''Charlie Chan in Reno'' is a 1939 American
mystery film
A mystery film is a genre of film that revolves around the solution of a problem or a crime. It focuses on the efforts of the detective, private investigator or amateur Detective, sleuth to solve the mysterious circumstances of an issue by means ...
directed by
Norman Foster
Norman or Normans may refer to:
Ethnic and cultural identity
* The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 10th and 11th centuries
** People or things connected with the Norm ...
, starring
Sidney Toler
Sidney Toler (born Hooper G. Toler Jr., April 28, 1874 – February 12, 1947) was an American actor, playwright, and theatre director. The second European-American actor to play the role of Charlie Chan on screen, he is best remembered for his p ...
as the fictional Chinese-American detective
Charlie Chan
Charlie Chan is a fictional Honolulu police detective created by author Earl Derr Biggers for a series of mystery novels. Biggers loosely based Chan on Hawaiian detective Chang Apana. The benevolent and heroic Chan was conceived as an alter ...
, based on an original story "Death Makes a Decree" by
Philip Wylie
Philip Gordon Wylie (May 12, 1902 – October 25, 1971) was an American writer of works ranging from pulp science fiction, mysteries, social diatribes and satire to ecology and the threat of nuclear holocaust.
Early life and career
Born in Bever ...
.
Plot
Mary Whitman has arrived in Reno to obtain a divorce. While there, she is arrested on suspicion of murdering a fellow guest at her hotel (which specializes in divorcers).
There are many others at the hotel who wanted the victim out of the way. Charlie Chan travels from his home in Honolulu to Reno to solve the murder at the request of Mary's soon-to-be ex-husband.
Cast
*
Sidney Toler
Sidney Toler (born Hooper G. Toler Jr., April 28, 1874 – February 12, 1947) was an American actor, playwright, and theatre director. The second European-American actor to play the role of Charlie Chan on screen, he is best remembered for his p ...
as
Charlie Chan
Charlie Chan is a fictional Honolulu police detective created by author Earl Derr Biggers for a series of mystery novels. Biggers loosely based Chan on Hawaiian detective Chang Apana. The benevolent and heroic Chan was conceived as an alter ...
*
Victor Sen Yung
Sen Yung, later known professionally as Victor Sen Young (born Sen Yew Cheung; October 18, 1914 – c. November 9, 1980); one source lists his given name as Victor Cheung Young with the birth year 1915)) was an American character actor, best kn ...
as Jimmy Chan ("Number 2 son")
*
Ricardo Cortez
Ricardo Cortez (born Jacob Kranze or Jacob Krantz; September 19, 1900 – April 28, 1977) was an American actor and film director. He was also credited as Jack Crane early in his acting career.
Early years
Ricardo Cortez was born Jacob K ...
as Dr. Ainsley
*
Phyllis Brooks
Phyllis Brooks (July 18, 1915 – August 1, 1995) was an American actress and model. She was born in Boise, Idaho. Some sources have also inaccurately cited 1914 as her year of birth, but 1915 is the correct year according to Social Security r ...
as Vivian Wells
*
Slim Summerville
Slim Summerville (born George Joseph Somerville; July 10, 1892 – January 5, 1946), was an American film actor and director best known for his work in comedies.
Early life
Summerville was born in Albuquerque, New Mexico, where his mother d ...
as Sheriff Tombstone Fletcher
*
Kane Richmond
Kane Richmond (born Frederick William Bowditch, December 23, 1906 – March 22, 1973) was an American film actor of the 1930s and 1940s, mostly appearing in cliffhangers and serials. He is best known today for his portrayal of the character La ...
as Curtis Whitman
*
Pauline Moore
Pauline Moore (born Pauline Joless Love; June 17, 1914 – December 7, 2001) was an American actress known for her roles in Western and B movies during the 1930s and 1940s.
Early years
Moore was born in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. After her fath ...
as Mary Whitman (Mrs. Curtis Whitman)
* Iris Wong as Choy Wong
*
Eddie Collins as Cab Driver
*
Robert Lowery as Walter Burke
*
Charles D. Brown
Charles D. Brown (July 1, 1887 – November 25, 1948) was an American stage and film actor.
Born in Council Bluffs, Iowa, Brown wrote and directed a single short film in 1914. As an actor, he appeared in more than 100 films, stretching fro ...
as Chief of Police King
*
Louise Henry as Jeanne Bently
*
Morgan Conway
Morgan Conway (born Sidney Conway, March 16, 1903 – November 16, 1981) was an American actor, best known for his portrayals of Dick Tracy.
Early life and career
Conway was educated at Columbia University in New York City. He had a bro ...
as George Bently
External links
*
Charlie Chan Movie Home on "Charlie Chan in Reno"*
*
1939 films
American crime films
Charlie Chan films
American black-and-white films
Films set in Reno, Nevada
Films directed by Norman Foster
1930s crime films
20th Century Fox films
Films scored by Samuel Kaylin
1930s English-language films
1930s American films
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