History Film / CharlieChan

* TheWatson: Several of these have popped up; his sons took up the role in ''VideoGame/TheMovies'', and there was one in almost all of the books.

* PoliceAreUseless: Averted in ''House without a Key''. Charlie Chan himself is a member of Honolula police force, and his colleagues play a prominent role in solving the crime.

* TheWatson: Several of these have popped up; his sons took up the role in ''VideoGame/TheMovies'', and there was one in almost all of the books.

* TheWatson: Several of these have popped up; his sons took up the role in ''VideoGame/TheMovies'', and there was one in almost all of the books.

* TheWatson: Several of these have popped up; his sons took up the role in ''VideoGame/TheMovies'', and there was one in almost all of the books.

* TheWatson: Several of these have popped up; his sons took up the role in ''VideoGame/TheMovies'', and there was one in almost all of the books.

* TheWatson: Several of these have popped up; his sons took up the role in TheMovies, and there was one in almost all of the books.

It was, oddly, a Swede, Warner Oland, who became in the opinion of Biggers and of most fans the ideal embodiment of the character. (Oland had already played Literature/FuManchu in the movies, and always claimed to be of Mongolian descent himself; he would continue to be in demand throughout the Thirties to play various Asian characters, such as Dr. Yogami in 1935's ''Film/WerewolfOfLondon''.) Oland played the detective in a series of 15 films for TwentiethCenturyFox, starting with ''Charlie Chan Carries On'' (1931), though many fans believe that his characterization really hit its stride in ''Charlie Chan in London'' (1934). Here Charlie assumed his archetypical form: the unassuming, heavily accented but brilliant detective, spouting pseudo-Oriental aphorisms (a {{Flanderization}} which Biggers himself cordially disliked), kindly and devoted to his fractious and multifarious family, and often having to endure the feckless co-detecting effort of his thoroughly Americanized Number One Son, Lee, or others of the clan. Chan became a globe-trotter: He rarely remained home in Honolulu, but appeared against a number of glamorous and exotic backgrounds: at the racetrack, at the opera, on Broadway, in London, in Paris, in the Pyramids of Egypt, at the 1936 Berlin UsefulNotes/OlympicGames. By the time of Oland's death in 1938, Charlie Chan was one of Fox's most popular and successful film series.

So popular was he, in fact, that the studio refused to let the character die with the actor, and so the Missouri-born Sidney Toler took up the role in 1938's ''Charlie Chan in Honolulu''. His Chan was slightly more acerbic than Oland's, and he was much given to ridiculing the efforts of his Number Two Son, Jimmy (or sometimes Tommy) Chan (Victor Sen Yung). After 11 films, [[TwentiethCenturyFox Fox]] decided to end production of the Chan series, whereupon Toler bought the rights to the character, and proceeded to make another 11 films, with [[Creator/AlliedArtists Monogram Pictures]], until his death in 1947.

** In ''Charlie Chan in Shanghai'', Oland sings a song making reference to "the Emperor Literature/FuManchu", a part he had [[ActorAllusion played himself]] in previous films. In the same film he asks son Lee Chan (Keye Luke) whether he is selling "Oil for the Lamps of China" -- the title of a popular TwentiethCenturyFox film in which Luke had just appeared.

* PoliceAreUseless: Averted hard in ''House without a Key''. Charlie Chan himself is a member of Honolula police force, and his colleagues play a prominent role in solving the crime.

* NoSwastikas: An early example of this appeared in 1936's ''CharlieChan at the Olympics'', which were, of course, held in [[UsefulNotes/NaziGermany Berlin]] that year; all the numerous swastikas that appear (including on the ''Hindenburg'') are carefully [[{{Pixellation}} blotted out]].

** In 1970 {{Creator/Filmation}}'s ''Will the Real JerryLewis Please Sit Down?'' featured a [[JerryLewis Jerry]]-ized version of Chan, Flewis Lewis (and his One-Ton Son), both ''ghastly'' [[EthnicScrappy Ethnic Scrappies]].

* PublicDomain: All six books, the comics, the radio plays and most of the movies; check TheOtherWiki for more details.

* CrossOver: a partial example with Creator/PeterLorre's similar character, the Japanese secret agent Mr. Moto. ''Mr. Moto's Gamble'' was originally intended to be a Charlie Chan movie, after Werner Oland died partway through filming, the script was [[DolledUpInstallment hastily rewritten]] as a Moto vehicle. As a result, Chan's Number One Son appears in a supporting role as a student of Mr. Moto, desperately seeking education as a detective in order to please his father (who is never referred to by name).

In Creator/HannaBarbera's 1972 AnimatedAdaptation, ''TheAmazingChanAndTheChanClan'', Mr. Chan was portrayed for the first time by an actor actually of Chinese descent: Keye Luke, who had played Number One Son Lee Chan in the Oland series of films, and who was later well known as "Blind Master Po" from the popular ''KungFu'' series of the 1970s.

* AnimatedAdaptation: Not only the 1972 Creator/HannaBarbera [[TheAmazingChanAndTheChanClan series]], but also the 1970 {{Creator/Filmation}} series (''See'' LawyerFriendlyCameo'', below.'')

** Creator/DellComics managed two issues; Creator/GoldKeyComics did a 4-issue tie-in to TheAmazingChanAndTheChanClan.

It was, oddly, a Swede, Warner Oland, who became in the opinion of Biggers and of most fans the ideal embodiment of the character. (Oland had already played FuManchu in the movies, and always claimed to be of Mongolian descent himself; he would continue to be in demand throughout the Thirties to play various Asian characters, such as Dr. Yogami in 1935's ''Film/WerewolfOfLondon''.) Oland played the detective in a series of 15 films for TwentiethCenturyFox, starting with ''Charlie Chan Carries On'' (1931), though many fans believe that his characterization really hit its stride in ''Charlie Chan in London'' (1934). Here Charlie assumed his archetypical form: the unassuming, heavily accented but brilliant detective, spouting pseudo-Oriental aphorisms (a {{Flanderization}} which Biggers himself cordially disliked), kindly and devoted to his fractious and multifarious family, and often having to endure the feckless co-detecting effort of his thoroughly Americanized Number One Son, Lee, or others of the clan. Chan became a globe-trotter: He rarely remained home in Honolulu, but appeared against a number of glamorous and exotic backgrounds: at the racetrack, at the opera, on Broadway, in London, in Paris, in the Pyramids of Egypt, at the 1936 Berlin UsefulNotes/OlympicGames. By the time of Oland's death in 1938, Charlie Chan was one of Fox's most popular and successful film series.

** In ''Charlie Chan in Shanghai'', Oland sings a song making reference to "the Emperor FuManchu", a part he had [[ActorAllusion played himself]] in previous films. In the same film he asks son Lee Chan (Keye Luke) whether he is selling "Oil for the Lamps of China" -- the title of a popular TwentiethCenturyFox film in which Luke had just appeared.

A pair of [[AffectionateParody Affectionate Parodies]] appeared as ''The Return of Charlie Chan'' (aka ''Happiness Is a Warm Clue'') (1973) and ''Charlie Chan and the Curse of the Dragon Queen'' (1981), in which Chan was played by Ross Martin and Peter Ustinov, respectively. (A [[CaptainErsatz Chan-based character]] was also played by Creator/PeterSellers in the 1979 omnibus mystery spoof, ''MurderByDeath''.)

** In the 1979 film ''MurderByDeath'', Peter Sellers plays a Chan-type sleuth named Sydney Wang.

** Then, with now-defunct ComicBook publisher ''Prize Comics'', drawn by none other than Creator/JackKirby and Joe Simon, otherwise known as the creators of ComicBook/CaptainAmerica. When Prize lost the license, the series transferred to CharltonComics, continuing the same numbering.

Bostonian Roland Winters (born Winternitz) took up the part in 1947's ''The Chinese Ring''. By now it was apparent that Monogram was determined to [[CashCowFranchise milk the franchise]] [[FranchiseZombie for all it was worth]], with [[TheyJustDidntCare little regard to quality]].

* CatchPhrase: Warner Oland's Chan often said, "Thank you so much." Sidney Toler favored, "Excuse, please," and "Correction, please."

* DivorceInReno: In ''Charlie Chan in Reno'', Charlie's son when he hears his dad is going to Reno--actually to consult the Reno Police on a case--is afraid his parents are getting a divorce.

** The numbering and the title changed when DCComics got their hands on Chan and his Number One Son: ''The New Adventures of Charlie Chan'' lasted for six issues, the longest consecutive run for any publisher handling the license.