The Jade Mask (1945)

Director:

Phil Rosen

Writers:

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

Release Date:

26 January 1945 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Mystery | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

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

Plot:

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

Plot Keywords:

Scientist | Butler | Beautiful Woman | Gas Chamber | Vault

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
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Lester Dorr	...	Michael Strong (uncredited)

Directed by
Phil Rosen

Writing credits
George Callahan		(original screenplay)
Earl Derr Biggers		(character)

Produced by
James S. Burkett	....	producer

Original Music by
Dave Torbett

Cinematography by
Harry Neumann		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
John C. Fuller

Set Decoration by
Vin Taylor

Production Management
William Strohbach	....	production manager (as Wm. Strohbach)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Eddie Davis	....	assistant director

Sound Department
Tom Lambert	....	sound recordist

Music Department
Edward J. Kay	....	musical director
Edward J. Kay	....	composer: original theme (uncredited)

Other crew
Dave Milton	....	technical director

Production Companies

• Monogram Pictures

Distributors

• Monogram Pictures (1945) (USA) (theatrical)
• MGM Home Entertainment (2004) (USA) (DVD)
• MGM Home Entertainment (2004) (USA) (VHS)

Also Known As:

"Charlie Chan in the Jade Mask" - USA (informal title)

Runtime:

66 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Mirrophonic Recording)

Certification:

Australia:PG

Company:

Monogram Pictures

Trivia:

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

Goofs:

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

Quotes:

Sheriff Mack:[to suspects] When it comes to talkin', you people just don't enter into the spirit of the thing!

Movie Connections:

Featured in The Slanted Screen (2006)

Okay Chan

This film suffers from a cheapness and lack of decent plotting. Its still worth seeing, especially if you have other films to watch as well.

Concerning the death of yet another inventor Charlie Chan runs around and a round the same three or four sets in what at times amounts to little more than a filmed stage play. Its not bad, just needlessly circular and confused, with a denouncement that seems to indicate that the writers were drinking heavily.

This isn't to say that it's a bad film, its not. Despite my opening remark, this is a film that is frustrating more than anything, especially since the film should work better than it does, but it was undermined by the round about nature forced upon it by cost and script.

6 out of 10.