write plays and sells them to a Hollywood producer . . . Produced by Murray W. Garsson; directed by J. Searle Dawley; written by John Lynch, based on a Saturday Evening Post short story by Earl Derr Biggers; starring Mary Carr, Percy Marmont, Gladys Leslie, Dore Davidson, Macklyn Arbuckle {as P.T. Barnum}, Macey Harlam, Edward Earle, Pierre Gendron, Billy Quirk, Henrietta Crosman, Sally Crute, Leslie King {as Mark Twain]}, Albert Phillips, Frederick Burton
VHS/DVD/Blu-ray not available full credits at IMDb |
"Trouping With Ellen" silent movie [Producers Distributing Oct 1924]
Starring Basil Rathbone; full credits from IMDb
"The Man Upstairs" silent movie [Warner Bros. Jan 1926]
full credits from IMDb
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"Fifty Candles" [1926 novel] Strait-laced Bostonian bond trader Winthrop, on his way home from Hawaii {in a sort of sequel to the 1925 novel "The House Without A Key"} finds romance and more in San Francisco; he and attorney Mark Drew are accused of a murder during a birthday party Wildside Press 8¾x5¾ pb [1/2003] for $12.99 Buccaneer Books 9x5¾ hardcover [6/79] for $25.95 silent feature film [1921]: full credits at IMDb |
"Honeymoon Flats" silent movie [Universal April 1928]
full credits from IMDb
"The Millionaire" movie [Warner Bros. May 1931]
Starring George & Florence Arliss, James Cagney & Noah Beery; full credits from IMDb
 | "Earl Derr Biggers Tells Ten Stories" [short stories 1933] Bobbs-Merrill hardcover [1933] out of print/used |
novel "The Deuce of Hearts"
basis for the 'lost' film "Take The Stand" [Liberty Films Sept 1934]
Starring Jack La Rue & Thelma Todd full credits from IMDb
"That Way With Women" movie [Warner Bros. Feb 1947]
Starring Dane Clark, Martha Vickers & Sydney Greenstreet full credits from IMDb
Magic Lantern's Charlie Chan & Earl Derr Biggers Pages
on page one: top of page Links Charlie Chan Movies (1931-46)
here on page two: top of this page movies starring Roland Winters (1947-49)
Earl Derr Biggers [1884-1933] Charlie Chan Novels Works About Charlie Chan
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