A Centennial: The House Without a Key (1925) and Charlie Chan are turning 100!

HAU’OLI MAKAHIKI HOU or Happy New Year everyone! Especially those born in the Year of The Snake. And a special year indeed for Detective Charlie Chan fans! That first novel (in the title above) was serialized in the Saturday Evening Post over seven-weekly editions, beginning January 24th, 1925. Later that year it was released as a mystery novel by Bobbs-Merrill publishers of Indianapolis, Indiana. There were only six original Charlie Chan novels by Ohio Author Earl Derr Biggers. However, this unusual detective has stuck around quite awhile, and more recently he’s on the trail to solve even more mysteries!

So what’s kept this fictional character so consequential for one hundred year? Set side-by-side with other fictional sleuths who first immerged as America’s gumshoes, detectives and private investigators during the Golden Age of Detective Fiction, he’s undeniably distinctive. And he still remains controversial: a mockery of the early American Chinese immigrant, or a champion of justice against the Anti-Asian sentiment of the times? We’ll leave that one alone for now.

But for now Charlie Chan remains with us. And he seems to be slowly regaining celebrity as he turns 100 years along with The House Without a Key, which first introduced him. A Hawaiian-Chinese detective, a family man, a pontificator of aphorisms, a bit pudgy vs athletic, and who tended to use brain over brawn certainly strayed from other scripts of the 1920s-1930s. And perhaps this combination is what endeared him so to the public. Even with today’s mysteries churning out new conflicted heroes, anti-heroes, and elderly senior-center detectives solving mysteries, Charlie Chan remains a peculiar anomaly! And new stories have begun churning out, admittedly most written with the assistance of AI, and most awful. Still, recently there’s been a few done with diligence and actually quite good!

Now to get back on topic, “How to celebrate?” I mean “HECK” this is a banner year and most of us won’t be around for the 150th or 200th celebrations. I’ve some ideas about ways to celebrate/honor this accolade. First, something for everyone:

• Watch a Charlie Chan film. Now you can pretty much find the majority of them (around 40 films) free on Youtube. However, to get the full enjoyment why not join in on one of Rush Glick’s Monday night chats, online at the Chat Room. They begin with arrivals and greetings at 7:30PM and a “warm-up” in the form of a short videos or audio presentations relevant to the night’s film. Then, precisely 8:15PM Eastern Time, visitors simultaneously begin rolling our personal copies of the evening’s feature movie! Join as a guest–no login required.
• Read a Detective Charlie Chan mystery. Or re-read one. Perhaps a good choice this year would be The House Without a Key, 1925. But there are five other originals penned by Chan creator Earl Derr Biggers. And a plethora of other related books you’ll find on Rush Glick’s website in “The Library.”
• Enjoy a delicious meal at a Chinese restaurant. See my 2019 blog, Those Charlie Chan Eateries for some ideas. Oh, and I discovered the oldest Charlie Chan Restaurant (in the UK) was only temporarily closed during the pandemic. This location has been around since 1966! It previously operated under the name The Pagoda Restaurant (1966-1982) and in 1982 was renamed after their head chef…Charlie Chan! Perhaps a visit to a nearby Chinese restaurant, and a glass of plum wine (often complimentary) to toast the detective’s anniversary, would be a good way to celebrate.
• A trip to Seven Keys Lodge, in Estes Park, CO for those with deep pockets. Originally, named The Baldpate Inn (after Biggers’ first successful mystery novel, Seven Keys to Baldpate) it hosts the largest known collection of keys in the world, some thirty thousand! Biggers’ actually visited once and gave it his blessings. Here’s a short video of the Key Room under it’s previous ownership.
• For those with deep pockets, a road trip to Earl Derr Biggers’ hometown, Warren, Ohio. The quaint picturesque town of Warren, in Trumbull County along the Mahoning River, has many small museums, markets and shops and a very popular outdoor Ampitheater with seating for 3000. A stop at Warren’s main library to view the United for Libraries, “Literary Landmark” honoring author and playwright Earl Derr Biggers is a must. And for a diversion, 25 minutes away (situated half-way between Cleveland and Warren, OH) is the Welshfield Inn (est. 1842), Burton, Ohio. In the heart of Amish country it features seasonal fare in a historic building that’s been around more than a century! Since Biggers was born in 1884, one can’t help wondering if the Biggers’ family didn’t enjoy a meal there on occasion?
• A trip to Honolulu for those with even deeper pockets. Visit the sites and locations of Detective Chang Apana and Detective Charlie Chan: the film sites, Chang Apana’s office, Apana’s grave site, The Honolulu Police Museum (Chang Apana exhibit), The Royal Hawaiian Hotel (on location for The Black Camel film) and The Halekulani Hotel’s beachside restaurant “The House Without A Key,” and newish beachside bar “Earl’s.” Tour guide and local Historian Steven Fredrick is a local “Chan aficionado” and good choice to help direct your visit. Find him at Honolulu Ghost & Mystery Tours.

Now, a list for those more serious fans of Charlie Chan, those charged with his keeping. The regulars who attend the The Charlie Chan Family Home weekly chat and film viewing, and perhaps some of you subscribed to this blog:

• Host a Zoom Charlie Chan Symposium or Meeting. I mean who hasn’t attended a conference or meeting on Zoom? I’m sure almost everyone reading this has participated in at least one? I’m thinking Biggers’ birthday August 26, 2025 would be a good date. And we could sort out, finalize, or file 13 some of the ideas below, and look at new ones.
• A proclamation of Charlie Chan’s Birthday. Many detectives have birthdays, or at least dates on which to celebrate their creation. It would be fun to figure the date out from the novels and give our detective an agreed upon official birth date and certificate.
• Update Honolulu City Council’s “Key to The City” listing on Wikipedia. I plan to take this one on as I was able to find the newspaper articles that support this claim. Wikipedia shows only one person ever having received that honor, Michelle Wie. (I actually know of two “Earls”, who received a key!)
• Start an “official” Charlie Chan Fan Club. With all the popularity this detective had in the mid-20th Century (44 films, a BBC television series, board and card games, comic books, radio plays, a nationally syndicated comic strip, etc.) it’s a wonder why there never was a Charlie Chan fan club? Sure there are blogs and websites, but I’ve never come across an offical “fan site.” An internet search found Nero Wolfe’s Wolfe Pack with 500 members worldwide, Hercule Poirot has a fan club on facebook with some 600 members, and Sherlock Holmes around 900 worldwide under various variances on the stories. These are “official” sites and there are yet probably more fans. Yet, never an “official” fan club for Detective Chan. Maybe it’s time to do something about that?

So again, HAPPY 2025 & YEAR OF THE SNAKE everyone. Let’s make 2025 a great year…especially for Detective Charlie Chan!

“He who squanders to-day talking of yesterday’s triumph, will have nothing to boast about to-morrow”

(Charlie Chan Carries On, 1932, Chap 23)