History Film / CharlieChan

Charlie's legacy is complicated. [[FairForItsDay Intended as an]] ''[[FairForItsDay anti-]]''[[FairForItsDay racist character, he is often denounced as a stereotypical mockery]]. English professor Yunte Huang hopes to [[https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=129424778 contextualize and celebrate Charlie's legacy in his new book]] about Charlie and Chang Apana. The real Chang was an active, athletic type who solved more illegal gambling and drug smuggling cases than murders[[note]]and ''without a gun!'' All he ever carried was a [[WhipItGood bullwhip]].[[/note]], but did have an even-paced, methodical investigative style and was amused by his cohorts nicknaming him Charlie Chan. He liked the films, too.[[note]]Invited to watch the rehearsals and filming for ''The Black Camel'', Apana laughed his head off, especially when Chan is told "You should have a lie detector," and replies "Lie detector? Ah, I see, you mean wife. I got one."[[/note]]

* GrandeDame: Henrietta Lowell in "Charlie Chan's Secret", and surprisingly, she's also a CoolOldLady.

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 and many other Asian characters in the movies, and always claimed to be of Mongolian descent himself via his Russian mother[[note]]"I owe my Chinese appearance to [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Descent_from_Genghis_Khan#Eastern_European_gateways the Mongol invasion]]" [[/note]] ; 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 took Charlie Chan very seriously. He learned Cantonese (he speaks it pretty well in several Chan films) and read up on Chinese art and philosophy. He played the detective in a series of 15 films for Creator/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 (most famously played by Chinese-American actor Creator/KeyeLuke), or others of the clan. Oland even started talking a bit like Chan in everyday life. 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.

Charlie's legacy is complicated. Intended as an ''anti-''racist character, he is often denounced as a stereotypical mockery. English professor Yunte Huang hopes to [[https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=129424778 contextualize and celebrate Charlie's legacy in his new book]] about Charlie and Chang Apana. The real Chang was an active, athletic type who solved more illegal gambling and drug smuggling cases than murders[[note]]and ''without a gun!'' All he ever carried was a [[WhipItGood bullwhip]].[[/note]], but did have an even-paced, methodical investigative style and was amused by his cohorts nicknaming him Charlie Chan. He liked the films, too.[[note]]Invited to watch the rehearsals and filming for ''The Black Camel'', Apana laughed his head off, especially when Chan is told "You should have a lie detector," and replies "Lie detector? Ah, I see, you mean wife. I got one."[[/note]]

* NoSwastikas: An early example of this appeared in 1936's ''Franchise/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]].

* {{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).

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 and many other Asian characters in the movies, and always claimed to be of Mongolian descent himself via his Russian mother[[note]]"I owe my Chinese appearance to [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Descent_from_Genghis_Khan#Eastern_European_gateways the Mongol invasion]]" [[/note]] ; 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 took Charlie Chan very seriously. He learned Cantonese (he speaks it pretty well in several Chan films) and read up on Chinese art and philosophy. He played the detective in a series of 15 films for Creator/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 (Most famously played by Chinese-American actor Creator/KeyeLuke), or others of the clan. Oland even started talking a bit like Chan in everyday life. 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 Creator/HannaBarbera's 1972 AnimatedAdaptation, ''WesternAnimation/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 and as Gizmo's original owner in ''Film/{{Gremlins}}''.

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 and many other Asian characters in the movies, and always claimed to be of Mongolian descent himself via his Russian mother[[note]]"I owe my Chinese appearance to [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Descent_from_Genghis_Khan#Eastern_European_gateways the Mongol invasion]]" [[/note]] ; 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 took Charlie Chan very seriously. He learned Cantonese (he speaks it pretty well in several Chan films) and read up on Chinese art and philosophy. He played the detective in a series of 15 films for Creator/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. Oland even started talking a bit like Chan in everyday life. 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.

* {{Yellowface}}: Almost all the adaptions of the books to film, TV, ''etc''.

* ManInWhite: Charlie often, though by no means always, dresses in a white linen suit with his iconic [[NiceHat Panama hat]].

In Creator/HannaBarbera's 1972 AnimatedAdaptation, ''WesternAnimation/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.

* DrinkOrder: Charlie likes his sarsaparilla (a nonalcoholic root beer-like drink).

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[[note]]Although he couldn't prove it at the time, [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Descent_from_Genghis_Khan#Eastern_European_gateways this isn't as far fetched as it sounds]][[/note]] ; 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 Creator/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.

Charlie's legacy is complicated. Intended as an ''anti-''racist character, he is often denounced as a stereotypical mockery. English professor Yunte Huang hopes to [[https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=129424778 contextualize and celebrate Charlie's legacy in his new book]] about Charlie and Chang Apana. The real Chang was an active, athletic type who solved more illegal gambling and drug smuggling cases than murders, but did have an even-paced, methodical investigative style and was amused by his cohorts nicknaming him Charlie Chan. He liked the films, too.

The real Chang was an active, athletic type who solved more illegal gambling and drug smuggling cases than murders, but did have an even-paced, methodical investigative style and was amused by his cohorts nicknaming him Charlie Chan. He liked the films, too.

* HurricaneOfAphorisms: Charlie always speaks like this.
* InvisibleWriting: One mystery ''Charlie Chan in Shanghai'' has some writing on a piece of linen. The glyphs appear to be Chinese, but Chan declares them as gibberish. He then points out that, despite plenty of writing paper available, the marks were made on cloth. Chan rinses the linen in a bowl of water, which washes away some of the ink, but leaves the true message in broken Roman letters intact.

* MassiveNumberedSiblings: Fans are familiar with "Number One Son" (Lee, played by Keye Luke)[[note]]Luke bowed out when Toler replaced Oland. Seems his pay was cut in half by the studio, and the producer told him to his face that Lee was the "dumb one" to Charlie's "smart one"[[/note]] and "Number Two Son" (Jimmy, played by Victor Sen Yung). In the books, Charlie and Mrs. Chan have eleven children -- seven guys [[note]]Henry, Oswald, Lee, Jimmy, Tommy, Eddie, Charlie Jr. and Willie[[/note]] and three girls [[note]]Ling, Iris and Frances[[/note]]. [[http://www.drberlin.com/chan_family/story.htm Here's an in-depth explanation of who's who, and points out a few inconsistencies]]. Chang Apana really did have many children. In the films, a twelfth child is born in 1936 (''Charlie Chan at the Circus'') and Ling is mentioned having her own baby in 1938 (''Charlie Chan in Honolulu'').

* ProverbialWisdom: Chan is a smart detective with a definite aura of "oriental wisdom" around him (including, most notably, speaking in Eastern proverbs and aphorisms).

* RealityHasNoSubtitles: Averted in ''Charlie Chan in Rio'' where Jimmy asks his dad a couple of questions in Cantonese, so Anglo listeners won't catch on. Charlie responds likewise and it's all subtitled in a "Chinese"-looking font. In the Oland films, Charlie and Lee speak unsubtitled Cantonese in various situations. In ''Charlie Chan in Shanghai'' several children also have unsubtitled Cantonese lines.

* TheTeetotaler: Charlie Chan is a teetotaler, but in a bit of double irony he is no fan of a SpotOfTea; he prefers sarsaparilla (a nonalcoholic root beer-like drink).

* MassiveNumberedSiblings: Fans are familiar with "Number One Son" (Lee, played by Creator/KeyeLuke)[[note]]Luke bowed out when Toler replaced Oland. Seems his pay was cut in half by the studio, and the producer told him to his face that Lee was the "dumb one" to Charlie's "smart one"[[/note]] and "Number Two Son" (Jimmy, played by Victor Sen Yung). In the books, Charlie and Mrs. Chan have eleven children -- seven guys [[note]]Henry, Oswald, Lee, Jimmy, Tommy, Eddie, Charlie Jr. and Willie[[/note]] and three girls [[note]]Ling, Iris and Frances -- [[http://www.drberlin.com/chan_family/story.htm This is an in-depth explanation of who's who, and points out a few inconsistencies]]. Chang Apana really did have many children. In the films, a twelfth child is born in 1936 (''Charlie Chan at the Circus'') and Ling is mentioned having her own baby in 1938 (''Charlie Chan in Honolulu'').

The real Chang was more of an ActionGuy who solved more illegal gambling and drug smuggling cases than murders, but was amused by his cohorts nicknaming him Charlie Chan. He liked the films, too.

Charlie Chan is a fictional Chinese-American detective created by Earl Derr Biggers. Biggers had been vacationing in UsefulNotes/{{Hawaii}} in 1919, when he read a newspaper account of a Chinese-American detective, Chang Apana, connected with the Honolulu Police Department. Fascinated by the idea of an Oriental hero as a contrast to the ubiquitous YellowPeril villains of the period, Biggers included an Oriental detective named Chan as a peripheral character in his novel ''House Without a Key'' (1925). In the 1926 novel ''The Chinese Parrot'', Chan took center stage, and his successful adventures spanned four more Biggers novels: ''Behind the Curtain'' (1928), ''The Black Camel'' (1929), ''Charlie Chan Carries On'' (1930) and ''Keeper of the Keys'' (1932).

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 Creator/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.

* AsianSpeekeeEngrish: {{Averted}} for Charlie. Any Chinese in the books more elderly, however...

* TheWatson: Several of these have popped up; his sons took up the role in '{{The Movie}}s, and there was one in almost all of the books.