Earl Biggers

Biggers had always been interested in mystery fiction, but his interest in Hawaii clearly stems from a 1919 vacation in Honolulu. While there, he read a newspaper article on a Chinese detective named Chang Apana. Apana would become the model for Charlie Chan in Biggers' 1925 novel, House Without a Key, and there quickly followed five more Charlie Chan novels. Fifty Candles - published just two years after that 1919 vacation - shows how Hawaii, China,...

Lord Harrowby visits Lloyds of London and takes out an insurance policy on his future wedding, which guarantees a hefty payout if the ceremony stalls. It's an odd request that leads to desperate measures from both parties. Lord Allan Harrowby is engaged to marry a wealthy American heiress. Prior to their nuptials, he decides to take out an insurance policy on their wedding. If it doesn't occur by a certain time, Harrowby will receive a massive claim...

Honolulu detective Charlie Chan goes undercover in the California desert in this classic mystery adventure.

The transfer of a valuable string of pearls from Hawaii to California draws Honolulu detective Charlie Chan into the orbit of an eccentric financier with a penchant for exotic pets. When he encounters a Chinese-speaking parrot, Chan is intrigued by the provocative and dangerous question it asks. And when the bird mysteriously

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Earl Derr Biggers (1884-1933) is best remembered as the creator of Chinese detective Charlie Chan. Biggers had always been interested in mystery fiction, but his interest in Hawaii clearly stems from a 1919 vacation in Honolulu. While there, he read a newspaper article on a Chinese detective named Chang Apana. Apana would become the model for Charlie Chan in Biggers' 1925 novel, "The House Without a Key," and there quickly followed five more Charlie...

"Charlie Chan Carries On" -- the 1931 Fox motion picture starring Warner Oland as Chan -- is now considered a "lost" film (the original film materials were destroyed in a vault fire.) Unless a copy surfaces in some remote corner of the world, as happened with "Charlie Chan in Paris," this original screenplay is the closest Chan fans will come to seeing the original film. (There is also a Portuguese-language version called "Eran Trece" [There Were...

Inspector Duff works with the Scotland Yard. He is called in to investigate a mysterious murder that occurred at a famous local London hotel. A deaf old man, traveling on pleasure trip from America with his daughter and granddaughter, has been murdered during the night. At first, the investigation seems to be pointing towards Doctor Lofton, the leader of the tour group, as the culprit. Much to the chagrin of the other travelers in the group, they...

Charlie Chan, visiting San Francisco to make a speech, finds himself swept into one of his most puzzling -- and dangerous -- cases! A cult known as the Golden Horde is running a spiritual retreat, helping the disturbed and the depressed find inner peace. Benny Chan, who worked for the Golden Horde, is dead ... but the priceless treasure he carried has been recovered. Benny's sister is searching for the truth, and Chan agrees to help her. Ancient scrolls,...

Charlie tries to catch a killer in "The secret service"; "The Chinese cat" has Charlie trailing diamond thieves; and "The jade mask" has Charlie at odds with the family of a murdered scientist.

Charlie Chan investigates a group of spiritualists, illusionists and hypnotists in this puzzling case where a string of apparent suicides and a murder occur during a terrifying séance.