The Hollywood detective movie genre has always proven popular with the moviegoing public. The attraction to these types of characters and stories involving detectives actually started on radio with a series of hit detective series radio shows. In the early 20th century, when the movie industry began to grow, people began to turn off the radio and fill movie theaters to see the detective films that Hollywood produced.
Detective movies did not always require sound to entertainingly portray the mystery involved. In fact, silent films played a significant role in the detective films that were released during the 1920s. However, the addition of sound greatly enhanced viewers’ enjoyment through classic dialogue and sound effects.
Of all the detective movies made by Hollywood, Sherlock Holmes may be the most popular. There have been over 200 movies and TV shows based on the character.
Edger Allen Poe is generally considered to have introduced the first fictional detective character in 1841. The detective’s name was C. Auguste Dupin. The classic detective Sherlock Holmes, created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, achieved great popularity, easily becoming the most famous fictional detective in movie history. So famous that the character has been played by more actors than any other character in movie history. The actor most recognized for playing Holmes is Basil Rathbone, with Nigel Bruce as his trusted associate, Dr. Watson. This team shared top billing from 1939 to 1946. Some other notable actors who played the role included Robert Rundell and Reginald Owen.
Another extremely popular movie detective during this period was charlie-chan. There were 46 Charlie Chan movies made between 1929 and 1946, and interestingly, the Chinese detective was never played by a Chinese actor. Introduced to moviegoing audiences as a minor role played by EL Park in the 1929 film Behind That Curtain, the characters’ popularity skyrocketed with 1931. charlie chan continues Starring Warner Oland as the detective. Oland continued in the role of Chan for fifteen more films until his death. Sidney Tolar took over the role for eleven other films produced by 20th Century Fox until 1942, when Tolar himself bought the screen rights and began a new series of Charlie Chan films with Monogram Pictures.
Actor Roland Winters continued in the role after Tolar’s death, and the series continued for six more films. Unfortunately, the quality of the films declined dramatically after Tolar’s purchase of the screen rights.
As for the character himself, Detective Charlie Chan worked for the Honolulu Police Department, was married with fourteen children, often referring to the eldest as “son number one”. In an era when Asians were thought to be primarily laundresses, servants, or just plain villains, Chan stood out as a positive example for Asians. Other popular detective movie series included mr motorcycle, The thin man series (along with Sherlock Holmes, my personal favourite) and bulldog.
Just as they were at the beginning of the 20th century, hollywood detective movies they will continue to appear on the movie screen on a regular basis and will continue to owe their success to these humble beginnings. It’s the lure of the mystery that will keep audiences coming back for more.