Combat Sports Historian and Martial Artist
Legacy posts about films from the silent and classic Hollywood film eras.
The series of the Charlie Chan films starring Warner Oland were probably the strongest films in the Charlie Chan series. Sidney Toler made several good films also but eventually the series would become low-budget “B” films produced by Monogram Pictures. Charlie Chan’s Secret (1936) (affiliate link) was one of the earlier Twentieth-Century Fox films about Charlie Chan. The production values
The Black Camel (1931) is the oldest surviving Charlie Chan film (affiliate link) starring Warner Oland. It was the second film in the series for Fox Films. The first, third, fourth and fifth films are lost although a Spanish language version of Charlie Chan Carries On (Eran Trece, 1931) does exist. The Black Camel was released on June 21, 1931.
I first heard about Chang Apana in a featurette on one of the Charlie Chan DVD sets. I knew a real life detective inspired Earl Derr Biggers to create Charlie Chan. I did not know who the man was. Chang Apana was that man. Chang Apana (born Ah Ping Chang) on December 26, 1871 on the island of Oahu was
Charlie Chan at the Wax Museum (1940) starring Sidney Toler as Charlie Chan is my favorite Charlie Chan film. Charlie Chan is searching for a murderer in a wax museum. The wax museum is a front for a plastic surgeon, who changes the appearance of wanted criminals for a price. The surgeon Dr. Cream, played by C. Henry Gordon, also hosts
Eran Trece (1931) is the Spanish language version of Charlie Chan Carries On. Charlie Chan Carries On has not survived or at least has not been found yet, so this film (affliliate link) gives us our only look at the lost film. While it was based on the same story, the film had a completely different cast. Charlie Chan does
Charlie Chan in Panama (1940) stars Sidney Toler as Inspector Charlie Chan. In this film, Inspector Chan is on the trail of the spy Riner. Riner intends to carry out an act of sabotage, when the American fleet passes through the canal. Inspector Chan experiences an unusual situation, when he is arrested for the death of an American agent in
This movie is the first in a series (affiliate link) of six films from Monogram Pictures released between 1938 and 1940. The series was a “B” formula film offering. The film would have been shown first on a double bill. The first five films starred Boris Karloff as Mr. James Lee Wong, while in the sixth film Keye Luke portrayed
Max Linder (1883-1925) built the Pathe’ Film Studio in the early 1900s. Linder’s comedy influenced Charles Chaplin, Harold Lloyd and Buster Keaton. Linder is largely unknown today because his biggest film successes were in the 1910s. Most of his films are considered lost. Film fans today have the benefit of resources like the Internet Archive, which has a number of
What happens is the first commercially successful art film (affiliate link). The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920) was released in January 1920 becoming a German and international sensation. It marked the beginning of a German film revival during the 1920s The German Expressionist Movement in German art strongly influenced this film. Expressionist paintings were known for buildings sloped at
While it may not be on classic film lists, I love The Scarlet Pimpernel (1934) (affiliate link). It is an adaptation of the novel (affiliate link) by the same name, written by Baroness Orczy. The film concerns an English gentleman, who risks his life to save French aristocrats from the guillotine. Sir Percy Blakeney married Marguerite, a French woman with