The Comic Critic Reviews "Charlie Chan Carries On"

Charlie Chan Carries On is not the first movie in which Charlie Chan appears. There was a ten-part serial and a couple of other movies where Chan was a secondary character. Charlie Chan Carries On is the first film where he played the main role and audiences responded well to the film. Warner Oland, a Swedish actor, was brought in to play Chan. Whitewashing was a film industry practice, casting white actors in non-white roles. Oland would be one of a series of non-Asian actors to play Chan. This is more than a little ironic as Earl Derr Biggers, the writer who created Charlie Chan, had a great dislike for the prevalent Yellow Peril stereotype. He was inspired to create Chan after reading about two detectives of Chinese heritage working on the Honolulu police force. He wanted to create a character opposite the Yellow Terror stereotype, an honorable Asian working on the side of the law, not against it. The irony of whitewashing would become nearly embedded in the Charlie Chan character as the overly prolific use of ancient proverbs. Chan became a stereotype of the slow acceptance of the Asians by the hypocritical practice of social representation. It wasn’t a perfect process, but it did prove to be highly successful. There are over forty Charlie Chan movies. There was a prolific period when comics, radio, and television shows featured this popular detective. There were even other Asian detective movies that resulted. Mr. Moto and Mr. Wong each supplied a series of mystery movies. And while the implementation of these movies, featuring clever heroes from Asian countries, was far from perfect, they did broaden the American psyche, even through and after WWII that the only true threatening peril is that of racism. As to Charlie Chan Carries On, it is sadly a lost film: well, sort of. Studios would often create a Spanish version of the same movie using the same sets and many of the same leads, but instead of dubbing, they would cast Spanish-speaking actors. Irony rears its head again—the only way you can watch one of the earliest whitewashed Charlie Chan films is via the Spanish version, reading English subtitles.

The Comic Critic's Movie Review "The Stranger" (1946)

The crimes against humanity committed by the Nazis during WWII were so heinous that some Americans didn’t believe the reports. That is why it was so important that the Allied War Crimes Commission collected and presented as much audio and visual documentation as possible. The reels of footage showing the horror of the Final Solution at concentration camps were instrumental in pulling back the veil of disbelief. The Stranger was the first commercial movie to show it. The Stranger was a success at the box office, pulling in over double its production costs. Film historians in the know decry the heavy editing at the beginning of the film. Gone is most of the footage establishing the ruthlessness of a lead Nazi as he escapes the continent and embeds himself in the heart of America. Some say that after such hacking, The Stranger was reduced to a small town murder movie and that it was less of a movie as a result. I like to see the editing as having left a clearer message for the audience of the time: That your preconceived notions of how things were—were wrong. That any person with an understanding of what is right and just would have to admit —by the horrific evidence before them—that truly evil people exist in the world. And that, as difficult as it must be to admit, you need to acknowledge such evil and stand against it. Yes, I would have loved to have seen the additional footage. It would have made The Stranger a truly grand Nazi-hunting movie. But its role in opening the eyes of 1940s America should not be disregarded.

The Comic Critic's Review of "The French Connection"

The French Connection has one of the most famous car chases in movie history. Featuring a 1971 Pontiac LeMans, it was carefully choreographed stunt. Part of the reason for this choreography was because the chase was being conducted without the proper permits. That means the streets in which the scene was shot was not cleared of normal traffic. Off duty police and stunt cars were poised to stop traffic, and other stunt cars were arrange to provide the near misses. Some of the shots were angle was set low with a bumper mounted camera capturing all the trash and dirt of the street and as the car raced along. Even with precautions in place some of the near misses became crashes. An one crash was completely unpredicted as a fellow leaving his house didn’t realize that a car chase was being filmed. His vehicle was paid for and all of these lucky accidents went into the final cut of the movie. What you get is a true to life reckless car race lasting five minutes and leaving you shaky at the end of it. The French Connection is also ground zero for numerous cop show tropes used so heavily since then they are considered trite. It was also the first movie that did an excellent job showing the city’s true gritty underbelly and the real nature of police work. All of which have become a genre of entertainment in itself.

Nominated for eight Academy Awards it won five including Best Picture. 

The Comic Critic's Movie Review of "Harry In Your Pocket"

Harry in Your Pocket is an action comedy with an antihero, something new and very popular in the Seventies. While the gathering of this interesting crew is cordial, tension builds between the characters because despite all their smiles and camaraderie, they are all thieves at heart. The tension has us carefully watching to see if it will disrupt their movements. The action in Harry in Your Pocket comes from the audience  actively following the “poke.’’ There are few staged gags to induce laughter. The comedy comes from us chuckling as they get away with it with the finely tuned choreography of a ballet. If both the action and the humor are subdued, we don’t care. The charisma of James Coburn has us smirking every time he flashes his teeth. Coburn built his career playing the stylish rogue in the Sixties. This film is smooth sailing for him and veteran actor Walter Pidgeon. Pidgeon’s role as mentor is great fun to watch. His character reflects an illusion of an older, more elegant era in crime. The timing of his career with this movie is perfect and he very nearly steals the show from Coburn. Harry in Your Pocket is not holding up very well with age. The chaotic fashions and lifestyle of the Seventies are pervasive on the screen and look a bit dated. It’s rather fun for me as I grew up near Seattle, and most of the movie is set in that locale. I recognized buildings and restaurants that have long since have been torn down and replaced with high-rises. Harry in Your Pocket is a movie of the Seventies, when the studios were experimenting with what makes movie relevant. It both hits and misses the mark. But if you’re looking for a movie with some hustle and a dash of time capsule, you will find it a good time.