The Golden Eye (1948)

Chan discovers a conspiracy when a low paying gold mine seemingly starts to become profitable, and attempts are made on the owner's life.

Director:

William Beaudine

Writers:

Earl Derr Biggers (characters), Scott Darling

Stars:

Roland Winters, Wanda McKay, Mantan Moreland

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Roland Winters	...	Charlie Chan
Wanda McKay	...	Evelyn Manning
Mantan Moreland	...	Birmingham Brown
Victor Sen Yung	...	Tommy Chan (as Victor Sen Young)
Bruce Kellogg	...	Talbot Bartlett
Tim Ryan	...	Vincent O'Brien / Lt. Mike Ruark
Evelyn Brent	...	Sister Teresa
Ralph Dunn	...	Jim. Driscoll
Lois Austin	...	Mrs. Margaret Driscoll
Forrest Taylor	...	Mr. Manning
Lee 'Lasses' White	...	Pete
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Herman Cantor	...	(scenes deleted)
Richard Loo	...	(scenes deleted)
Sam McDaniel	...	Undetermined Role (scenes deleted)
Tom Tyler	...	(scenes deleted)

Storyline

A gold mine in Arizona, that was formerly losing a lot of money, suddenly turns into a veritable money-making machine. However, the owner, instead of being happy about his now profitable business, insists to Charlie that something is fishy and that someone is out to murder him. Charlie and his "crew" travel to the mine, pretending to be tourists staying at a nearby dude ranch so as not to arouse suspicion, and discover that the owner may well be right--it looks like the mine is being used as a cover for criminal activities, and that someone is indeed out to murder him.

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Plot Keywords:

gold mine | arizona | sequel | asian hero | hawaiian hero | 

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Taglines:

Death lurks at every step...as your oriental super-sleuth stalks a desperate killer -- below the surface of the earth!

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Genres:

Comedy | Crime | Mystery | Thriller

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

29 August 1948 (USA)

Also Known As:

Charlie Chan in the Golden Eye

Filming Locations:

Santa Clarita, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Monogram Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

69 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The second of three appearances of Tim Ryan as Lt. Mike Ruark, whom Chan always refers to simply as "Lt. Mike".

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Connections

Follows Charlie Chan's Greatest Case (1933)

User Reviews

Weak Chan, but still a Chan

This episode in the Chan series features skimpy sets - not rare in the later Chans - and a weak role for the usually entertaining Mantan Moreland, but some Chan is better than none. Roland Winters does a perfectly serviceable job as Charlie - lacking the warmth of Warner Oland, but also lacking the harshness of Sidney Toler in his father/son interactions. The plot is pedestrian, but the series is about Charlie and assistants, not the stories, so a less than perfect plot is OK. This movie lacks the beautiful women in gowns we often get in Chans, and not much of a love affair, so some of the classic Chan features are missing. By this late time, they were spending very little money on the series, and milking it for the value of the franchise. One can imagine that it was a perfectly good way to spend an hour on a Saturday in post-war America.

I noticed that after crediting Roland Winters and one woman actress, Mantan Moreland and Victor Sen Young came next. In spite of the fact that a white man was playing Chan, clearly a black man and a Chinese man came next in popularity with audiences. For some reason, this fact is never credited. The theme of racist America is just to popular to be spoiled by such facts.