The character of Charlie Chan was created by Ohio-born writer, Earl Derr Biggers, and although Chan's first film appearances were on the sidelines, Fox soon put him in the spotlight, and actor Warner Oland played the part. Charlie Chan wasn't entirely a fictional creation. The author, Earl Derr Biggers, created him after a real-life detective in Hono lulu named Chang Apana. Charlie Chan appeared in a total of six novels, the first of which was The House Without a Key. It was only his presence in more than forty movies that Charlie Chan was able to change the insidious image of the deceitful and sinister "asian villain". Chan brought to the screen a calm, insightful, and enduring character whom always prevailed despite the clever efforts of his adversary, no matter how much his inept sons interfered.
The Charlie Chan films were produced by Twentieth Century Fox, during the 1930's and 1940's, at which point Monogram Studios continued production of the series, on a shoestring budget, in the mid to late 40's.
The formula was simple: 1) Charlie Chan of the Honolulu Police Force, a worldwide celebrity, 2) A murder case set in an interesting or exotic location (usually not Honolulu) 3)One or two of Charlie's detective wannabe sons (usually identified chronologically as #1 son, #2 son) They would attempt to help their "Pop" then spend the rest of the film getting in the way, and providing hours of comic relief. 4) And we can never forget the numerous chinese proverbs, Chan dropped in along the way!
Some of Hollywood's finest actors of the period accompanied Charlie Chan: Boris Karloff, Bela Logusi, Lionel Atwill, Caesar Romero, Leo G. Carroll, Pauline Moore, Lon Chaney, Jr. And, of course, his Number One or Number Two Son was always there to assist his father in unraveling the mystery.
When Warner Oland died in 1938, Sidney Toler took his place to carry on the role, and the series hardly missed a beat. The son of choice this time became known as Jimmy Chan, also known as #2 son, played by Victor Sen Yung. In the earlier (Oland) Chan films, Keye Luke played #1 son, Lee Chan.
Wartime brought an end to Fox's Chan pictures, but after a short interruption, Charlie returned (with Toler playing the role), with even lower production standards, in several films made by the Monogram Studios. Monogram introduced a new wrinkle to the formula, adding the hysterics of black actors Mantan Moreland and Willie Best. When Toler died in 1947, Roland Winters continued the series for a few more films for Monogram, but the magic was gone. Several actors have portrayed Charlie Chan on the screen, with little variation in their depictions. Despite his base of operations located in Honolulu, few of Chan's adventures were in Hawaii. Charlie Chan was probably the widest-traveled detective in fiction. You could find him in New York, London, Paris, Reno, Panama, Rio, Egypt, Shanghai, Reno, New Orleans, and a dozen other places around the world where baffling cases of murder and larceny were waiting to be solved. He was sent to the Opera, the Race Track, the Circus, Olympics, even to a Wax Museum.
One interesting aspect of the Charlie Chan stories is cross-culturization. Charlie, being both Chinese, Hawaiian (and therefore American) is also anxious to preserve the ideals of his ancestry. His cases become especially interesting when the traditions of East and West clash, adding an unusual and exciting element to the crime-fiction genre.
Audiences fell in love with Charlie Chan to such an extent, that it gave birth to what can only be called a "Charlie Chan Indus try". Not only were his movies popular, but there was also a Charlie Chan radio series from 1932 to 1948, offering the illustrious voices of Ed Begley, Walter Connally, and Santos Ortega. After the last Charlie Chan movie set was struck, Chan was reincarnated on television, with J. Carrol Naish in the main role. There was even a Charlie Chan comic strip and an animated series for children.
lulu named Chang Apana. Charlie Chan appeared in a total of six novels, the first of which was The House Without a Key. It was only his presence in more than forty movies that Charlie Chan was able to change the insidious image of the deceitful and sinister "asian villain". Chan brought to the screen a calm, insightful, and enduring character whom always prevailed despite the clever efforts of his adversary, no matter how much his inept sons interfered. 
The Charlie Chan films were produced by Twentieth Century Fox, during the 1930's and 1940's, at which point Monogram Studios continued production of the series, on a shoestring budget, in the mid to late 40's. 
