Calling all Charlie Chan fans! If you are not aware of it, Warner Home Video released a 4 DVD set of Chan rarities in 2013. Here is the information from the original press release.
Warner Bros. Home Entertainment brings back the legendary
master of crime in the Charlie Chan Collection -- four beloved
films making their DVD debut, and now available for the first time, newly
remastered, as a single collection. Included are Shadows Over Chinatown, starring
Sidney Toler in one of his last Chan films, plus Docks of New Orleans,
Shanghai Chest, and The Golden Eye starring Roland Winters, the
last actor to play the detective on film.
Writer Earl Derr Biggers created Charlie Chan, a fictional
Chinese-American sleuth, in a series of printed tales beginning in 1923. As
early as 1926, the first of more than 48 Charlie Chan films was put on the
silver screen. Actor Warner Oland, born in Sweden, began a popular run for Fox
in 1931 in Charlie Chan Carries On. After its success, Fox would
produce 15 more Chan films starring Oland. Not surprisingly, the films became
the most popular in 1930s China.
After Oland died, Sidney Toler, an American actor with
Scottish roots, took on the Chan role. Toler starred in 22 Chan films, first
for Fox and later for Monogram Studios. After Toler's death, Roland Winters
became Chan in six more films. The character has also been featured frequently
on radio, television and in the comics.
ABOUT THE FILMS
Shadows Over Chinatown
Charlie Chan heads to San Francisco on a murder case when he
encounters a mother trying to find her daughter who’s gone missing. Chan also
meets a young man, searching for his missing girlfriend. Charlie determines
they’re both looking for the same person and soon uncovers a murder gang, which
has been illegally benefiting from life insurance of the dead.
Docks of New Orleans
Charlie is asked to investigate after the mysterious demise
of a New Orleans chemical company magnate, because even though the police
believe the death was caused by a heart attack, a series of unexplainable
deaths follow. Only Charlie Chan can solve the mystery!
Shanghai Chest
Three people are murdered in San Francisco – a judge,
District Attorney and a juror. The fingerprints of a deceased man are found at
all three murder sites, but could it really be possible for a dead man to be a
serial killer? Again, leave it to Charlie Chan..!
The Golden Eye
An Arizona gold mine is suddenly making a ton of money. The
mine’s owner, instead of delighting in his newfound wealth, confides to Charlie
that something is wrong and he fears for his life. Charlie and “friends†go to
the mine, pretending to be just visitors. They soon discover that the mine is
being used as a cover up for some major crimes and that, indeed, somebody will
soon be murdered.
(Although not mentioned in the press release, the set also includes an abundance of special features.)