The Jade Mask (1945)

User Rating:

6.8/10   

Director:

Phil Rosen

Writers:

Earl Derr Biggers (characters)
George Callahan (writer)

Release Date:

26 January 1945 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Mystery | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

A MYSTERY MANSION...Where death lurks in every dark corner and a mad genius runs loose!

Plot:

Charlie Chan looks into the apparent murder of a scientist in a spooky mansion.

Plot Keywords:

Charlie Chan | Scientist | Butler | Black Stereotype | Whodunit

Cast

Sidney Toler	...	Charlie Chan
Mantan Moreland	...	Birmingham Brown
Edwin Luke	...	Eddie Chan
Hardie Albright	...	Walter Meeker
Frank Reicher	...	Harper
Janet Warren	...	Jean Kent
Cyril Delevanti	...	Roth
Al Bridge	...	Sheriff Mack (as Alan Bridge)
Ralph Lewis	...	Officer Jim Kimball
Dorothy Granger	...	Stella Graham
Edith Evanson	...	Louise Harper
Joe Whitehead	...	Dr. Samuel R. Peabody
Henry Hall	...	Inspector Godfrey
Jack Ingram	...	Lloyd Archer
Danny Desmond	...	Bellboy
Lester Dorr	...	Michael Strong

Directed by
Phil Rosen

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Earl Derr Biggers		characters
George Callahan		writer

Produced by
James S. Burkett	....	producer

Original Music by
Dave Torbett

Cinematography by
Harry Neumann

Film Editing by
John C. Fuller

Set Decoration by
Vin Taylor

Production Management
William Strohbach	....	production manager (as Wm. Strohbach)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Eddie Davis	....	assistant director

Sound Department
Tom Lambert	....	sound recordist

Music Department
Edward J. Kay	....	musical director
Edward J. Kay	....	composer: original theme (uncredited)

Other crew
Dave Milton	....	technical director

Production Companies

• Monogram Pictures

Distributors

• Monogram Pictures (1945) (USA) (theatrical)
• MGM Home Entertainment (2004) (USA) (DVD)
• MGM Home Entertainment (2004) (USA) (VHS)

Runtime:

66 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Mirrophonic Recording)

Company:

Monogram Pictures

Quotes:

Charlie Chan: Murder knows no law of relativity.

Movie Connections:

Featured in The Slanted Screen (2006)

Among the Best of the Chan Monogram Films--But That's Not Saying Much

Loosely based on novels by Earl Derr Biggers, 20th Century Fox's Charlie Chan series proved an audience favorite--but when Japan attacked Pearl Harbor the studio feared audiences would turn against its Asian hero. This was a miscalculation: actor Sidney Toler took the role to "poverty row" Monogram Studios, where he continued to portray the character in eleven more films made between 1944 and his death in 1947.

20th Century Fox had regarded the Chan films as inexpensive "B" movies, but even so the studio took considerable care with them: the plots were often silly, but the pace was sharp, the dialogue witty, and the casts (which featured the likes of Bela Lugosi and Ray Milland) always expert. The result was a kindly charm which has stood the test of time. Monogram was a different matter: Chan films were "B" movies plain and simple. Little care was taken with scripts or cast and resulting films were flat, usually mediocre at best, virtually unwatchable at worst.

Released in 1945, THE JADE MASK is one of the very few Monograms that approaches the quality level of the 20th Century Fox series. This largely due to the expert cast and witty script, both of which are a bit unusual for Monogram. In this particular tale, Chan--who now works for the government during World War II--is called upon to investigate the murder of a scientist working with potentially beneficial but distinctly deadly gasses. Sidney Toler's Chan is always enjoyable, and he is aided in this by the local sheriff (Alan Bridge, who has the best lines in the film) and the inevitable Birmingham Brown (Mantan Moreland.) Fans of the 20th Century Fox series are likely to find Monogram's Chan a significant disappointment and newcomers who like the Monogram films will probably consider them third-rate after encountering the Fox films. Even so, THE JADE MASK is unexpectedly good, and I think most Chan fans will find it enjoyable.

GFT, Amazon Reviewer