Charlie Chan at the Wax Museum

1940 American film

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Charlie Chan at the Wax Museum

Directed by| Lynn Shores
Written by| John Larkin
Starring| Sidney Toler
Victor Sen Yung
C. Henry Gordon
Marc Lawrence

Production
company

Twentieth Century-Fox

Distributed by| Twentieth Century-Fox

Release date

* September 6, 1940 (1940-09-06)

Running time

| 63 minutes
Country| United States
Language| English

Charlie Chan at the Wax Museum is a 1940 mystery film starring Sidney Toler as detective Charlie Chan. Revisiting an old case results in fresh deaths.

## Plot[edit]

Chan's testimony results in a death sentence for convicted murderer Steve McBirney (Marc Lawrence). However, he escapes and heads to a wax museum, a secret Mob hideout run by Dr. Cream (C. Henry Gordon). Cream, a crooked "facial surgeon", operates on McBirney, changing his appearance.

Chan is lured to the wax museum on the pretext of sparring over an old case with Dr. Otto Von Brom (Michael Visaroff) on a radio broadcast arranged by Cream. Based on Von Brom's testimony, Joe Rocke had been to be executed, but Chan is convinced that Rocke was innocent. In fact, it is all a setup so that McBirney can have his revenge, but Chan already suspects it. His son Jimmy (Victor Sen Yung) sneaks into the museum to investigate (without Chan's knowledge).

When everyone gathers at the museum, Carter Lane barges in, representing Mrs. Joe Rocke. His client also sneaks in. When the principals gather around a table to reenact a scene from the Rocke case for the broadcast, Cream makes sure Chan is in the seat wired for an electrocution. However, Von Brom insists on changing seats. Museum night watchman Willie Fern is tricked into throwing the switch. The lights go out, and Von Brom dies ... but not from electricity. (Lily Latimer, Cream's assistant, had cut the wire in an attempt to keep the museum's other function a secret.) Chan finds a small puncture wound in the dead man's neck and a bamboo blowgun dart.

Chan becomes certain that "Butcher" Dagan framed Rocke, his business partner, and that he killed Von Brom as well. Dagan was supposedly murdered by McBirney, another business partner and a friend of Rocke's. With Cream having operated on Dagan, no one knows who among those gathered at the museum is him (Jimmy even suspects Mrs. Rocke). Dagan kills McBirney and makes an attempt on Chan's life, before the detective finally unmasks and captures him.

## Cast[edit]

* Sidney Toler as Charlie Chan
* Victor Sen Yung as Jimmy Chan (as Sen Yung)
* C. Henry Gordon as Dr. Cream
* Marc Lawrence as Steve McBirney
* Joan Valerie as Lily Latimer, Cream's assistant
* Marguerite Chapman as Mary Bolton, a reporter
* Ted Osborne as Tom Agnew/"Butcher" Dagan, the radio program director and announcer
* Michael Visaroff as Dr. Otto Von Brom, a criminologist who puts his faith in scientific methods
* Hilda Vaughn as Mrs. Joe Rocke
* Charles Wagenheim as Willie Fern
* Archie Twitchell as Carter Lane, representing Mrs. Rocke
* Eddie Marr as Grenock, McBirney's bodyguard
* Joe King as Inspector O'Matthews
* Harold Goodwin as Edwards, the radio program's engineer

## External links[edit]

* Charlie Chan at the Wax Museum at the American Film Institute Catalog
* Charlie Chan at the Wax Museum at IMDb
* Charlie Chan at the Wax Museum at the TCM Movie Database
* Charlie Chan Family

* v
* t
* e

Charlie Chan

Creator|

* Earl Derr Biggers

Inspiration|

* Chang Apana

Novels|

* The House Without a Key (1925)
* The Chinese Parrot (1926)
* Behind That Curtain (1928)
* The Black Camel (1929)
* Charlie Chan Carries On (1930)
* Keeper of the Keys (1932)

English language films|

* The House Without a Key (1926)
* The Chinese Parrot (1927)
* Behind That Curtain (1929)
* Charlie Chan Carries On (1931)
* The Black Camel (1931)
* Charlie Chan's Chance (1932)
* Charlie Chan's Greatest Case (1933)
* Charlie Chan's Courage (1934)
* Charlie Chan in London (1934)
* Charlie Chan in Paris (1935)
* Charlie Chan in Egypt (1935)
* Charlie Chan in Shanghai (1935)
* Charlie Chan's Secret (1936)
* Charlie Chan at the Circus (1936)
* Charlie Chan at the Race Track (1936)
* Charlie Chan at the Opera (1936)
* Charlie Chan at the Olympics (1937)
* Charlie Chan on Broadway (1937)
* Charlie Chan at Monte Carlo (1937)
* Charlie Chan in Honolulu (1938)
* Charlie Chan in Reno (1939)
* Charlie Chan at Treasure Island (1939)
* City in Darkness (1939)
* Charlie Chan's Murder Cruise (1940)
* Charlie Chan at the Wax Museum (1940)
* Charlie Chan in Panama (1940)
* Murder Over New York (1940)
* Dead Men Tell (1941)
* Charlie Chan in Rio (1941)
* Castle in the Desert (1942)
* Charlie Chan in the Secret Service (1944)
* The Chinese Cat (1944)
* Black Magic (1944)
* The Shanghai Cobra (1945)
* The Red Dragon (1945)
* The Scarlet Clue (1945)
* The Jade Mask (1945)
* Dangerous Money (1946)
* Dark Alibi (1946)
* Shadows Over Chinatown (1946)
* The Trap (1946)
* The Chinese Ring (1947)
* Docks of New Orleans (1948)
* Shanghai Chest (1948)
* The Golden Eye (1948)
* The Feathered Serpent (1948)
* Sky Dragon (1949)
* The Return of Charlie Chan (1973)
* Charlie Chan and the Curse of the Dragon Queen (1981)

Mandarin Chinese
language films|

* The Disappearing Corpse (1937)
* The Pearl Tunic (1938)
* The Radio Station Murder (1939)
* Charlie Chan Smashes an Evil Plot (1941)
* Charlie Chan Matches Wits with the Prince of Darkness (1948)

Spanish language films|

* There Were Thirteen (1931)
* La Serpiente Roja (1937)
* El Monstruo en la Sombra (1955)

Television|

* The New Adventures of Charlie Chan (1956-57)
* The Amazing Chan and the Chan Clan (1972)

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