SOURCE: "Charlie Chan Carries on," in The Armchair Detective, Vol. 10, No. 2, April, 1977, pp. 183-84.

In the following essay, Ellman examines the various film characterizations of Charlie Chan and discusses the actors who have portrayed him over the years.

Charlie Chan Carries On is the title of the fourth novel in the series of six Charlie Chan stories written by Earl Derr Biggers during the 1920s and early 1930s. The title has additional meaning, for the character of Charlie Chan has, indeed, carried on. His popularity has outlived the memory of his creator; his name is more a household word than are the names of many of the great detectives admired by whodunit aficionados; and he continues to appear in countless television reruns of the early Chan movies, a television cartoon show for children, and numerous parodies and comedy skits. The physical image of Charlie Chan is as permanently...