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

Rating:
Summary: Only for diehards
Review: Sparsely illustrated, clumsily written, and with very little display of critical perception, this book on Charlie Chan movies may be thrilling to those readers who are like naughty mystery readers and have to turn to the back of the book to find out who done it, but I can't see it making the grade elsewhere. (One of the book's most questionable moves is actually including an appendix that lists the killers' identities! An unthinkable idea for a true mystery fan.) Ken Hanke's 10 year old "Charlie Chan at the Movies"--which Mitchell seems to draw from a good bit--was and is a model on how this sort of book should be done, and blessed with a sense of fun and style in the bargain. For some reason, this new book is arranged in alphabetical order, making for either a very disjointed trip through Charlie's adventures, or one in which the reader is constantly having to flip back and forth in the book. It is hardly a user-friendly approach. There are some areas where the book scores, but these are few and far between, unless the reader is into the most esoteric aspects of Charlie Chan. For clearly and cleverly delineating the delights of the Oland, Toler, and Winters Charlie Chan pictures, the old Hanke book is a much better work.

Rating:
Summary: A Redundant Book
Review: There already was a definitive book on the Charlie Chan movies, so I wondered what the rationale could possibly be for putting out another one. And now, having read this new book, I'm still wondering what the rationale was. That list of killers must be the raison d'etre because there's precious little else here--certainly not a great deal of critical insight or writing talent.

Rating:
Summary: Pretty Poor and Pretty Derivative
Review: This book is a lot of things--very few of them good.I decided to give it a try when I heard it was generating some kind of controversy as concerns whether it or the old CHARLIE CHAN AT THE MOVIES is the better book. Let me put it this way, I'm glad I was able to borrow the new book. Need I say more?

Rating:
Summary: Amateur Night in Honolulu
Review: This book is extremely amateurish and a big disappointment. Stick with "Charlie Chan at the Movies", a much superior book which had the stamp of approval from Key Luke himself!

Rating:
Summary: Nice Try, But...
Review: This is a curious book. Obviously, it's a labor of love on the part of the author, but several factors weigh against it--not the least of which is the book's curious structure of presenting the films alphabetically, rather than chronologically. This is particularly unhelpful in the earlier films where there is an obvious connecting thread from one film to the next. An appendix that tells the reader who the mystery killers are also seems ill-advised. But most of all, it's the fact that the book really doesn't add all that much to the Charlie Chan film saga that isn't in Ken Hanke's 1989 book, CHARLIE CHAN AT THE MOVIES. Since that earlier--better illustrated and frankly better written--book is still available (for considerably less money), this new effort seems by far the lesser choice, but it is probably still essential for Chan completists.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent in all regards
Review: 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.

Rating:
Summary: Well organized and entertaining
Review: 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

Rating:
Summary: Top of the line
Review: With years of only one film guide, the error-filled Hanke book, it is great to find a book that does it right. It is evaluative, complete and well-written. The breathrough with new information on the Cuban and Mexican Chan films is significant. If you like Charlie Chan, this is the book for you.