In the early Twentieth Century Fox Charlie Chan
films of the 1930’s, the Chinese detective was portrayed by Warner
Orland. But with the death of the character actor in 1937, the baton was
passed to Sydney Toler with CHARLIE CHAN IN HONOLULU. Toler made the
role of Charlie Chan his own and went on to portray the infallible
detective in over 20 separate motion pictures! However, the franchise
was sold to Monogram Pictures in the early 1940’s and that low-budget
studio could not match the production values or talent of the previous
studio. Joining Toler in these movies was a revolving door of ethnic
Hollywood talent who portrayed his Asian relatives and African American
valet. By the time THE JADE MASK was released (1944), the filmmakers had
settled into familiar territory and self-parody entered the mystery
plots. THE JADE MASK featured much humor generated mainly between the
personalities of Chan’s son—also an aspiring detective--and Mantan
Mooreland, their valet. But as the THE JADE MASK was produced in the
dark days of World War 2, audiences were looking for some humor to
lighten up any Hollywood film that dealt with horror or dark intentions.
And THE JADE MASK was successful enough to ensure that the franchise
would continue with Monogram cranking out a couple of the pictures per
year until 1947 when Toler died. MGM Home Video eventually acquired the
Charlie Chan films hence the release of THE JADE MASK on DVD as part of
their CHANTHOLOGY box set.
Absent minded Professor Harper (Frank Reicher from
THE INVISIBLE RAY, DR. CYCLOPS, THE MUMMY’S TOMB), is working on a
secret government project that converts ordinary wood into metal. When
perfected, this discovery would surely be a boost to the military.
Professor Harper happens to be highly forgetful and eccentric, resulting
in those family members and associates who live and work with him in his
home laboratory to dislike the Professor. One day, when the Professor
Harper turns up dead, suspicion falls on the shoulders of the Professor’s
assistant Walter Meeker (Hardie Albright from THE NINTH GUEST, WHITE
HEAT, THE LOVES OF EDGAR ALLAN POE), and the butler Roth (Cyril
Delevante from THE NIGHT MONSTER, PHANTOM OF 42ND STREET, THE MYSTERIOUS
MR. M). When the authorities catch wind of the Professor’s death, they
immediately summon crack detective Charlie Chan, who along with his son
(played by Edman Luke; yes Key Luke’s brother) and chauffeur
Birmingham Brown (Mantan Moreland from ONE DARK NIGHT, LUCKY GHOST,
PHANTOM KILLER), postpone their pending vacation to solve the mystery of
THE JADE MASK. The list of suspects grows larger with the addition of
the Professor’s relatives--sister Louise Harper (Edith Evanson from
THE NOTORIOUS LONE WOLF, ROPE, MARNIE), niece Jean Kent (pretty Janet
Warren from THE SHANGHAI COBRA, THE TWONKEY, FEAR IN THE NIGHT) and
former assistant Stella Graham (Dorothy Granger from SHADOWS OVER
CHINATOWN, MAJOR DIFFICULTIES, WHEN THE DALTONS RODE). The situation
soon becomes more tense for everyone involved in the situation when the
body count continues to rise, and Charlie Chan realizes the killer is
among them…
THE JADE MASK is presented in the original full
frame theatrical ratio of 1.37.1. If it’s one thing that MGM does well
(when they want to), it’s restoring old film prints to better-than-new
quality. If you don’t believe me just check out their disc of the 1935
classic THE GHOUL to see the wonders that they can work when they put a
budget and effort behind a potential restoration. Well, I can’t say
that THE JADE MASK looks as pristine as THE GHOUL, but MGM did clean
these old prints goods enough to rival the work done by MPI Home Video
and their SHERLOCK HOMLES classics collections. The picture quality
completely lacks any scratches, dirt, or blemishes that are apparent on
anything from the vaults of ALPHA Video or any other Public Domain
dealer with scratchy, dulled transfers. The Black & White color
balanced is fully restored, doing justice to the splendid imagery of THE
JADE MASK. For instance, there are scenes outside the mansion, where
swirling fog lingers on the landscape. It’s scenes like these which
contribute to film’s gothic atmosphere. The Dolby Digital soundtrack
likewise has been cleaned up, and this dialog driven film contains very
little hiss, distortion, or other audio anomalies that are usually
associated with a film of this vintage. The dialog is crisp and clear;
Dave Torbet’s wonderful sounding score (which takes a dive during the
few comedy bits) is perfectly integrated in the mix, and the sound
effects (like gunshots, motorcycle engines, and echoing footsteps) are
prominent. As for the Special Features section, there is none—not even
a trailer.
Though THE JADE MASK is not one of the greatest
detective films ever made, it is a diverting and entertaining entry in
the long running Charlie Chan series. The biggest detraction I can say
about the film is that it contains some wooden acting by the suspects.
MGM deserves praise for digging deep into their vaults, pulling out
these select classics, making them look and sound good via restoration,
and releasing them in one giant box set lovingly dubbed, CHANTHOLOGY.
Other Sydney Toler-Monogram films in the collection include CHARLIE CHAN
IN THE SECRET SERVICE, THE CHINESE CAT, MEETING AT MIDNIGHT, THE SCARLET
CLUE, & THE SHANGHAI COBRA. My only problem with the box set is the
price and lack of extras. There is absolutely no extras on any of these
discs, not even trailers. And the movies themselves are only an hour
long at best. So there is plenty of room for commentary, trailers, promo
material etc. At $70 for the CHANTHOLOGY set, and no extras MGM could
have easily made these discs double features to justify the high-priced
bar-bones pricetag.
THE
JADE MASK is available at DVDEmpire
CHARLIE
CHAN: CHANTHOLOGY is available at DVDEmpire
