Charlie Chan Collection (Shadows Over Chinatown / Docks of New Orleans / Shanghai Chest / The Golden Eye) (DVD)

ChanCharlie Chan is a great character I’d love to see depicted by an actual Asian man someday and as a brilliant detective surrounded by a world of racists who assume him an ignorant little Oriental man. I’d cast a wonderful Asian actor, and create a very elaborate murder mystery for the resurgence of Charlie Chan. If handed the reins I’d certainly aim for a character that strays from his racist roots, whole hog.

For the latest “Charlie Chan Collection,” Warner releases four hour long films from the Charlie Chan library that are not only boring, but absolutely terrible. Sidney Toler stars as Chan in the film “Shadows Over Chinatown,” while the final three films in the collection are handled by Roland Winters. Neither of the actors are good as Charlie Chan, and the character often comes off as annoying when he should be admired. Chan is still a hideous Asian stereotype who speaks in ridiculous adages. It’s a tactic he uses to stall for time and often confuse his enemies, but here it’s irritating and feels like a lame device to keep broadcasting “He’s Asian, folks! Asian guy, right here!” Sidney Toler wants to convey the Asian personality, but in the midst of trying to adopt an Asian accent, he instead sounds like Robo-Chan.

He speaks in a stilted monotone voice with strained dialogue that makes him sound like he was programmed by the Bureau of stereotypes, and never once sounds like a genuine Asian man. Charlie Chan is mostly a character that arrives to perform for the white characters he’s surrounded by. Often times, he walks around basically doing their bidding, interrupts a terrible crime and begins solving the mystery regardless of their defiance. By the end of every movie, he’s patted on the head by his Caucasian supporting characters for doing a good job, while Chan never asks for credit or respect. That’d be presumptuous for an Asian man, wouldn’t it?

Chan even has his own man servants in the form of two useless African American butlers, both of whom follow Chan around praising his every move, and bumbling through different tense situations. They’re neither a plot device, nor sidekicks. They’re just there for bad comedic relief in four films that don’t even need it. If you are a fan of this character, then “The Charlie Chan Collection” might be up your alley, but I await a solid and respectable version of the man someday. Deep down within the stereotypes, Charlie Chan is a brilliant character waiting for a time to begin solving murders once more.

 


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