Eran trece (1931)

This is the Spanish-language version, with a different cast and crew, of the Charlie Chan film Charlie Chan Carries On, in which Charlie sets out to discover the killer of an American found dead in a London hotel room.

Writer:

Earl Derr Biggers (novel)

Stars:

Juan Torena, Ana María Custodio, Rafael Calvo

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Juan Torena	...	Dick Kennaway
Ana María Custodio	...	Elen Potter
Rafael Calvo	...	Inspector Duff
Raul Roulien	...	Max Minchin
Blanca de Castejón	...	Peggy Minchin (as Blanca Castejón)
Miguel Ligero	...	Frank Benbow
Amelia Santee	...	Señora Benbow
Carmen Rodríguez	...	Señora Rockwel
Julio Villarreal	...	Dr. Lofton
José Nieto	...	Capitán Kin
Carlos Díaz de Mendoza	...	Walter Decker
Lia Torá	...	Sybil Conway
Martin Garralaga	...	John Ross
Antonio Vidal	...	Paul Nielson
Ralph Navarro	...	Inspector Gardner

Storyline

Inspector Duff of Scotland Yard is called upon to investigate a murder amongst a group of tourists on an around-the-world cruise. Duff joins the cruise and learns certain facts about each of the suspects, but is himself shot. His friend, the famed Honolulu police detective Charlie Chan, comes aboard the vessel to take over the case for Duff. By a clever ruse, Chan uncovers the murderer.

---

Plot Keywords:

suspect | scotland yard | diamond | proverb | heart attack | 

---

Genres:

Crime | Drama | Mystery

---

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

Spanish

Release Date:

4 December 1931 (USA)

Also Known As:

A media noche

Company Credits

Production Co:

Fox Film Corporation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

79 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The title "Eran Trece" translates to "They Were Thirteen."

---

Goofs

Whenever Charlie Chan or his wife are supposed to be speaking in Chinese, they are actually speaking in Japanese. This is especially evident in the scene at the docks in which Mrs. Chan bids Charlie farewell by saying "Sayonara".

---

Quotes

Charlie Chan: Events explode without warning like fireworks over passersby.

---

Connections

Alternate-language version of Charlie Chan Carries On (1931)

User Reviews

Arbo Okay But Films Needed More Of Charlie

This Spanish version of the 1931 Charlie Chan film, "Charlie Chan Carries On" was fair to poor.....closer to poor because Charlie didn't show up in the film until it was over half over. I've never seen that in any of the English-speaking Chan films. He's always front-and-center.

This movie wasn't horrible but it was boring for several fairly-long stretches. It just isn't the same without Chan, and he's only in on screen in about 33 percent of the movie.

I had no trouble with Manuel Arbo's "take" on Chan. He's a little more subdued than Warner Oland or Sidney Toler but very comparable. His proverbs were fun and profound, as always. He was fine. The rest of the cast was so-so and a bit dated and silly with romance angles, gangster angles and an assortment of characters all of whom look guilty, of course.

As he did in some other episodes, Chan traps the murderer in the end with a clever scheme. The subtitles were easy to read but, as one reviewer said, this is more of a curiosity piece than anything else. It's for very, very hard-line Chan fans only. This was a bit boring even for me, and I love Charlie Chan films.