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Shadows Over Chinatown
Monogram Pictures Corporation
Distributed: Monogram Pictures Corporation,
July 27, 1946
Copyright: Monogram Pictures Corporation, July 5, 1946; LP420
Sound: Western Electric Mirrophonic Recording
Film: Black and white
Running Time: 64 minutes
Source: Based on the character created by Earl Derr Biggers
Producer: James S. Burkett
Director: Terry Morse
Assistant Director: William Callahan,
Jr.
Original Screenplay: Raymond Scrock
Photography: William Sickner
Technical Director: Dave Milton
Supervising
Film Editor: Richard Currier
Editor: Ralph Dixon
Musical Director: Edward J. Kay
Technical Director: Dave Asilton
Recording: Tom Lambert
Makeup:
Harry Ross
Production Manager: Glenn Cook
CAST:
Sidney Toler: Charlie Chan
Mantan Moreland: Birmingham Brown
Victor
Sen Young: Jimmy Chan
Tanis Chandler: Mary Conover (alias Mary McCoy)
John Gallaudet: Jeff Hay (alias for Craig Winfield)
Paul
Bryar: Mike Rogan
Bruce Kellogg: Jack Tilford (alias Joe Thomas; called Joe Thompson)
Alan Bridge: Captain Allen
Mary
Gordon: Mrs. Conover
Dorothy Granger: Joan Mercer
Jack Norton: Cosgrove
George Eldredge: Lannigan
Tyra Vaughn:
Miss Chalmers
Lyle Latell: Police Clerk
Myra McKinney: Kate Johnson
Harry Depp: Dr. Denby
Gladys Blake: Myrtle
Jack Mower: Hobart (not credited)
Jack Hamilton: Pronnet (not credited)
Charlie
Jordan: Jenkins (not credited)
Louise Franklin: Maid (not credited)
Frank Mayo: Police Lieutenant (not credited)
Kit
Carson: Hotel Clerk (not credited)
Doris Fulton: Angie (not credited)
Jimmy Dugan: Police driver (not credited)
James B. Leong: Chinese Curio Shop Owner (not credited)
George Chan (not credited)
SUMMARY:
Charlie Chan and his number two son, Jimmy, along with chauffeur Birmingham Brown are all
on a bus heading south to San Francisco during a rainy night to investigate a murder case involving an unidentified armless,
legless, headless torso. A short time later, when the bus breaks down, the group takes refuge from the storm inside
a bus station waiting room. Suddenly, a hand holding a gun reaches through an open window and shoots at Chan.
The detective falls to the floor, apparently badly wounded. While Jimmy and others try to assist the unconscious detective,
Chan recovers, discovering that he was saved by a pocket watch, now embedded with the assailant's bullet, that was given to
him as a birthday gift from his number two son.
Soon, several of the passengers find that they have been robbed. After
they are joined by a U.S. Marine on leave named Jack Tillford, who is momentarily suspected of being the person who shot at
Chan, the detective speaks privately to another passenger, Cosgrove. Chan suggests that he return the items that he
has stolen, in exchange for not revealing his crime. "Goods returned, crime avoided," suggests the detective. The
grateful pickpocket promises to return the favor in the future.
Back on the bus, after the necessary repairs have
been made, Chan learns that Mrs. Conover is traveling to San Francisco to search for her missing granddaughter, Mary. He
tells the concerned woman that he will do what he can to help her find her missing loved one.
In San Francisco, Chan,
Jimmy, and Birmingham visit the Bureau of Missing Persons, where the detective reveals to Captain Allen that he has two purposes:
The first, on behalf of an insurance company, is to discover the identity of the torso; the second is to learn the whereabouts
of Mary Conover. Chan suspects that the torso belongs to a former showgirl named Grace Gortner, whose wealthy husband,
Homer B. Pendleton, had died after taking out a large insurance policy. On Allen's desk, Chan sees a photograph of an
AWOL (Away Without Leave) Marine, Corporal Joe Thompson, and realizes that he is the same person who had called himself "Tillford"
at the bus station.
Chan returns to the hotel where Mrs. Conover is staying with her friend, Kate Johnston.
After reassuring her that the body, which has an appendectomy scar, cannot be that of her missing granddaughter, he and Jimmy
have lunch in the hotel restaurant. There, Chan recognizes their waitress as Mary Conover with dyed blonde hair. The
detective leaves to bring Mary's grandmother to confirm her identity, but while he is gone, Mary is also recognized by her
former employer, Mike Rogan. Mary tries to sneak past Rogan and leaves the restaurant. However, Rogan, who is
on a pay phone informing his boss of his discovery, hurries out to follow the young woman. Jimmy and Birmingham also
follow, but, when Chan meets them at Mary's apartment, they are joined by private detective Jeff Hay, who informs Chan that
he has followed their bus driver, who is actually Mike Rogan, to this location. Inside the apartment, they discover Kate's
body, and Chan suspects that her killer had mistaken her for Mary Conover.
Chan returns to the Bureau of Missing Persons
and learns that, before her marriage to Pendleton, Grace Gortner had once been in love with a man named Craig Winfield.
Thompson, the AWOL Marine, is picked up by the police, and he explains that he went AWOL in order to try to find Mary, with
whom he is in love. He adds that Mary had worked at an escort bureau and was frightened of her employer, Rogan.
When
Chan returns to his hotel, Hay is waiting with the information that he has found Rogan in Chinatown. However, when they arrive
there, they find that Rogan is dead. Mary is then picked up. She explains that Rogan had discovered that Thompson's
father was wealthy and had suggested to her that she marry John, take out a large insurance policy, and become a wealthy widow.
CONCLUSION:
After reuniting Mary with her grandmother, Chan asks
Mary to help him set a trap for the owner of the escort bureau. At the bureau, Mary is waylaid by Hay, but when he runs
into a police trap, and learns that Mary is part of it, Hay returns with her to the escort bureau.
In the meantime,
a photograph has come over the police wire service that identifies Hay as Winfield. Realizing that Mary is in great
danger, Chan follows a hunch and finds Hay and Mary in Chinatown. Although Hay tries to shoot Chan, Cosgrove, the pickpocket,
who had earlier "bumped into" Hay, had removed the bullets from Hay's gun. Chan then explains that it was Hay who had
killed Kate Johnson, having mistaken her for Mary. He was also the one who killed Rogan, in order to blame him for the
other deaths, including the "Torso Murder."
NOTES: This film's working titles were
Corpus Delecti and The Mandarin's Secret. Shadows Over Chinatown featured the return of Sen Yung (Victor
Sen Young) as Charlie Chan's Number Two Son, whose last previous appearance had been in Castle in the Desert (1942).
Adapted from: AMERICAN FILM INSTITUTE CATALOG - Within Our Gates: Ethnicity in American
Feature Films, 1911-1960
CHARLIE CHAN'S APHORISMS:
Numbers cannot control life expectancy.
Goods returned - crime prevented.
Lending sympathetic ear to lady in distress
is pleasure, not trouble.
Sometimes, surgeon's scar speak louder than fingerprints.
Confucius say, "Sleep
only escape from yesterday."
Business conversation at table very bad for digestion.
Blond hair can be obtained from a bottle - or wigmaker.
Deception is bad game for amateurs.
Morbid curiosity sometimes draw murderer back to scene of crime.
Many criminals carry knife.
Ancient proverb say, "Never bait trap with wolf to catch wolf."
Cornered rat usually full of fight.
OTHER WORTHY STATEMENTS:
Momentarily
I think United States lose one Chinese detective, but now I discover I am living on borrowed time. (After
being shot, but saved by his pocket watch)
Bullet intended as one-way journey to join honorable ancestors.
But birthday watch, given by number two son, altered trip.
Hot stove make all the world kin on a night like this.
(Regarding the cold and rainy night)
Stranger who seek refuge from storm
should not object to proving his good intentions.
Always grateful for favors.
My sitting assistants
will take chairs and again practice art of relaxation until I return. (To Jimmy and Birmingham)
I am looking for something. When I find what, I return and tell my assistants. (To
Jimmy and Birmingham)
As nurse say to father of newborn twins, "Pleasure is double."
You have
shoestring on wrong foot - I come for your help. (To Flannagan)
Number
two son like flea on dog - always must have fine-toothed comb to find same.
Perhaps voice from dim past may lift curtain
to oblivion.
(Jimmy: "Did you find out anything, Pop?") Not enough to fill
ear of gnat.
What Confucius say to this too terrible even for Charlie Chan to repeat. (To
Jimmy and Birmingham after their car runs out of gas)
Pieces of jigsaw puzzle gradually begin to fit together.
(Flannagan: "My private detective sure gets around, doesn't he?") Like influenza
epidemic, he cover wide territory, but accomplish very little good.
I recall story of farm hand who find cow he had
lost by trying to figure out where he would go if he were cow.
REVIEW:
Variety, September 18, 1946
Standard Charlie Chan fare. A slimly-budgeted film, "Shadows Over Chinatown" is cooked
up from the familiar recipe of oriental epigrams and occasional corpses which have been the trademark of this series since
the late Warner Oland first quoted Confucius. Plot originality in this one is negligible but dialoging is snappy, and
film is well-paced.
As usual, Sidney Toler plays the sage slant-eyed sleuth with comedy support from his two fumbling
aides, Mantan Moreland and Victor Sen Young. Story revolves around the efforts of the Chinese detective to crack an
insurance racket outfit. Mixed up in the case is a missing girl, thought to be a torse-murder victim, but who is on
the lam from the mobsters because of their plot against her fiance. Plot converges in San Francisco's Chinatown where
Chan tracks down the leader of the gang.
Minor romantic interest is furnished by Tanis Chandler and Bruce Kellogg
with John Gallaudet, Paul Bryar and Jack Norton giving okay support in stock parts. Straight camera work and musical
effects par the general level of the production.
FILM NOTES:
DATE: Mid-May 1946
DURATION: Two days
LOCATION: Immigrant Gap, California and San Francisco, California
THE TEXT OF THE PLAQUE SHOWN ON THE SAN FRANCISCO HALL OF JUSTICE:
"HALL OF JUSTICE
ERECTED MCMX
NEWTON J. THARP ARCHITECT"
THE OFFICE THAT IS SHOWN IN THE HALL OF JUSTICE: Bureau
of Missing Persons
THE HEADLINE SEEN ON THE SAN FRANCISCO NEWSPAPER THAT IS POSTED ON THE BULLETIN
BOARD:
"MURDERER BEHEADS VICTIM"
THE DESTINATION POSTED ON THE FRONT OF THE BUS TAKEN
BY CHARLIE CHAN AND COMPANY: San Francisco
THE HEADLINE ON THE SALT LAKE NEWSPAPER THAT WAS BEING READ BY CHARLIE CHAN
ON THE BUS:
"TORSO VICTIM UNIDENTIFIED"
THE LOCATION WHERE THE BUS STOPPED FOR REPAIRS: Immigrant
Gap
THE NUMBER OF PERSONS RIDING ON THE BUS: 13
THE HIGHWAY ON WHICH THE BUS WAS TRAVELING TO SAN FRANCISCO: US 40
THE SUBJECT OF THE TRAVEL POSTERS SEEN IN THE LOBBY OF THE IMMIGRANT GAP
BUS STOP: Yosemite National Park
THE PRICE QUOTED BY THE BUS DRIVER TO JACK TILLFORD FOR THE RIDE TO SAN FRANCISCO: "...six bucks."
THE BRIDGE SEEN OUT OF THE REAR WINDOW OF THE BUS AS IT ENTERED SAN FRANCISCO: Golden Gate Bridge
CHARLIE CHAN'S DESCRIPTION OF THE "TORSO VICTIM": "...canyon
victim."
THE NAME OF THE BUS COMPANY: Transcontinental
Lines (?)
THE POINT OF ORIGIN OF THE BUS TO SAN FRANCISCO: Salt
Lake City, Utah
THE GENERAL ARRIVAL TIME OF THE BUS IN SAN FRANCISCO: Morning
THE NAME OF THE MAN CALLED BY THE BUREAU OF MISSING PERSONS WORKER TO ASSIST
WITH A DEAF MAN: Joe
THE NAME OF THE PERSON WHOSE PICTURE WAS REMOVED FROM THE MISSING PERSONS
ALBUM: Mary Conover
THE INFORMATION LISTED UNDER THIS PICTURE:
Date: 5/7/46
No: 83810
Name: Mary Conover
Hair: Blonde
Eyes: Hazel
Ht: 5'-3"
Wt: 105
Age: 23
THE ACQUAINTANCE OF CHARLIE CHAN: Chief
of Police
THE CASE MENTIONED BY CHARLIE CHAN THAT WAS SIMILAR TO THE "TORSO MURDER": "...New Orleans Trunk Murder."
THE PLACE WHERE THE "TORSO MURDER" WAS COMMITTED: Immigrant Gap
THE NAME AND INFORMATION ON THE MISSING WOMAN, ACCORDING TO CHARLIE CHAN: "Grace Gortner, age 30, wife of Homer B. Pendleton, last known address, Avon Apartments."
SOME OF THE INFORMATION SHOWN FOR THE AWOL MARINE AS SEEN BY CHARLIE CHAN
AT CAPTAIN ALLEN'S OFFICE: Name of the Marine: Cpl. Joe Thomas. He had been away without
leave (AWOL) since May 10, 1946. He was born on October 23, 1913, and was inducted into the Marines on January 12, 1940
(?).
CHARLIE CHAN'S MISTAKEN NAME FOR CPL. JOE THOMAS: "...Cpl.
Joe Thompson..."
THE LOCATION OF IMMIGRANT GAP, ACCORDING TO CHARLIE CHAN: "...100
miles north of here (San Francisco)..."
THE DISTINGUISHING SURGICAL MARK NOTED BY CHARLIE CHAN ON THE "TORSO MURDER"
VICTIM'S BODY: An appendectomy scar "...several years old."
CHARLIE CHAN'S ORDER AT THE MAYFAIR HOTEL'S COFFEE SHOP: "Pot
of tea, please... Just tea."
JIMMY CHAN'S ORDER AT THE COFFEE SHOP: "I
think I'll have some chop suey... Also, I'll have some ice cream and a cup of coffee."
JIMMY CHAN'S COMMENT TO HIS POP REGARDING CHOP SUEY: "Oh, it's good stuff, Pop, you ought to try it sometime."
THE LUNCH ITEM ORDERED BY MIKE ROGAN FROM MARY CONOVER: "...breaded veal chops."
THE NAME OF THE COFFEE SHOP AT THE MAYFAIR HOTEL: Mairfair
Coffee Shop
THE NAME OF THE COFFEE SHOP WORKER TO WHOM MARY CONOVER HAD SAID SHE NEEDED
TO GO SEE A DOCTOR: Myrtle
THE NAME OF THE HOTEL WHERE CHARLIE CHAN WAS STAYING IN SAN FRANCISCO: Mayfair Hotel
THE ALIAS USED BY MARY CONOVER: Mary McCoy
ACCORDING THO MYRTLE AT THE COFFEE SHOP, THE NAME OF THE ELDERLY LADY WHO
HAD ASKED ABOUT MARY MCCOY (MARY CONOVER): "...Kate Johnson..."
THE NAME OF THE CORNER BUSINESS FROM WHERE JIMMY CHAN AND BIRMINGHAM BROWN
WATCHED MARY CONOVER ENTER HER RESIDENCE: Joe's Ice Cream Parlor
THE NAME OF THE APARTMENTS WHERE MARY CONOVER LIVED: Randolf
Apartments
MARY CONNOVER'S APARTMENT NUMBER: 36
THE NAME OF THE BURLESQUE COMPANY TO WHICH GRACE GORTNER HAD ONCE BELONGED: Bon Ton Burlesque Company
THE NAME OF THE FOLMER MANAGER OF THE BON TON BURLESQUE COMPANY: Craig Winfield
THE LENGTH OF TIME, ACCORDING TO CAPTAIN ALLEN, SINCE GRACE GORTNER HAD BELONGED
TO THE BON TON BURLESQUE COMPANY: "...twelve years..."
OTHER ALIASES OF MIKE ROBERTS, ACCORDING TO CHARLIE CHAN: "Mike
Rogan, Mickey Rodgers, Marty Roman..."
THE NAME OF THE ESCORT COMPANY FOR WHICH MARY CONOVER HAD ONCE WORKED: Bay City Escort Bureau
THE NAME OF THE WOMAN IN CHARGE OF THE BAY CITY ESCORT BUREAU:
Joan Mercer
THE NAME OF THE MANAGER OF THE BAY CITY ESCORT BUREAU: Mr.
Kearney
ACCORDING TO JOAN MERCER, MR. KEARNEY'S CURRENT WHEREABOUTS: "...Mr. Kearney is in New York."
THE IDENTIFICATION OF THE POLICE CAR, ACCORDING TO THE RADIO
CALL, IN WHICH CHARLIE CHAN AND CAPTAIN ALLEN RODE: "...BMP car 10A."
THE NAME OF THE OFFICER CALLING CAPTAIN ALLEN ON THE RADIO: Jenkins
GRACE GORTNER'S FULL NAME: Grace Gortner
Pendleton
THE NAME OF THE CORNER BUSINESS IN FRONT OF WHICH MARY CONOVER
WAS STOPPED: Kuff's Bar
ACCORDING TO THE POLICE RADIO DISPATCHER, POLICE CARS INVOLVED IN THE SEARCH
FOR THE RED CONVERTIBLE: "Car 44...Car 31...Car 33..."
SAN FRANCISCO DISTRICTS COVERED IN THE SEARCH: Mission
District, North Beach District, Nob Hill District
GLOSSARY:
blackjack - A
leather-covered bludgeon with a short, flexible shaft or strap, used as a hand weapon.
Charlie Chan: "...you walk in path of descending
blackjack."
choke - (As used)
To reduce the air intake of (a carburetor), thereby enriching the fuel mixture.
Jimmy Chan: "Did you choke
it?"
chump - A
stupid or foolish person; a dolt.
Jeff Hay: "I guess I'm the chump
of the year."
dizzy - (Slang)
Scatterbrained or silly.
Mike Rogan: "Hold it, boss, that dizzy dame's beating it."
shadow - To
follow, especially in secret; trail.
Jimmy Chan: "Come on, Birmingham, we gotta shadow
that girl."
shake a leg - (Idiom)
To move quickly; hurry up.
Jimmy Chan: "C'mon, Birmingham, shake
a leg."
third degree - Mental or physical torture
used to obtain information or a confession from a prisoner.
Jack Tillford: "Say, what's the idea of this third degree?"
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