An around-the-world-cruise becomes the scene of tragedy when one of the tourists is murdered while in London. Scotland Yard Inspector Duff is unable to hold the suspects, but continues to follow up, especially when he's contacted by a woman who claims one of those involved is using an assumed name. But before she can identify the killer, she's shot dead while riding in an elevator with Duff! He eventually goes to Honolulu to seek help from his proverb-speaking friend, Inspector Charlie Chan-- only to be shot in the back in Chan's office. Taking this as an affront to his profession, Chan sets out to finish the case himself.
The earliest CHARLIE CHAN films were all based on the novels by Earl Derr Biggers. Tragically, quite a number of them are considered "LOST", several all being destroyed in a single fire in Hollywood decades ago. But over time, prints of a number of them have been found, among them ...IN PARIS (1935), the very strange adaptation of BEHIND THAT CURTAIN (1929), THE BLACK CAMEL (1931), and... ERAN TRECE ("There Were Thirteen"), the Spanish version of CHARLIE CHAN CARRIES ON (1931). So it is that, while Warner Oland's 1st turn as Chan is among the missing, we can see this excellent Spanish version (with English subtitles, thankfully!)
I've long noted how many detective series in the 1970s seemed inspired by earlier series or films from the 1930s & 40s, and one comparison I like to make is between Charlie Chan and Columbo. Both feature polite, self-effacing detectives investigating murders, who hide brilliant, sharp minds behind their polite exteriors. As others have noted, Manuel Arbo's Chan is more physically active than his contemporary Warner Oland, and which one prefers is a matter of personal taste.
I found the first half of this rather difficult, as there were so many suspects to deal with, and having to read English subtitles made it more challenging. Despite this, it HELD my interest, was a HUGE step up from the previous BEHIND THAT CURTAIN, and, when Chan finally appears 41 minutes in, the whole thing really picked up tremendously.
Among my favorite characters were the retired Chicago gangster & his wife. He talked tough and had an attitude, but when Chan appeared, it was interesting how he showed genuine respect. I also found his wife the most attractive woman character in the story. It was nice to see that while he had a rough exterior, they clearly got along very well and treated each other right.
Several of the early CHAN books were filmed more than once. In the case of "The House Without A Key" and "The Chinese Parrot", BOTH versions of each are lost! Luckily, with "...Carries On", we have both the 1931 Spanish version and the 1940 ...MURDER CRUISE (which is even better than this one!).
While the existing Oland films were spaced out almost randomly on the 20th Century-Fox box sets (now out of print and getting very pricey), OnesMedia just put out a brand-new CHARLIE CHAN VOL.1 containing all the available films from 1929-1937 in chronological order in a single compact box. The print of ERAN TRECE is excellent, crystal-clear picture & sound, though so far I find the subtitles confusing to turn on or off! I'm looking forward to upgrading the entire series from them, once the 2nd & 3rd boxes come out.
The earliest CHARLIE CHAN films were all based on the novels by Earl Derr Biggers. Tragically, quite a number of them are considered "LOST", several all being destroyed in a single fire in Hollywood decades ago. But over time, prints of a number of them have been found, among them ...IN PARIS (1935), the very strange adaptation of BEHIND THAT CURTAIN (1929), THE BLACK CAMEL (1931), and... ERAN TRECE ("There Were Thirteen"), the Spanish version of CHARLIE CHAN CARRIES ON (1931). So it is that, while Warner Oland's 1st turn as Chan is among the missing, we can see this excellent Spanish version (with English subtitles, thankfully!)
I've long noted how many detective series in the 1970s seemed inspired by earlier series or films from the 1930s & 40s, and one comparison I like to make is between Charlie Chan and Columbo. Both feature polite, self-effacing detectives investigating murders, who hide brilliant, sharp minds behind their polite exteriors. As others have noted, Manuel Arbo's Chan is more physically active than his contemporary Warner Oland, and which one prefers is a matter of personal taste.
I found the first half of this rather difficult, as there were so many suspects to deal with, and having to read English subtitles made it more challenging. Despite this, it HELD my interest, was a HUGE step up from the previous BEHIND THAT CURTAIN, and, when Chan finally appears 41 minutes in, the whole thing really picked up tremendously.
Among my favorite characters were the retired Chicago gangster & his wife. He talked tough and had an attitude, but when Chan appeared, it was interesting how he showed genuine respect. I also found his wife the most attractive woman character in the story. It was nice to see that while he had a rough exterior, they clearly got along very well and treated each other right.
Several of the early CHAN books were filmed more than once. In the case of "The House Without A Key" and "The Chinese Parrot", BOTH versions of each are lost! Luckily, with "...Carries On", we have both the 1931 Spanish version and the 1940 ...MURDER CRUISE (which is even better than this one!).
While the existing Oland films were spaced out almost randomly on the 20th Century-Fox box sets (now out of print and getting very pricey), OnesMedia just put out a brand-new CHARLIE CHAN VOL.1 containing all the available films from 1929-1937 in chronological order in a single compact box. The print of ERAN TRECE is excellent, crystal-clear picture & sound, though so far I find the subtitles confusing to turn on or off! I'm looking forward to upgrading the entire series from them, once the 2nd & 3rd boxes come out.