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

Shadow of moving microphone on drapes at the 38:05 mark with Eddie and Birmingham talking.

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Quotes

Charlie Chan: Murder know no law of relativity.

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Connections

Follows Charlie Chan at the Olympics (1937)

User Reviews

A Strange Chan Flick; Not Bad Until The Ending

This is one of the strangest Charlie Chan films I've even seen, probably because many of the suspects were so weird. That, and the building in which most of the action takes place - with all its secret and motorized panels - is odd to see.

The story: an unpopular family member-scientist, "Dr. Harper," (Frank Reicher) has developed a chemical that makes wood as strong as steel. Our government could use this, especially in time of war, so they are obviously concerned when the scientist is found murdered. They call on Charlie Chan to help solve the case and get the formula. Charlie winds up getting help from his Number Four Son "Eddie," someone I never saw in any other Chan films. He was the bespectacled "intellectual" son in the family and another likable Chan.

Anyway, someone is after the formula - for the money it could bring them - and is culprit is probably from the big family where the doctor was working. All of these people are portrayed as guilty-looking so the audience has a hard time figuring out who's the killer.

The "whodunnit" is wrapped up in the end with a gathering of everyone while Chan explains his discoveries. That was the only problem with the film: the ending was unsatisfying and bit unrealistic.