Shadows Over Chinatown
| Shadows Over Chinatown | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Directed by | Terry O. Morse |
| Written by | Raymond L. Schrock |
| Based on | Characters created by Earl Derr Biggers |
| Produced by | James S. Burkett |
| Starring |
Sidney Toler Victor Sen Yung Tanis Chandler |
| Cinematography | William A. Sickner |
| Edited by | Ralph Dixon |
| Music by | Edward J. Kay |
Production company |
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| Distributed by | Monogram Pictures |
Release date |
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Running time |
64 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Shadows Over Chinatown is a 1946 American mystery film directed by Terry O. Morse and starring Sidney Toler, Victor Sen Yung and Tanis Chandler. It is the second-to-last film starring Toler as Charlie Chan.
Plot
Late one night, Charlie Chan is shot at a San Francisco bus station. While on a missing-persons case, he investigates a series of slayings terrorizing the city. He is assisted officially by detective Jeff Hay and police captain Allen, and unofficially by his Number Two Son Jimmy and chauffeur Birmingham Brown.
Cast
- Sidney Toler as Charlie Chan
- Victor Sen Yung as Jimmy Chan
- Mantan Moreland as Birmingham Brown
- Tanis Chandler as Mary Conover, former employee of an escort service
- Mary Gordon as Mrs. Conover, Mary's grandmother
- Bruce Kellogg as Cpl. Joe Thomas, Mary's sweetheart
- Paul Bryar as Mike Rogan, Mary's former boss
- John Gallaudet as Jeff Hay, private investigator
- Alan Bridge as Capt. Allen
- George Eldredge as Chief Lanigan
- Jack Norton as Cosgrove, pickpocket
- Mira McKinney as Kate Johnson
- Dorothy Granger as Joan Mercer, escort-bureau receptionist
- Lou Mercelle as narrator
Production
Sidney Toler had been diagnosed with terminal cancer, but insisted on continuing his commitment to the film series. The studio accommodated him by granting him prolonged breaks for rest, and staging the scenes so as not to tax his strength. The studio conserved Toler's energy and spared him from extended movement; Toler is seated during much of the film. Although Toler remains the central actor, some of the action is diverted to Jimmy (Victor Sen Yung) and Birmingham (Mantan Moreland). To lengthen the running time of the film, a two-minute prologue was added, detailing the workings of a bureau of missing persons. None of the film's featured players appeared in this sequence.