''The Red Dragon'' is a 1946

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 sleuth to solve the mysterious circumstances of an issue by means of clues, i ...

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 ...

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 ...

, who has to sift through a host of suspects for three murders. The film marks the first appearance of

Willie Best William Best (May 27, 1913 – February 27, 1962), known professionally as Willie Best or Sleep n' Eat, was an American television and film actor. Best was one of the first African American film actors and comedians to become well kn ...

as Chattanooga Brown, Birmingham Brown's cousin. Compared with

Mantan Moreland Mantan Moreland (September 3, 1902 – September 28, 1973) was an American actor and comedian most popular in the 1930s and 1940s. He starred in numerous films. His daughter Marcella Moreland appeared as a child actress in several films. E ...

's appearances as Birmingham Brown, Best's portrayal of Chattanooga was broader and played more upon racial stereotypes. The character was dropped after two appearances.

Plot summary

Cast

as Charlie Chan *

Fortunio Bonanova Fortunio Bonanova, pseudonym of Josep Lluís Moll, (13 January 1895 – 2 April 1969) was a Spanish baritone singer and a film, theater, and television actor. He occasionally worked as a producer and director. According to Lluis Fàbregas Cuixar ...

as Insp. Luis Carvero *

Benson Fong Benson Fong ( Chinese: ; October 10, 1916 – August 1, 1987) was an American character actor. Born in Sacramento, California, Fong was from a mercantile family of Chinese extraction. After graduating from high school in Sacramento, he studied ...

as Tommy Chan *

as Chattanooga Brown * Carol Hughes as Marguerite Fontain *

Barton Yarborough William Barton Yarborough (October 2, 1900 – December 19, 1951) was an American actor who worked extensively in radio drama, primarily on the NBC Radio Network. He is famous for his roles in the Carlton E. Morse productions '' I Love a M ...

as Joseph Brandish *

Don Costello Eldon Lawrence "Don" Costello (September 5, 1901 – October 24, 1945) was an American actor of stage, screen and radio. Background Costello was born in New Orleans on September 5, 1901. He was the son of James J. Costello and Mary E. Cos ...

as Charles Masack *

George Meeker George Meeker (March 5, 1904 – August 19, 1984) was an American character film and Broadway actor. A graduate of the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, Meeker made several films such as ''Crime, Inc.'' (1945) and ''A Thief in the Dark'' (1 ...

as Edmond Slade *

Marjorie Hoshelle Marjorie Leah Hoshell (January 7, 1918 – April 5, 1989) was an American actress. Born in Chicago, Hoshelle was the daughter of Norman and Leah Hoshell. She graduated from the Art Institute of Chicago and UCLA. Portraying Juliet in a stage p ...

as Countess Irena Masak *

Mildred Boyd Mildred Boyd (1908-1999) was an actress, a singer, and a dancer who was active in Hollywood from the 1920s through the 1950s. Like many Black actresses of her era, she was often cast as a maid or a nurse. Biography Boyd was born in Kingston, T ...

as Josephine * Barbara Jean Wong as Iris Ling (as Jean Wong)

DVD release

''The Red Dragon'' has been released on DVD.

References

External links

* * * * 1946 films 1946 crime films American black-and-white films Charlie Chan films Monogram Pictures films 1946 mystery films American crime films American mystery films Films directed by Phil Rosen 1940s American films {{mystery-film-stub