Eran trece

This is a gem for film historians. Almost all the early Charlie Chan films are lost--the silent ones and even several sound ones. This is one of the earliest known Chan film, though it's a Spanish language version using the same sets yet an alternate cast. That's because in the early days of talkies, Hollywood studios often filmed several alternate language versions of the same film instead of dubbing the films or using captions. Most had entirely different casts that filmed at night when the American cast went home to bed. In a few odd cases, such as with Laurel and Hardy, the stars appeared in multiple versions of their films--learning lines phonetically in German, Spanish, Italian or French. As for the Chan films, this is the only one done in multiple versions and this is a blessing as the original version starring Warner Oland is lost.

In this case, Manuel Arbó stars as the intrepid detective. While Oland was a Swedish-American and didn't exactly look or act authentically Chinese, Arbó looked and sounded even less like a Chinese-American than Oland. Also, oddly, Chan doesn't even appear until about half way through the film--something that also apparently occurred in other earlier Chan films. Instead, a murder mystery is being competently investigated and Chan only enters the scene once the trail has gone completely cold.

While this is an odd entrance for Chan compared to the later style of the series and Manuel Arbó isn't the greatest Chan, the script is definitely a winner. In fact, it compares very well to the rest of the Fox series and is better than most. This really, really makes me hope that someday they'll unearth the Oland version ("Charlie Chan Carries On")--and fortunately, in recent years, many supposedly lost films have been uncovered.

By the way, this film was included as an extra in Volume 1 of the Charlie Chan collection which was released by Fox in 2006.

"Eran Trece" has obvious novelty value - a Charlie Chan movie entirely in Spanish! - but beyond that, it's a pretty good little mystery on its own; it certainly looks good and moves well for a 1931 production. However, it goes on too long (for example, the entire "impressions at the party" sequence could have been cut), and - as in many later Chan pictures - the killer seems to be picked out of a lottery; there are no particular clues to indicate that it has to be person A instead of person B or person C. **1/2 out of 4.

I just watched this film on DVD--it is in the new Charlie Chan box set on the disc with CC in Shanghai. It has English subtitles also. There is a scene where Charlie Chan is getting ready to board the boat to San Francisco. His wife and son are seeing him off at the dock. His wife speaks with to him in Japanese and at the end says "sayonara" to him (he answers in Spanish, of course. I guess back then they assumed that people would not know the difference between Japanese and Chinese!! By the way, another disc in the set, The Black Camel has a reading from the script of Charlie Chan's Chance, using still photos as a background. It is the complete script and since this is another lost Chan film, this might be the only was to see it

One of the few Chan movies to actually be based on one of the original novels this is essentially the start of the series of movies that many people know and love so well. The story was later shortened and reused as Charlie Chan's Murder Cruise. This was shot at the same time as an alternate Spanish version of the now lost Charlie Chan Carries On, and is an excellent take on the great detective.

The plot begins in London where a friend of Chan's, an Inspector Duff, is called in to investigate the murder of one of a travel group touring the world. It transpires that one of the group is not who they say they are and is out for revenge of a past wrong. Two more murders follow as the group continues the tour, but still there is no sign of the killer. When events in China put another member of the party in danger, Duff is forced to act and he races to Hawaii to see his old friend Charlie Chan to ask his help with the case before the party leaves. While visiting Chan in his office Duff is shot down. Chan feeling an obligation to his fallen friend tells the medics who rush Duff to the hospital to tell his friend that "Charlie Chan carries on". Chan joins the party as they board a ship for San Fransisco, vowing to either solve the murder by the time they arrive or retire if he hasn't. (The appearance of Chan is half way into the movie, and its the point at which Murder Cruise begins).

This is a really good little movie and its understandable why a series sprang from it. Even though Chan doesn't show up for a good while into the proceeding, he hangs over the film since Duff is constantly quoting things that his friend Chan might say. The mystery is tightly plotted and keeps you on the edge of your seat. Its so well done that I didn't mind not seeing Chan in action and found myself actually wishing for a series of films with Inspector Duff of Scotland Yard.

Manuel Arbó is a great Chan. A very physical actor he moves and does things that Warner Oland , and the other actor's playing Chan rarely did, he got on his knees to detect, rifles through drawers and actually does hands on investigating. Chan is also a very clearly two men. Outwardly he is the quiet font of Chinese wisdom that most people feel they can under estimate. Inwardly and when he is in the hunt he is a man of action who knows what has to be done and how to do it. Watch how he searches a room, or in the final reel sets the trap for the killer. He moves in a way that none of the other Chans ever did. He is not just a man of words, but a man of action who is very clearly in control of what is going on. Arbo is made to look physically like Oland, no doubt to use shots from the other version, however there is something more commanding about his presence. You are very aware of his presence in a scene, even when he is on the out skirts of it. I would love to have seen how the series would have played out had Arbo been allowed to play the detective. (Perhaps what makes this film so great is that it doesn't follow the the pattern of the series).

This is a movie to search out. If you can find it somewhere by all means do see it. There is an English subtitled version floating around if you don't speak Spanish (This may carry the English translation of the title They Were Thirteen). Even if you are not a Charlie Chan fan this is just a really good mystery. This is the sort of thing that people don't make any more, it feels like a movie you'll want to curl up with on a dark a stormy night.

A Spanish version of Charlie Chan 'Charlie Chan Carries on' survives. Made for the Latin American & Spain's audiences while the English version seem lost but who knows if it can be found. A group of American tourists travelling around the world & one of them is murdered & the suspect is among those tourists. Arbo, from Spain, is no Werner Oland but plays the hero detective quite convincing. Is good to mention the actress who plays the gangster's wife, one of the suspects, was from Puerto Rico & gives a sweet performance. But wonder who played Chan's wife, Japanese but for me an unknown actress.