Charlie Chan Theater

The other day I took advantage of a Borders Rewards coupon for 40% off and bought the first collection of Charlie Chan movies on DVD. The first movie of the four was Charlie Chan in London. I've enjoyed the Charlie Chan films over the years and have many on VHS. (VCRs to play them on will soon be a thing of the past, so I hear.) I was reminded that a couple of years ago one of the local television stations began a Charlie Chan Theater and theoretically was going to show all of the Chan films available. One a week late at night. There was an outcry from the Chinese community, which in Seattle is sizeable. The series was cancelled.

This DVD series has four collections or sixteen films. There is also a Chanthology which contains another five films. But that's not all of the films. I'm not quite sure how many there are in total. I think somewhere around I have a list of twenty-seven.

Of the two actors who played Charlie I prefer Warner Oland over Sidney Toler. In London Charlie saves a man from execution by visiting a country house and finding the real murderer. The collection has good clear black-and-white images, apparently remastered. Very enjoyable. I suspect that eventually I will acquire them all.