The Chinese Ring (1947)

Director:

William Beaudine

Writers:

Earl Derr Biggers (character)
Scott Darling (screenplay)

Release Date:

6 December 1947 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

Plot:

Princess Mei Ling pays a visit to the Chan residence, where upon being admitted by man-of-all-work Birmingham Brown she refuses to give her name...

Plot Keywords:

Asian Comedian | Chinese Hero | Racial Role Playing | Sequel | Chinatown San Francisco

Cast

Roland Winters	...	Charlie Chan
Warren Douglas	...	Sgt. Bill Davidson
Mantan Moreland	...	Birmingham Brown
Louise Currie	...	Peggy Cartwright
Victor Sen Yung	...	Tommy Chan
Philip Ahn	...	Capt. Kong
Byron Foulger	...	Armstrong
Thayer Roberts	...	Capt. James J. Kelso
Barbara Jean Wong	...	Princess Mei Ling (as Jean Wong)
Chabing	...	Lillie Mae Wong
George Spaulding	...	Dr. Hickey (as George L. Spaulding)
Paul Bryar	...	Sergeant
Thornton Edwards	...	Hotel clerk
Lee Tung Foo	...	Armstrong's butler

Also Known As:

The Red Hornet (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

68 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

USA:Approved (PCA #12748, General Audience)

Company:

Monogram Pictures

Movie Connections:

Follows Charlie Chan at the Wax Museum (1940)

Winters Is the Winter of Our Discontent

A mysterious princess arrives at the Chan home, where she is shot. Collapsing, she manages to write, "Captain K," on the desk pad. "Are you sure she's dead, Pop?" Tommy asks. "Death, my son, is the reckoning of heaven. In this case, most complicated reckoning," states philosophical Charlie, lifting a line from Biggers' Behind That Curtain.

This one, Number 42 in the series and the first with Roland Winters in the title role, does not augur well for the remainder of the Monogram efforts in this inept re-make of Mr Wong in Chinatown. Mr Winters is a poor substitute for Sidney Toler (not to mention Boris Karloff). He moves stiffly, and his accent is poor stuff indeed. A less inspired actor to play the part of Chan could not possibly be imagined, although I should mention that Winters was to improve considerably in his later Chan characterizations.

Scott Darling has done very little to update his Wong script and changing the dwarf to a small boy is just about the last straw. Also, Beaudine's direction does not compare well with Nigh's. Admittedly, this entry has obviously been made on an extremely tight budget.