The Chinese Ring (1947)

Director:

William Beaudine

Writers:

Earl Derr Biggers (character)
Scott Darling (screenplay)

Release Date:

6 December 1947 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

Plot:

Soon after a Chinese princess comes to the US to buy planes for her people, she is murdered by a poison dart fired by an air rifle.

Plot Keywords:

Poison Dart | Rifle | Air Rifle | Pet Cemetery | Kidnapping

Cast

Roland Winters	...	Charlie Chan
Warren Douglas	...	Police Sgt. Bill Davidson
Mantan Moreland	...	Birmingham Brown
Louise Currie	...	Peggy Cartwright
Victor Sen Yung	...	Tommy Chan (as Victor Sen Young)
Philip Ahn	...	Captain Kong
Byron Foulger	...	Armstrong
Thayer Roberts	...	Captain James J. Kelso
Barbara Jean Wong	...	Princess Mei Ling (as Jean Wong)
Chabing	...	Lillie Mae Wong
George Spaulding	...	Dr. Hickey (as George L. Spaulding)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Paul Bryar	...	Police Sergeant (uncredited)
Spencer Chan	...	Chinese Officer (uncredited)
Thayer Cheek	...	Chinese Boy (uncredited)
Kenneth Chuck	...	Chinese Boy (uncredited)
Thornton Edwards	...	Palace Hotel Clerk (uncredited)
Lee Tung Foo	...	Armstrong's Butler (uncredited)
Charmienne Harker	...	Kelso's Stenographer (uncredited)
Jack Mower	...	Policeman Ballard (uncredited)
Richard Wang	...	Hamishin (uncredited)

Directed by
William Beaudine

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Earl Derr Biggers		character
Scott Darling		screenplay (as W. Scott Darling)

Produced by
James S. Burkett	....	producer

Cinematography by
William A. Sickner		(as William Sickner)

Film Editing by
Richard V. Heermance		(as Richard Heermance)
Ace Herman		(uncredited)

Art Direction by
Dave Milton		(uncredited)

Set Decoration by
Raymond Boltz Jr.		(uncredited)

Makeup Department
Harry Ross	....	makeup artist (uncredited)

Production Management
Glenn Cook	....	production supervisor

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
William A. Calihan Jr.	....	assistant director (as William Calihan Jr.)

Sound Department
W.C. Smith	....	sound

Music Department
Edward J. Kay	....	musical director

Other crew
Dave Milton	....	technical director

Production Companies

• Monogram Pictures

Distributors

• Monogram Pictures (1947) (USA) (theatrical)
• Warner Home Video (2010) (USA) (DVD) (Included in "TCM Spotlight: Charle Chan Collection")

Other Companies

• Warner Bros. Entertainment  DVD package design

Also Known As:

"Charlie Chan in the Chinese Ring" - USA (poster title)

Runtime:

68 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

USA:Approved (PCA #12748)

Filming Locations:

Monogram Studios - 1725 Fleming Street, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Monogram Pictures

Trivia:

Screenwriter Scott Darling reuses his Mr. Wong in Chinatown (1939) script from eight years earlier for Roland Winters' debut as Chan.

Quotes:

Police Sgt. Bill Davidson:Listen, Peggy, you holdin' out on me? You know something I don't know?
Peggy Cartwright:That wouldn't take much brains

Movie Connections:

Follows Dark Alibi (1946)

Fleecing the princess

During all the time I was watching The Chinese Ring I kept thinking I saw it before and then I learn that this was indeed the plot of an old Mr. Wong film also put out by Monogram. As the Wong series was before World War II started in Europe only the politics were changed and they got a little vague in this one.

Barbara Jean Wong, a Chinese princess who is in America to purchase war airplanes for what I presume is the Kuomintang air force against the Communists is shot and killed by a dart fired from an air rifle almost immediately after entering Charlie Chan's home. With a murder right in his own home Roland Winters in his first film as Charlie Chan is kind of forced to help the authorities who in this case are represented by homicide detective Warren Douglas. Tagging along is Louise Currie who is a reporter looking to scoop her rivals on who killed the princess.

The Occidentals who the princess had to deal with are one scurvy lot who saw a cash cow and were milking it for all it was worth. But one of them is scurvier than the rest that one murders the princes, her maid and a small mute Chinese boy who's only crime was that he was a witness.

The story did not translate that good to a post World War II political situation. Still the players do their best with it and Roland Winters slips nicely into the tradition of Warner Oland and Sidney Toler as our fortune cookie aphorism speaking Charlie Chan.