Charlie Chan is a fictional Honolulu police detective created by author Earl Derr Biggers for a series of mystery novels. Biggers loosely based Chan on Hawaiian detective Chang Apana. The benevolent and heroic Chan was conceived as an alternative to Yellow Peril stereotypes and villains like Fu Manchu. Many stories feature Chan traveling the world beyond Hawaii as he investigates mysteries and solves crimes.
Sen Yung, later known professionally as Victor Sen Young ; one source lists his given name as Victor Cheung Young with the birth year 1915)) was an American character actor, best known for playing Jimmy Chan in the Charlie Chan films and Hop Sing in the western series Bonanza. He was born in San Francisco, California to Gum Yung Sen and his first wife, both immigrants from China.
Sidney Toler was an American actor, playwright, and theatre director. The second European-American actor to play the role of Charlie Chan on screen, he is best remembered for his portrayal of the Chinese-American detective in 22 films made between 1938 and 1946. Before becoming Chan, Toler played supporting roles in 50 motion pictures, and was a highly regarded comic actor on the Broadway stage.
Mantan Moreland was an American actor and comedian most popular in the 1930s and 1940s. He starred in numerous films. His daughter Marcella Moreland appeared as a child actress in several films.
Dark Alibi is a 1946 American film directed by Phil Karlson featuring Sidney Toler as Charlie Chan. It is also known as Charlie Chan in Alcatraz, Fatal Fingerprints and Fatal Fingertips.
Charlie Chan in Honolulu is a 1939 American 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.
The Trap is a 1946 crime film directed by Howard Bretherton and starring Sidney Toler and Victor Sen Yung. The main premise is that two members of a show troupe are murdered, and detective Charlie Chan is called in to solve the case.
The Red Dragon is a 1946 mystery film starring Sidney Toler as Charlie Chan, who has to sift through a host of suspects for three murders.
The Feathered Serpent is a 1948 mystery film, the fifth of six in which Roland Winters portrayed Charlie Chan. It is the only Chan film which featured both Keye Luke and Victor Sen Yung together. Luke had been cast in the later Warner Oland Chan films while Yung appeared primarily in the Sidney Toler Chan movies. This was Yung's last Chan movie. Luke appeared in one more with Roland Winters, the last of the Chan films, Sky Dragon (1949).
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.
Dangerous Money, also known as Hot Money, is a 1946 American film directed by Terry O. Morse, featuring Sidney Toler as Charlie Chan. This is the second and last appearance of Willie Best as Chattanooga Brown, the cousin of Charlie Chan's usual chauffeur, Birmingham Brown.
The Scarlet Clue is a 1945 American film directed by Phil Rosen.
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.
Shadows Over Chinatown is a 1946 film directed by Terry O. Morse. It is the second-to-last film starring Sidney Toler as Charlie Chan.
The Jade Mask is a 1945 film featuring Sidney Toler as Charlie Chan and the only appearance of Number Four Son, Eddie Chan, played by Edwin Luke, the real-life younger brother of Keye Luke, who had depicted Number One Son throughout the 1930s.
Docks of New Orleans is a 1948 American mystery film directed by Derwin Abrahams and starring Roland Winters, Virginia Dale and Mantan Moreland. It featured Winters in his second appearance as Charlie Chan, having replaced Sidney Toler in the role.
Sky Dragon is a 1949 American mystery film, the sixth in which Roland Winters portrayed Charlie Chan. Directed by Lesley Selander, it is the last Chan film in the long-running series that originated in 1930 with Fox Film Corporation production of Charlie Chan Carries On, starring Warner Oland.
The Shanghai Cobra is a 1945 mystery film directed by Phil Karlson and starring Sidney Toler as Charlie Chan.
The Chinese Cat is a 1944 mystery film starring Sidney Toler as Charlie Chan.
Charlie Chan in the Secret Service is a 1944 mystery film starring Sidney Toler as Charlie Chan. It is the first film made by Monogram Pictures after the series was dropped by 20th Century Fox, and it marks the introduction of Number Three Son and taxi driver, Birmingham Brown.
