The Great Charlie Chan Series Contiues.
Warner Oland, not the first actor to play the great detective Charlie Chan on the silver screen but the man responsible for creating his look, demeaner and countenance in some sixteen Chan films, died in August of 1938. Mr. Oland's health had been slowly declining and he reportedly walked off the set of "Charlie Chan At The Ringside", (eventually completed as "Mr. Moto's Gamble" with Peter Lorre,) to eventually return to his native Sweden where he passed away in Stockholm. Meanwhile executives at 20th Century Fox had no intention of letting this most successful film series, (Chan movies reportedly earned over one million dollars each for the studio,) slip away and the great Charlie Chan casting call was announced. The man eventually selected to replace Warner Oland was the relatively obscure non oriental actor, Sidney Toler of Missouri. Fortunately with the release of Mr Toler's first Chan film in 1938, "Charlie Chan in Honolulu", it quickly became obvious that the film series was...
Four Memorable Titles In The Chan Series
Charlie Chan was originally created by novelist Earl Derr Biggers (1884-1933), who very loosely based the character on Hawaii's legendary police officer Chang Apana (1887-1933.) Biggers wrote six novels in all, and after several false starts 20th Century Fox (then simply known as Fox) hit on the right combination of actors, mystery, and comedy. The result was perhaps the single most popular film series Hollywood ever created.
Between 1931 and 1938 Chan was played by noted character actor Warner Oland. When Oland died, 20th Century Fox scrambled to find a new actor for the role--and ultimately assigned the part to Sidney Toler, who was well-regarded on stage but little known through films. In Toler's hands the character became less formal and the films began to emphasize comedy to a degree not previously seen. Some fans rebelled at the change, and even today fans continue to argue the merits of Oland vs. Toler. Even so, most fans would agree they enjoy both actors in the...
TOLER TAKES OVER
After Warner Oland's untimely death, Sidney Toler took over the reigns of playing the uncanny oriental sleuth. Keye Luke was very close to Oland and did not resume his role as #1 son. Victor Sen Yun (of Hopsing fame on Bonanza) took over Luke's role. The first Toler outing, IN HONOLULU is one of the best. The pre-war Chan movies (featured here) are some of the best work. WWII brought a more cautious series of Chan outings and they were not very entertaining. They were filled with patriotism (too much at times) and followed a "set" formula (Chan working for the US government).
The flicks in this great box set filled with extra goodies, are terrific. Only one does not feature the energetic #1 son, THE CITY OF DARKNESS and is the weakest of the entries.
I won't go into plots, they have been adequately reviewed. The transition from Warner Oland to Sidney Toler, I found very easy assimilate thanks to great scripts. Toler is more acerbic in his role then Oland. But...
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