Complete Film
Charlie Chan
Charlie Chan at Treasure Island is one of several movies about the namesake fictional Honolulu detective. Originally created by novelist Earl Derr Biggers, Charlie Chan is an Asian character inspired by a real-life Honolulu detective named Chang Apana.
Biggers eventually wrote six novels involving his amiable Chinese character. Moreover, the popularity of Chan went on to fuel approximately fifty movies, produced between 1926 and 1949 (there were also some later movies, but this time frame covers the canonical films).
The actors most well known for playing Charlie Chan were Warner Oland, Sidney Toler, and Roland Winters, none of whom actually were Asian.
Charlie Chan at Treasure Island
Charlie Chan at Treasure Island is the 1939 installment of the long-running movie series. This film was the third to star Sidney Toler as the world-famous detective. Generally speaking, people have a positive opinion of the movie (it has an impressive 7.7 rating at IMDB) and it’s considered one of Toler’s best. A contemporaneous movie review from the New York Times is a bit cynical about the nature of Charlie Chan plots, but otherwise approving.
In the story, Charlie Chan and his son Jimmy arrive in San Francisco to attend the Golden Gate International Exposition held on Treasure Island. Soon after, the duo collaborates with friends at the San Francisco Police Department (SFPD) and the San Francisco Chronicle in order to do battle with a local criminal — named Dr. Zodiac, or often just Zodiac — who is blackmailing people, sometimes to the point of suicide.
Zodiac Killer Inspiration?
A number of parallels exist between certain plot elements of Charlie Chan at Treasure Island and the persona of the Zodiac Killer. The most obvious, of course, is a villain named Zodiac. Other important components include a setting in San Francisco and the prominence of SFPD and the Chronicle.
Beyond these similarities, however, there is yet another interesting aspect of the movie. Just before the climax, Chan describes the story’s antagonist in terms that come across as being uncannily apropos of the real-life serial killer.
Charlie Chan: … But Dr. Zodiac is not ordinary criminal. He is man with great ego, with disease known to science as “pseudologica fantastica.”
Lewis: [whistles]
Jimmy: Is it serious?
Charlie: Listen. [Reads from book] Pathological liars and swindlers suffer from exaggerated fantasy, unleashed vanity and great ambition which robs them of caution known to saner men.
…
Charlie: Criminal egotist find pleasure in laughing at police.
Scene with Curious Dialogue
Conclusion
So, what are we to make of the character “Zodiac” and the curious set of circumstances found in Charlie Chan at Treasure Island? Was the movie an inspiration for the man who would go on to terrorize the San Francisco Bay Area some thirty years later? Or, is the film’s existence just one of those strange coincidences that seem to show up in the minutia of the case at an improbable frequency?
A 1962 advertisement for the Zodiac Sea Wolf Watch
One of the most convincing arguments against Dr. Zodiac being an influence on the Bay Area serial killer is the possibility of other influences. For example, many people suggest the killer was inspired to use the name “Zodiac” (and the corresponding symbol) by the Zodiac Watch Company. In my estimation, this scenario is unlikely, but it’s undeniably popular.
What is interesting about the idea of the killer being inspired by the Zodiac Watch Company is how it relates to Charlie Chan at Treasure Island. Fundamentally, the two are mutually exclusive. It is not possible for both sources to have served as the primary inspiration for the killer. At best, one was the primary inspiration and the other is just a coincidence that may have provided some degree of secondary reinforcement. A less likely possibility is that neither of the two were an inspiration, i.e. they both are just improbable coincidences.
My money is on Charlie Chan at Treasure Island. It has a multifaceted relevance that is difficult to chalk up to happenstance. The killer appears to have had multiple layers to his persona, and therefore the inspiration may well have been more of a starting point than a destination. But, I suspect it was an important element in the killer’s formulation of his persona.
What do you believe?
I have to concur Michael that Zodiac’s influence was more likely steeped in historical events pre-dating his crimes, particularly in his correspondence up to 1971. The Mikado was released to the paying public in 1885, Charlie Chan first appeared in 1926, Treasure Island being 1939. The Most Dangerous Game, alluded to in the first cipher was a short story by Richard Connell in 1924, followed by the RKO movie in 1932. The Dragon Card seemed to imply a link to elements of the book Don Quixote, a novel by Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra published in 1605 and 1615. This to me bolsters the idea Zodiac was well read, particularly in a historical context, with leanings of a theatrical influence that seems to negate the idea that he was literally inept, as his correspondence would have us believe.
Thanks for the comment, Richard.
You provide an excellent summary of definite and possible influences. He clearly was inspired by popular culture in various aspects of his writing. I suppose it’s natural for somebody who wrote as much as he did to draw inspiration from somewhere. Still, these possible sources paint an interesting picture.
I agree that the vast majority of his spelling and grammar mistakes were almost certainly contrived. The sophistication in some of his language and systematic approach behind some of his behaviors make it impossible for me to believe the man didn’t know how to spell words like “Christmas”. I know I’ve mentioned it before, but I suspect one of the few real spelling mistakes in the killer’s writing is the word “twich,” which, of course, shows up int both The Confession and The Mikado Letter.
The real zodiac wanted it that way it boosted his ego to know people were admiring of this uncatchable crook. Would have been better to have men dress as women trying to catch the zodiac it would have been better bait for the sob.
so true the treasure island movie shows the importance of relevancy the whole movie was about that and the villain turned out to be cesar romero this is a much better scenario than dealing with tons of evidence just follow the stream of the action and the villain winds up turning himself in.
Another Chan movie has a scene in which persons are stranded at a remote castle because the distributor of their car was removed, rendering it inoperable. Same happened to Cheri Jo Bates, the Riverside murder.
I’m not an expert,but from what I have read the Zodiac may have been probably a College student and film buff.
The most Dangerous Game had been re-made a couple of times at least prior to 1969
.ie ,Game of Death (1946) Run For the Sun and a film called Bloodlust (1959)
There was also an episode of Gilligan’s Island titled THE HUNTER which really distbured me
watching it back then around 1967 ,(Gilligan is seen in the crosshairs of a rifle scope)
there is also a terrific 1952 Film Noir film called THE SNIPER filmed on location in San Francisco
where at the end you can see a victim in the crosshairs of a carbine scope.
Robert Edward Homans is the clue when he references Charlie Chan movies.
Robert Edward Hunter, Jr. also played Koko in his school production of “The Mikado” (1885).????????