Charlie Chan Charlie Chan Charlie Chan is a fictional character created by Earl Derr Biggers. Biggers loosely based Chan on Honolulu, Hawaii, detective Chang Apana, and conceived of the benevolent and heroic Chan as an alternative to Yellow Peril stereotypes and villains like Fu Manchu. Chan is a detective for the Honolulu police, though many stories feature Chan traveling the world as he investigates mysteries and solves crimes. Chan first appeared in Biggers' novels, then was featured in a number of media. Over four dozen films featuring Charlie Chan were made, beginning in 1926. The character was first portrayed by East Asian
Charlie Chan in City in Darkness but is likely to receive the Legion of Honour instead of the guillotine. Charlie Chan in City in Darkness Charlie Chan in City in Darkness, also titled City in Darkness, is a 1939 mystery film starring Sidney Toler in his fourth performance as detective Charlie Chan. While visiting Prefect of Police Romaine (C. Henry Gordon) in Paris, France, during the Czech annexation crisis in September 1938, Charlie Chan (Sidney Toler) is left to guide Romaine's bumbling godson, Police Inspector Marcel Spivak (Harold Huber), during a blackout. The two are called to the home of Petroff (Douglass Dumbrille), an arms dealer