Charlie Chan's Greatest Case Charlie Chan's Greatest Case Charlie Chan's Greatest Case (1933) is an American pre-Code murder mystery film starring Warner Oland as the Oriental detective Charlie Chan. It was based on the Earl Derr Biggers novel "The House Without a Key" (1925). Oland made a series of Charlie Chan films; along with three others, this one is considered to be a lost film. "The New York Times" reviewer wrote, "As far as the mystery of these particular murders is concerned it is not difficult for the audience to decide on the identity of the slayer, but the manner in which Chan makes
Charlie Chan Biggers's novels is not subservient to white characters, citing "The Chinese Parrot" as an example; in this novel, Chan's eyes blaze with anger at racist remarks and in the end, after exposing the murderer, Chan remarks "Perhaps listening to a 'Chinaman' is no disgrace." In the films, both "Charlie Chan in London" (1934) and "Charlie Chan in Paris" (1935) "contain scenes in which Chan coolly and wittily dispatches other characters' racist remarks." Yunte Huang manifests an ambivalent attitude, stating that in the USA, Chan "epitomizes the racist heritage and the creative genius of this nation’s culture." Huang also suggests that