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Warner Oland
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Swedish actor Warner Oland was educated in Boston, but proudly retained his Scandinavian roots throughout his life, even devoting time to translating the works of Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen into English for the benefit of theatrical scholars. Trained at Dr. Curry's Acting School, Oland took on a theatrical career, ultimately tackling the movie industry in 1915 with an appearance in Sin opposite Theda Bara. Oland's curious facial features enabled the occidental actor to specialize in oriental roles, most often as a villain. While his silent film appearances ranged from Cesar Borgia in Don Juan (1926) to Al Jolson's Jewish cantor father in The Jazz Singer (1927), Oland's oriental roles gained him the widest popularity, especially his portrayal as the insidious Dr. Fu Manchu in three early talking pictures. In 1931, Oland was cast as the wily, aphorism-spouting Chinese detective Charlie Chan in Charlie Chan Carries On for the Fox studios (later 20th Century-Fox). He would make annual appearances as Chan until 1934, when Fox decided to use the Earl Derr Biggers character as the focal point of a regular B-movie series; Oland would now be seen as Charlie Chan three times per year, and ultimately the actor would make a total of sixteen Chan pictures.
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Warner Oland was not the first actor to portray Charlie Chan on the silver screen. The Oriental detective was originally played by George Kuwa in The House Without a Key (1925) and Kamiyama Sojin in The Chinese Parrot (1927), both silent Pathe serials, and later by E.L. Park in a Fox Pictures talking feature, Behind That Curtain, (1929). However, it was Warner Oland who first breathed life into the character whose exploits have now thrilled several generations.
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After several years in theater, including appearances on Broadway as Warner Oland, in 1912 he made his silent film debut in Pilgrim's Progress, a film based on the John Bunyan novel. It would be another three years before he returned to film work with a role in The Romance of Elaine, an adventure film starring the extremely popular Pearl White. As a result of his training as a Shakespearean actor and his easy adaptation to a sinister look, he was much in demand as a villain and in ethnic roles. He made several more films with Pearl White including his first portrayal of an oriental character in her 1919 film, The Lightning Raider. Over the next fifteen years he appeared in more than thirty films, including a major role in 1927's The Jazz Singer, one of the first talkies produced.
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CHARLIE CHAN AT RINGSIDE started filming in January 1938 but Warner Oland became ill and was hospitalized. After being released from the hospital Oland signed to do three more Charlie Chan films and then left for a vacation to Sweden. While in Sweden he developed bronchial pneumonia and died on August 6, 1938 at age 57. Twentieth Century-Fox quickly rewrote the story, writing in Peter Lorre as Mr. Motto to replace Warner Oland as Chan. The picture was released in March of 1938 as Mr. Motto's Gamble.
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Although Charlie Chan was portrayed onscreen as something of a teetotaler, in reality, Oland was quite the opposite. Indeed, it was thought by at least one director, H. Bruce "Lucky" Humberstone, that a drink or two actually helped Oland with his characterization. On at least one occasion, Oland brought his lunch to the set in a metal lunch box. Taking out one of two thermos bottles, he would say to Keye Luke, "For Number One son, good split pea soup..." Looking around to see if the coast was clear, he poured a martini from the second thermos, adding, "...For honorable father, tiger tea."1 Eventually, exhaustion and his penchant for alcohol took their toll physically and mentally. Oland's wife, artist Edith Shearn Oland, had left him in August of 1937, a casualty of his decline.
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Warner Brothers Pictures was not a major studio, but Harry Warner and his three brothers were determined to make it one. The Warners had gotten their start in the movie business in 1903, when they bought a projector and a print of Edison’s
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Warner Oland