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 such as Fu Manchu, while simultaneously emphasizing supposedly Chinese characteristics such as impassivity and stoicism. Biggers wrote six novels in which Charlie Chan appears: The first Charlie Chan film was "The House Without a Key" (1926), a ten-chapter serial produced by Pathé Studios, starring George Kuwa, a Japanese actor, as Chan. A year later Universal Pictures followed with "The Chinese Parrot", starring Japanese actor, Kamiyama Sojin, in the starring role. In both productions, Charlie Chan's role was minimized. Contemporary reviews were unfavorable; in the words of one reviewer, speaking of "The Chinese Parrot", Sojin plays "the Chink sleuth as a