Magic Lantern Video & Book StoreCharlie Chan
Page Two
![Honolulu homicide detective Charlie Chan, as played by actor Roland Winters [1904-1989]](images/CharlieChanRW.jpg "Honolulu homicide detective Charlie Chan, as played by actor Roland Winters [1904-1989]") | 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; filmed in Santa Clarita Valley, California • 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)
 |
"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)
 |
"The Great Charlie Chan Detective Mystery Game" [1937] from Milton Bradley |
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 £15.00 at Amazon U.K. Leonaur Books Ltd. UK 8½x6 hardcover [7/2007] for £25.00 at Amazon U.K. Charlie Chan Volume 2: "Behind That Curtain" & "The Black Camel" Leonaur Books Ltd. UK 8¼x5½ pb [7/2007] for £15.00 at Amazon U.K. Leonaur Books Ltd. UK 8½x5½ hardcover [7/2007] for £25.00 at Amazon U.K. Charlie Chan Volume 3: "Charlie Chan Carries On" & "Keeper of The Keys" Leonaur Books Ltd. UK 8½x5½ pb [7/2007] out of print/used at Amazon U.K. Leonaur Books Ltd. UK 8½x5¾ hardcover [8/2007] for £22.00 at Amazon U.K. |
Charlie Chan Novels & Stories by Other Authors
 | "Charlie Chan Solves A New Mystery" (Better Little Book #1459)" [1940] Drawn by Alfred Andriola, based on the famous newspaper strip featuring characters created by Earl Derr Biggers A murder is committed aboard the ship that Detective Inspector Charlie Chan is sailing on; the victim's talking macaw provides a valuable clue Whitman/Better Little Books hardcover [1940] out of print/scarce Whitman/Better Little Books hardcover [1940] out of print/scarce |
| | "Charlie Chan Returns" [1974] novelization by Dennis Lynds of the 1973 TV film 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 by Michael Avallone of the film 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] by Earl Derr Biggers 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] by Earl Derr Biggers
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 fiancée 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
 | "Earl Derr Biggers’s Collected Works (Illustrated): Detective Mysteries Novels" [2013] contains "Seven Keys To Baldpate" [1913], "Love Insurance" [1914], "Inside The Lines" [1915], "The Agony Column" [1916] Kindle Edition from Jame Books [10/2013] for 99¢ Jame Books 9x6 pb [3/2017] for $12.99 |
here on 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 page • movies starring Roland Winters (1947-49) •
Earl Derr Biggers [1884-1933] • Charlie Chan Novels • Works About Charlie Chan
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