Customer Reviews

A Guide to Charlie Chan Films: (Bibliographies and Indexes in the Performing Arts)

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

For years I have been searching for any answers to questions about the Charlie Chan films, and this book has them all! I was most impressed to find the person behind the singing voice for Boris Karloff in "Charlie Chan at the Opera!" All other books and sources were unable to come through, but this book provided the answers. Bravo to Charles Mitchell for this wonderful film book

I heard about this book via a Chan chat room. I ordered it and was extremely impressed with it's complete Chan content- written with the care of a fan, yet thoroughly researched. I was also impressed with the fact that the author himself offered to personalize my copy with some very kind words.

If you are a person who is interested in learning more about the wonderful Chan movies, this book is quite excellent. Mr. Mitchell has maintained an admirable level of objectivity when discussing the three actors who played Chan (Oland, Toler, and Winters). He also includes Chan's "philosphical quotes" at the end of each movie analysis, which is a treasure.

This book is a labor of love and it shows.

A positive, well written text, done with style and facts is a simple way to say... Charles Mitchell has the definitive character of Charlie Chan analyzed to perfection. Given the change of stars, the diversity of plots (writers), directorial changes, and so on, Mr. Mitchell has created the quintessential reference source for all Chan fans.

One need not check the Appendix A section if one does not care to, but it sure makes for a very accurate lists of "who dunnit! ".

We are proud owners of Mr. Mitchell's text, personalized for us by Charles himself. No other Chan author to date has offered such personalization to over 300,000 buyers (have they?

No Chan movie buff should be without Mr. Mitchell's book.

I would first like to congratulate Charles Mitchell for an extremely well written and well documented book on a subject that brings back to me so many fond memories. I was raised in New York City, and our family was one of the first to have a TV set in our apartment house. It seemed that every friiday night there was a Charlie Chan film. We got to know all of those great characters and to enjoy some very good detective yarns. I would eventually read all of Earl Derr Biggers books.

I have read many film anthology books, but what makes this one so much superior is the enormous background that Mr. Mitchell put into his synopsis and analysis. Additionally, Mr. Mitchell's wit in critiquing the performances is terrific. Reading these synopsis and about the performances brought back to me those fond memories of our family sitting before the circular TV. Some elitist film goers may say, they were only "B" movies. Well, I beg to differ. I have been a movie goer all of my life and enjoy every genre and the only requirement to me is that it be well written and sincerely acted. These Charlie Chan movies just like the older Sherlock Holmes movies were just that. The next time AMC does one of its Charle Chan marathoms, I'll be sure to have this wonderful book on my lap as a guide.

I just bought this book for my father who is a huge fan of Charlie Chan films, and he was absolutely delighted, calling it the best birthday gift he ever received.

This is a perfect book for lovers of Charlie Chan films. The best thing about it is that it lists every one of Chan's pithy sayings. They are complete, and there is also a section that classifies them into various categories such as Confucius quotations, paraphrases, jokes, etc. This book is simply wonderful.

My pet peeve are reviewers who comment without actually reading a book. You can pick them out easily, because they are so vague, or just try to plug a different book. Well, I just got this book in, and it's great. I love all the Chan extras about the TV shows, the foreign Chan films, the latter day films (I loved Ross Martin!) and the complete quotes. The analysis of the four types of Chan quotes is priceless, as is the complete listing. I also ead the earlier book by Hanke wich was not bad, but this one covers so much more, such as a complete analysis of ERAN TRECE with the script of CHARLIE CHAN CARRIES ON. The Oland version of the film is lost, but with this book, it is just like having seen it. If you are a Chan devotee, do yourself a favor and buy this book. If the Hanke fans (or is it fan) who keeps knocking this book would enjoy it as wel if they actually saw it!

I am a big film fan, and this is a wonderful book, the best film review book I ever purchased from Amazon. I fully recommend it to everyone

Mitchell handles each Chan film with great expertise. Even though book is organized alphabetically (chronologically would have been better), the author is astute enough to place each film in its own studio and cinematic context. Really excellent plot outlines and critical commentary make this a book worth buying. Moreover, Mitchell includes the missing Chan films as well as all the "Chan aphorisms" used throughout the film series. It is the best, most authoritative book I've ever read on the Chinese detective. Mitchell's critical ability and perception is peerless. Try it! You'll like it.

This is a very well organized reference guide that is also wonderfully entertaining. If you are a Charlie Chan fan, this book is a goldmine. particularly with fresh information on obscure Chan films like THE MONSTER IN THE SHADOWS. The appendixes are really neat, listing film culprits, Chan's kids, foriegn Chan titles and even short Chan public service films shown in theaters. The volume is a pure delight fr Chan film lovers