Spooktober Day 2: The Chinese Parrot (1927)

 

Charlie Chan movies, from the very beginning, moved in and out of the horror shadows, especially with the coming of "wholesale" sound in 1930's. This lost film from 1927 was the first to introduce the darker elements to Chan films. It was directed by Paul Leni after all! It was also only the second Charlie Chan film ever produced; the first being the Spencer Gordon Bennett directed The House Without a Key in 1926 (which was actually a ten part Pathé serial). Leni, being Leni, introduced significantly darker themes and set pieces to the Biggers story than did Bennett. He also came close to casting his old friend/muse (and now "silent horror icon") Conrad Veidt in the titular Chan role, which eventually went to Japanese born actor Sôjin Kamiyama instead. Leni was not on to anything new by having an Asian actor (albeit a Japanese instead of Chinese person) in the role of Chan, as George Kuwa first played the role in Bennett's film and, in fact, also had a part in the Leni film as well. The horror elements that Leni played on in the story centered around a supposed cursed family heirloom: a pearl necklace. The film was remade with sound in 1934 as The Courage of Charlie Chan (aka Charlie Chan's Courage), with the now familiar Warner Oland in the Chan role; it too is a lost film. It is such a shame that The Chinese Parrot is, for now, considered lost, as Leni only lived two more years, and died tragically young at the age of 44...but hope springs eternal that a copy may turn up in some far flung part of the world, as this was a Universal release and had a wide distribution. Happy Spooktober 🎃