IMDb > Charlie Chan in Honolulu (1938)

Charlie Chan in Honolulu (1938) More at IMDbPro »

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Overview

User Rating:
7.2/10   684 votes
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Writers:
Charles Belden (original screenplay)
Earl Derr Biggers (character: "Charlie Chan")
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Contact:
View company contact information for Charlie Chan in Honolulu on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
13 January 1939 (USA) more
Genre:
Comedy | Crime | Mystery | Thriller more
Plot:
While Charlie is distracted with the birth of his first grandchild, son Jimmy impersonates his father in order to investigate a murder aboard a freighter in the harbor. full summary | add synopsis
Plot Keywords:
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User Comments:
On His Own Turf For Once more (14 total)

Cast

  (Complete credited cast)
Sidney Toler ... Charlie Chan
Phyllis Brooks ... Judy Hayes
Victor Sen Yung ... James Chan (as Sen Yung)
Eddie Collins ... Al Hogan
John 'Dusty' King ... Randolph (as John King)
Claire Dodd ... Mrs. Carol Wayne
George Zucco ... Dr. Cardigan
Robert Barrat ... Captain Johnson
Marc Lawrence ... Johnny McCoy
Richard Lane ... Joe Arnold
Layne Tom Jr. ... Tommy Chan
Philip Ahn ... Wing Foo
Paul Harvey ... Inspector Rawlins
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Eugene Hoo ... Chan Son
Frances Hoo ... Chan Daughter
Hippie Hoo ... Chan Son
Florence Ung ... Ling Chan
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Additional Details

Parents Guide:
Add content advisory for parents
Runtime:
67 min
Country:
USA
Language:
English
Color:
Black and White
Aspect Ratio:
1.37 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Mono (Western Electric Mirrophonic Recording)
Certification:
USA:Approved (PCA #4861) | USA:TV-G (TV rating) | Finland:K-16
Company:
Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation more

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
Among other actors considered and tested for the new Charlie Chan were Cy Kendall, Walter Connolly, J. Edward Bromberg, Noah Beery Jr., Michael Visaroff, and Leo Carillo. Kendall and Connelly had played Chan on radio. more
Goofs:
Miscellaneous: Jimmy Chan's new calling card reads, in part "...Associated with Charlie Chan, Private Detective...". Charlie is not a private detective, rather a Lieutenant on the Honolulu Police Department. more
Quotes:
Charlie Chan: When money talk, few are deaf. more
Movie Connections:
Referenced in Mr. Moto's Last Warning (1939) more

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User Comments

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1 out of 1 people found the following comment useful.
On His Own Turf For Once, 11 June 2008
5/10
Author: bkoganbing from Buffalo, New York

For a man who's actual job is as a detective with the Honolulu, PD, Charlie Chan sure got around. Just a quick look at the titles in the series and this man traveled the world over. This first film with Sidney Toler playing the inscrutable Oriental detective for once has him in Honolulu, solving a case on his own stomping grounds.

But this murder of a passenger who's been stripped of his identity in Honolulu Harbor on a freighter comes at a most inopportune moment for the Chan family. Charlie and his wife are anxiously awaiting their daughter presenting them with their first grandchild.

Here unfortunately is where the film gets a bit dopey. Number 2 son Victor Sen Yung gets the call from Honolulu PD for his father to get out to the harbor and investigate. Not wishing to disturb the old man at the hospital and wanting to prove he's a good detective too, Sen Yung goes out to the harbor and pretends to be his father. Of course later on the real Charlie Chan takes over.

I really think that 20th Century Fox went overboard on this one. Even if you're a cop's son, impersonating a police officer is serious business. Charlie must have had one incredible bit of pull to keep number 2 son out of that jackpot.

Still it's an average episode for the series and fans of Charlie Chan will like it.

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