| Charlie Chan in Honolulu | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Directed by | H. Bruce Humberstone |
| Written by | Charles S. Belden |
| Produced by | John Stone |
| Starring | Sidney Toler Phyllis Brooks Victor Sen Yung |
| Cinematography | Charles G. Clarke |
| Edited by | Nick DeMaggio |
| Music by | Samuel Kaylin |
| Production company | 20th Century Fox |
| Distributed by | 20th Century Fox |
| Release date |
|
| Running time | 67 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Charlie Chan in Honolulu is a 1939 American mystery film directed by H. Bruce Humberstone, starring Sidney Toler as the fictional Chinese-American detective Charlie Chan. The film is the first appearance of both Toler as Chan and Victor Sen Yung as "number two son" Jimmy.
Plot
Detective Chan rushes to the hospital to be with his daughter as she prepares to give birth to his first grandchild. While Charlie Chan waits at the hospital, his "number two" son Jimmy intercepts a message intended for Charlie about a murder on board the freighter Susan B. Jennings.
The freighter is on its way from Shanghai to Honolulu under the leadership of Captain Johnson (Robert Barrat). Jimmy wants to prove his investigative skills to his father and so boards the Jennings pretending to be Charlie Chan, with his younger brother Tommy (Layne Tom Jr.) in tow. The ruse doesn't last long and soon the real Chan arrives on board, interrogating a motley assortment of crooks, heiresses and crew as he works to solve a crime whose only witness is secretary Judy Haynes (Phyllis Brooks).
Captain Johnson is eager to unload his cargo, which is mostly a shipment of "big cats" destined for the San Francisco Zoo.Deckhand Al Hogan is fond of walking his pet lion Oscar on the main deck, to nobody's pleasure. Even more of a frightening sight is eccentric scholar Dr.Cardigan, who claims to have kept a human brain alive in formaldehyde for 6 months and is always on the lookout for new subjects. It develops that a suitcase with $300,000.00 is missing, the cash being involved in a tug-o'-war divorce settlement between Mrs.Carol Wayne and the murder victim. Carol Wayne is found strangled to death in Judy Hayes' cabin, where the dead woman and Dr.Cardigan had argued shortly before. Criminal Johnny Mc Coy is allegedly being extradited to the USA in the custody of Detective Joe Arnold, but Chan exposes them as fellow criminals wanted for murder in Shanghai who were trying to sneak back into the USA.
Jimmy starts a "controlled fire" on the ship, hoping to panic the killer in grabbing the hidden money and making a run for it. Charlie's anger is cooled when Jimmy shoves him out of the way of an assassin's bullet. The handgun ends up in the hands of Hogan, who returns it to Chan.
Chan announces the murderer will be revealed by the fingerprints on the gun. The lights go out and the gun is missing when they come back on. But in stealing the gun, the guilty party triggered an infra-red camera that reveals his guilt beyond all doubt.
We close with the remaining passengers gathered around the ship-to-shore phone, listening to the coos and cries of Charlie Chan's first grandchild.
Cast
- Sidney Toler as Charlie Chan
- Sen Yung as Jimmy Chan
- Phyllis Brooks as Judy Hayes
- Eddie Collins as Al Hogan
- John 'Dusty' King as Randolph
- Claire Dodd as Mrs. Carol Wayne
- George Zucco as Dr. Cardigan
- Robert Barrat as Captain Johnson
- Marc Lawrence as Johnny McCoy
- Richard Lane as Joe Arnold
- Layne Tom Jr. as Tommy Chan
- Philip Ahn as Wing Foo
- Paul Harvey as Inspector Rawlins
- James Flavin as Desk Cop in Homicide (uncredited)
- Oscar The Lion
Rest of the Chan Family
- Eugene Hoo as Chan Son
- Frances Hoo as Chan Daughter
- Hippie Hoo as Chan Son
- Florence Ung as Ling Chan
- Barbara Jean Wong as Chan Daughter (uncredited)
- Grace Lem as Mama Chan
References
External links
- Charlie Chan in Honolulu at the AFI Catalog of Feature Films
- TMC article on "Charlie Chan in Honolulu"
- Charlie Chan in Honolulu at IMDb
- Charlie Chan in Honolulu at AllMovie
- Charlie Chan in Honolulu at Rotten Tomatoes
- Charlie Chan in Honolulu Film details at The Charlie Chan Family Home
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