My wife and I have been enjoying Charlie Chan Volume 3. Of course, it is a phenomenal set.

Watching the reconstruction of 'Charlie Chan's Chance' got me started thinking (a.k.a. obsessing) about the lost Chan films again as well as those two mysterious Chinese Chan films 'Charlie Chan at the Radio Station' and 'Charlie Chan in the Homeland.'

I went looking on the internet and found this webpage:

http://www.mtime.com/movie/45035/

What the heck??? Charlie Chan Breaks the Conceal Down?

Now, I at first thought that this must be some Chinese translation of the title of one of the Sydney Toler movies, but the names are Chinese in the area where the cast list seems to be.

导演：
徐欣夫 Xinfu Xu
主演：
顾梅君 Meijun Gu
徐莘园 Ziyuan Xu
龚秋霞 Qiuxia Gong

Compare this with Charlie Chan in The Chinese Cat:

http://www.mtime.com/movie/21649/

导演：
Phil Rosen
主演：
Sidney Toler
Joan Woodbury
Mantan Moreland

Could this be referencing one of the Chinese-made Chan films? I can't read Chinese unfortunately, but I'll ask a Chinese-speaking friend next time I get a chance.

On a related note, last June, Scott Deane posted here...

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

While companies such as Fox and others were busy trying to locate highly sought after films(including the lost Chans), various film historians and researchers were conducting their own intensive searches. The most notable of these was writer/researcher Jon Tuska who believed the most obvious place to look for the lost Chans outside of the United States would be in China. This was in the 1970s and optimism was still high, while looking for the four missing Oland Chans, Jon came across two Chinese-produced Chans, it is unclear whether these were the actual films or records of their having been made. Jon may infact be the only person in the western part of the world to have actually viewed these films. It's disappointing to report that not a trace of the lost Oland Chans could be found at that time.

Also, in the 1970s Jon Tuska interviewed Spencer G. Bennet who directed the very first Chan film, 'House Without a Key.' Jon may be the person to ask if there have been any recent developments regarding these still missing Chan films.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Has anyone contacted Jon Tuska to ask about these very interesting issues? I happened to find this contact information online:

Jon Tuska
Golden West Literary Agency
2327 SE Salmon St.
Portland, Oregon 97214

By the way, the Hsin Hwa Motion Picture Company that supposedly made the two Chan films also made "The Adventures of Chinese Tarzan" in 1940. There are some reviews of it on IMDB by people who have seen it.

It is also listed at this same website:

http://www.mtime.com/movie/36600/

Note that it has a review score of 6.9, but the Chan film has a score of 0, as if no one has seen it.

Compare this page for Charlie Chan in Shanghai

http://www.mtime.com/movie/40894/

that lists:

导演：
James Tinling

...who was the director of Charlie Chan in Shanghai

with the page for Charlie Chan Breaks the Conceal Down

that lists:

导演：
徐欣夫 Xinfu Xu

who I thus assume was the director for Charlie Chan Breaks the Conceal Down.

I gather from the bio on this page...

http://www.mtime.com/person/1144920/

That...

男，生于1897年
逝世于1968年5月8日

are his dates of birth and death.

There are also other dates in this paragraph...

1920年中学毕业后即与陈寿芝等人合组中国影戏研究社，并参加拍摄了中国第一部长故事片《阎瑞生》。1924年后，相继在大中华、明星、新华、国泰等影业公司任导演，拍摄影片《战功》，《盐潮》，《女儿经》等。1948年在台湾自组万象公司，担任台湾第一部国语片《阿里山风云》的制片。1954年后，曾任台湾农业教育电影公司台中厂厂长等职，执导影片《日月潭之恋》等。

Overall, name of the director and the dates associated with the director seem to indicate that Charlie Chan Breaks the Conceal Down is a Chinese-made film with 'Charlie Chan' in the English translation of the title made in 1941.

Could Meijun Gu be the actor who plays Charlie Chan???

See the dates that appear in his bio...

默片时期从影，1931年在《美人心》中扮演重要角色。1932年演出的影片的有《慈母》、《可爱的仇敌》等。1933年，左翼电影运动兴起，顾梅君在此段时间内演出了大量“左翼电影”，主要有夏衍编剧、张石川导演的《前程》，郑伯奇、阿英编剧、徐欣夫导演的《盐潮》等数十部影片。1949年去台湾。1953年演出《银海千秋》后息影。

I copied the Chinese characters of the title into Google...

陈查礼大破隐身术

This page (in Chinese) also describes the film.

http://www.cnmdb.com/title/47222/

The whole page is in Chinese, but Google will translate the page into somewhat comprehensible English...

Chen Zha big break stealth ceremony for the Charles Chan Breaks Down Conceal (1941)

I did the automatic translation on the plot summary...

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Chen Zha breaking ceremony great stealth series of briefings
Chen Zha ceremony, Meina father entrusted by the detective sergeant detectors community bizarre spate of thefts, Mr Xiao You friend, who was active for help. One day, Chen was invited to attend the dress Communication money-Man birthday banquet bizarre theft from happening again, the money into the safe precious jewelry were missing and a servant were also killed. Present at the banquet JIU Y and Lu have two small kiosks suspects, but there is no evidence to determine who is. JIU Y girlfriend ZHOU Yue-hua is derailed, but they did not know about it. Money Man-Week inadvertently found wearing jewelry in their loss and the like jewelry. Chen dress for reconnaissance has almost distress. After the ceremony, Chen Zha invented a stealth objects can be broken glasses when glasses should be how they can find the case deadlocked, Xiaoyou, who was very disappointed. After Mina or come up with a father and daughter duo set traps, and finally threw the Stealth identity theft.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Seems like an exciting movie plot, doesn't it?

More curious clues in mysterious case...

http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=zh-CN&u=http://lib.verybt.org/movie/9390/&sa=X&oi=translate&resnum=6&ct=result&prev=/search%3Fq%3D%25E9%2599%2588%25E6%259F%25A5%25E7%2590%2586%25E5%25A4%25A7%25E7%25A0%25B4%25E9%259A%2590%25E8%25BA%25AB%25E6%259C%25AF%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DG

Charlie Chan broken stealth operation

Chinese name : Charlie Chan in stealth big break

English name : Charles Chan Breaks Down the Conceal

Starring :
Gongqiuxia Gong Qiuxia Gumeijun Meijun Gu Xu Xin Xu Park Ziyuan

Type : drama

Release date : 2007

Charlie Chan big break in the plot stealth brief :

Chen Zha ceremony this time is cracked by the use of stealth in a theft case.
Charlie Chan big break for download stealth

War Life | Hart war | into | Spring Song | Robin Hoodlum | Railway staff | Where within its breakfast | guns Kyi |

Here's a different automatic translation of the plot...

Chen Zha ceremony, Meina father entrusted by the detective sergeant detectors community unexplained spate of bootlegging
Burglary, a friend of Mr Qin Xiao You also actively help. One day, Chen was invited to dress up
I spend Communication Man-birthday banquet bizarre theft from happening again, the insurance money Add
Counters of precious ornaments were missing and a servant were also killed. Present at the banquet JIU Y
Lu and two small kiosks were suspects, but there is no evidence to determine who is. JIU Y girlfriend Zhou
China has derailed, but they did not know about it. Money Man-Week inadvertently found wearing jewelry in
With their loss of ornaments like. Chen dress for reconnaissance has almost distress. After Chen Zha
A ceremony invention may break the glasses on stealth, when glasses should be how they can find
The case deadlocked, Xiaoyou, who was very disappointed. After Mina or come up with a father and daughter duo
Set traps, and finally threw the Stealth identity theft.

Automatically translated text of the director's bio:

徐欣夫
Xinfu Xu
In 1920 after graduating from secondary school with Chenshouzhi others formed the Chinese movie Research Society, and participated Filming of the Chinese minister of the first feature films "YAN Rui Health." In 1924, in succession Dazhong Chinese stars, Xinhua, Cathay Pacific and other studios as a director, filming "Exploits" "Salt tide," "Girls." In 1948 the Taiwan group from Vientiane, as Taiwan Bay first Mandarin films "Alishan Situation," the producer. After 1954, he served as Taiwan's agricultural Education in Taichung plant film director, among others, directed the film "Love Sun Moon Lake."

Automatically translated texts of the actors' bios:

顾梅君
Meijun Gu
In 27 period from movie, the 1931 "American Heart" plays an important role. 1932 performance films of the "Mother", "Lovely Enemies." In 1933, left-wing film movement rise Gu Meijun during the same time perform a large number of "left-wing film," Xia Yan main scriptwriter, the director Zhang Ishikawa "Future", Zheng Boqi, AEF scriptwriter, Xu Xin-Fu's "Salt Tide," dozens of films. Go to Taiwan in 1949. 1953 performance "Yinhai 1000 Autumn "lip.

徐莘园
Ziyuan Xu
Male, born in 1886
1929 into the Shanghai Film Co., in 1932 the star of films by actors, the initial resistance at the Shanghai film company, in 1939 to Shanghai, China New, Xinhua companies such films as actor, since after the Group Theater Nanjing, the delegation Tianjin, Hankow other theatrical performances, to go to Hong Kong in 1949, making the company Yonghua Perturbation "Secrets" as role.

龚秋霞
Qiuxia Gong
Female, born December 4, 1918, Shanghai
The death in September 7, 2004 (Hong Kong)
Constellation : Sagittarius
Family members :
Hu soul (the husband); HU Rong (Cardiff sister); Ms Dai Chu (daughter)
That 12-year-old Shanghai Song and Dance Troupe Meihua entourage traverse around the recesses of Southeast Asia. In 1936, the Senate shoot his first film "Parentage", the following year proprietors My "New Year's money," a shot. Their concert film episode "Burst" album. During the war, she has joined the Shanghai-China, Xinhua, Guohong film, starring the "voice Bokhari" series of films. Travel to Hong Kong in 1946, starring in the Greater China, the Great Wall, the film company Phoenix 6 Brands film. His major works include : "Flower Street," "Daughter" and "Thunderstorm".

This film has Meijun Gu in it as well...

http://www.cnmdb.com/title/9724/

In the small accompanying picture, there is a somewhat heavyset individual pictured. I wonder if this could be the actor who played Charlie Chan.

The production / distribution company for this film was:

华新

which translates to New China.

Dear Douglas,

I am fairly stumped as to how you found the information. I went to the links provided, but I do not come up with anything readable. I would be very interested to persue this search further, as you may be on to something. With the cast lists of these films bearing the names you list, I cannot, as you mentioned as well, see that these could be Monogram films that were dubbed into either Mandarin or Cantonese.

Sincerely,
Rush Glick

Rush:

I don't speak a word of Chinese, much less read it, but Google has an in-built automatic translation function now. The wonders of modern technology!

For example, try copying and pasting this series of symbols into the Google search window at http://www.google.com/ ...

陈查礼大破隐身术

You get a list of websites back. If you click on the link directly, you get a page of more of the same. However, if you click on the link just to the right of each line that says [ Translate this page ], it will percolate for a minute or so and return a translation of the webpage in sorta-kinda-readable English.

In addition, on the main Google page, there is a little link that reads Language Tools.

Again, copy 陈查礼大破隐身术 into the Translate Text window and select Chinese to English BETA.

The translation you get back is:

Chen Zha ceremony for the stealth big break

This seems like nonsense, but 陈查 which is "Chen Zha ceremony" and the word "Charlie" must be written the same as the Chinese word for "ceremony". "Chen" is "Chan", so it is something like "Chan Mr. Charlie", I've determined.

Other websites that I have translated talk about the famous "Chen Zha ceremony books of Earl Der Biggers." So 陈查 is how you write 'Charlie Chan' in Chinese characters.

I'm kind of proceeding like Champollion with the Rosetta Stone!

Thank you... so much!

Doug

P.S. It would be amazing to find these two films (if they still exist) for inclusion on a future DVD set. What did Chinese filmmakers do with Charlie Chan? I am very curious to know!

Rush:

As to how I started initially, I searched Google for some website that would be something similar to a Chinese version of the Internet Movie Database. I couldn't find that immediately, but I did find this website...

http://www.mtime.com/

I typed in 'Charlie Chan' and pressed a button that I supposed was for searching. Try it yourself...

It takes you to this page...

http://www.mtime.com/search/movie?Charlie%20Chan

The some Tolands and Olands are listed, most with accompanying pictures of the DVD covers. However, just below Charlie Chan in London, you see Charlie Chan Breaks the Conceal Down (listed twice).

There are two variants of the title in Chinese:

陈查礼大破隐身术

and

陈查理大破隐身术

Both titles are a 1941 film. They are the same movie.

Try Google translation... These titles translate to:

Chen Zha ceremony for the stealth big break

and

Charlie Chan broken stealth operation

respectively.

The first has the translated description:

"Thieves used a stealth operation crime, Chen Zha ceremony Detective help cracking a case."

The second has the translated description:

"Chen Zha ceremony this time is cracked by the use of stealth in a theft case."

Names are sometimes translated in the Rush Glick format or the Glick, Rush format. So, the name of the actor that seems to play Charlie Chan (顾梅君) is either written as Gu Meijun or Meijun Gu in the translations.

Hope this is of assistance!

Doug

Try copying and pasting this into a Google search...

陈查

Those symbols simply mean 'Charlie Chan'.

(陈查理 can be Charlie Chan also. The extra character doesn't seem to do much.)

The first website that comes up is that unknown film from 1948.

Unfortunately, it didn't work when I asked Google to translate the page, so I viewed the page directly in Chinese and copied and pasted the entire text of the page into the Translate Text window. I just did a 'select all' and copied it over to the translation window.

A long line of text shows up to include the title:

Charlie Chan and Combating of Enemy Overlord (1948)

This film also goes by a couple of variant titles by the way.

There is no way that these are translated Monogram films. These are Chinese-made films featuring Charlie Chan. They seem to be part of a trend at that time to make Chinese versions of western films. The term for this trend was translated as 'europeanized'.

There is a Chinese Tarzan movie and a Chinese Snow White and maybe a Chinese Shirley Temple, if I understood what I was seeing correctly. There is a page that seems to list about a dozen Chinese films made based on characters or stars in American films.

Unfortunately, www.imdb.cn (Chinese internet movie database) is actually of no help. It just lists the same films as on the U.S. version of IMDB.

Dear Douglas,

I am fascinated with the information that your Herculean efforts are uncovering. Hopefully, some conclusive proof will be unearthed which will verify that these films actually exist or, at one time, existed.

I have tried to do as you say and translate some of the pages, but, sadly, not too much information seems to appear in a readable form. As time allows, I will try to check out more of the material that you have offered. In the meantime, I applaud your work in this regard.

(Bowing) Thank you so much...

Sincerely,
Rush Glick

Here's another translation of the plot via Babel Fish Translation...

Chen Chali, Chen Meina the father female is held to search observes the strange robber burglary case which in the society occurs one after another, Chen's friend Xiao Youqin also positively gives the help. One day, the Chen father female on invitation attends the human relations to spend the graceful cloud birthday banquet, the strange robber burglary case occurs once more, the money puts in the safe cabinet the precious jewelry to vanish into thin air, a servant is also killed. Attends banquet Jia Yi and Lu Shaoting two average per person has the suspicion, who but actually doesn't have the evidence determination is. The Jia righteousness girlfriend week lunar corona has the improper behavior, but they do not know the circumstances of the matter. Qian Manyun accidentally discovered the week wears the jewelry the jewelry which loses with own very much to like. The Chen father female goes to the reconnaissance actually almost to be in danger. Latter Chen Chali invents to be possible to break the stealth eyeglasses, is about to actually how all not to be able to find with the time eyeglasses, the case falls into the deadlock, Xiao Youqin extremely is also disappointed. Latter beautiful elegantly finds out an idea, the father female two people supposes the trap, finally caused the stealth robber walks into a trap.