The Jade Mask (1945)

Charlie Chan looks into the apparent murder of a scientist in a spooky mansion.

Director:

Phil Rosen

Writers:

George Callahan (original screenplay), Earl Derr Biggers (character)

Stars:

Sidney Toler, Mantan Moreland, Edwin Luke

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Sidney Toler	...	Charlie Chan
Mantan Moreland	...	Birmingham Brown
Edwin Luke	...	Eddie Chan
Hardie Albright	...	Walter Meeker
Frank Reicher	...	Harper
Janet Warren	...	Jean Kent
Cyril Delevanti	...	Roth
Al Bridge	...	Sheriff Mack (as Alan Bridge)
Ralph Lewis	...	Officer Jim Kimball
Dorothy Granger	...	Stella Graham
Edith Evanson	...	Louise Harper
Joe Whitehead	...	Dr. Samuel R. Peabody
Henry Hall	...	Inspector Godfrey
Jack Ingram	...	Lloyd Archer
Danny Desmond	...	Bellboy

Storyline

Eccentric scientist Harper lives in a spooky mansion with all the trimmings: hidden lab, secret panels, inscrutable butler, and greedy relatives with unusual talents. When Harper seems to be murdered, Charlie Chan (with the uninvited help of No. 4 son) tries to answer such questions as Where's the body? How can a dead man walk? And how can a secret murder be done in full view of detectives and witnesses?

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Plot Keywords:

scientist | butler | espionage | coroner | small town sheriff | 

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Taglines:

A MYSTERY MANSION...Where death lurks in every dark corner and a mad genius runs loose!

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Genres:

Horror | Mystery | Sci-Fi

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

26 January 1945 (USA)

Also Known As:

Charlie Chan in the Jade Mask

Box Office

Budget:

$75,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Monogram Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

66 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Mirrophonic Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The thirty-seventh of forty-seven Charlie Chan movies.

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Goofs

The key to identifying the murderer is an ear remaining from a broken plaster life-make, reputedly as identifiable as a fingerprint, yet when we earlier see an intact life-mask, the face is precise but the ears are generic globs.

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Quotes

Eddie Chan: You see? That's the way to solve crime. Fast work and especially fast questioning.
Birmingham Brown: If anybody want to live around here they got to do some fast runnin'.

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Connections

Follows Charlie Chan at the Opera (1936)

User Reviews

Charlie Chan and the War Effort

This is a brief and entertaining Charlie Chan picture, starring the second and probably best Chan Sidney Toler. The story involves an eccentric inventor who has a new formula that will revolutionize a war industry. It seems that no one likes him including every member of his household. Naturally, he is killed, and Charlie Chan must figure out who did the dirty deed. This film was produced by Monogram Pictures near the end of the Chan series. It is a neat little story and has some wonderful lines spoken by Chan to his manservant Birmingham Brown and his number Four son, played by Edwin Luke. Mantan Moreland is wonderful as Brown bringing to the role some needed comic relief.