China Passage
Brief Synopsis
Murder and jewel theft plague a China-bound steamer.
Cast & Crew
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Edward Killy
Director
Constance Worth
Jane Dunn
Vinton Haworth
Tom Baldwin
Leslie Fenton
Anthony Durand
Gordon Jones
Joe Dugan
Alec Craig
Harvey Dinwiddle
Film Details
Also Known As
Miss Customs Agent
Genre
Adventure
Release Date
Mar
12,
1937
Premiere Information
not available
Production Company
RKO Radio Pictures, Inc.
Distribution Company
RKO Radio Pictures, Inc.
Country
United States
Technical Specs
Duration
1h 5m
Sound
Mono (RCA Victor System)
Color
Black and White
Theatrical Aspect Ratio
1.37 : 1
Film Length
7 reels
Synopsis
In Shanghai, American soldiers of fortune Tom Baldwin and Joe Dugan are hired by a Chinese general to deliver the priceless Soo diamond to a storekeeper named Chang. Moments after Tom and Joe hand the diamond to Chang, his shop is attacked by soldiers, and during the ensuing chaos, the diamond is stolen. Desperate to retrieve the jewel, Tom and Joe corner everyone in the vicinity and question them about their activities. Included in the group of suspects are Jane Dunn, a pretty American; Anthony Durand, an American mystery writer; Durand's British valet, Harvey Dinwaddle; an alcoholic named Philip Burton; silly Mrs. Katharine "Katie" Collins; and the mysterious Dr. Feng Tu. Unable to locate the diamond, Tom and Joe release their suspects but trail Jane, who meets secretly with a Chinese man claiming to know the identity of the thief. Before the informant can reveal his information to Jane, however, he is killed by an unseen assailant. The next day, Joe and Tom track Jane to the docks, where the San Francisco-bound S.S. Asiatic is about to sail. To Tom and Joe's surprise, all of their suspects board the Asiatic . Soon after sailing, Jane receives an on-board telephone call from an unidentified man who warns her not to drink her morning coffee and advises her to get off the ship in Yokahama. Later Jane discovers that a box of chocolates she had received as a gift is laced with poison. Next, Durand and Harvey's cabin is ransacked, and Jane's room is burglarized. Furious, Jane shows the ship's captain a letter from the United States Customs Office, which identifies her as a special agent, and demands to search Tom and Joe's cabin. There Jane and the captain discover Joe's dead body. After learning that Joe had borrowed a book about the human stomach from the ship's hospital, Jane sneaks into Tom's cabin and is knocked unconscious. Tom then enters and struggles in the dark with Jane's attacker. After the tussle, Tom finds a Buddha charm on his floor, which he knows belongs to Katie. Jane, who has fallen in love with Tom, confides her identity to him, and together they approach Katie. By the time they reach Katie's cabin, however, they discover that Katie, who is actually an undercover insurance investigator, has been poisoned. Using fingerprints found on Katie's fatal cocktail glass as a comparison, Jane checks all of the remaining suspects' fingerprints and identifies Tom as the killer. Later, however, Jane reveals to Tom, who is locked in the ship's brig, that the killer had framed him by substituting Katie's glass for one used by him. While Jane questions Durand about Katie, a still imprisoned Tom is shot and wounded. Then, shortly before landing in San Francisco, Jane also is shot by an unseen assailant. At the dock, Harvey is accused of smuggling jade and is searched by customs officers. After Jane reveals that her shooting was a diversionary fake, she accuses Harvey of stealing the diamond. Durand then rushes in with a gun and turns off the customs office's lights. During the ensuing fight, Dr. Tu, actually a representative of the general, shoots Durand. Once the murderers are revealed, Jane accepts Tom's marriage proposal and, while the captain of the Asiatic performs their wedding, explains how she solved the crime: After reading a radiogram sent to Katie just before her death, which identified one of the thieves as a former circus performer, Jane arranged for Harvey, whom she suspected was the circus "freak," to be X-rayed in the customs office. As predicted, Harvey's X-ray revealed that had he swallowed the diamond.
Director
Edward Killy
Director
Cast
Constance Worth
Jane Dunn
Vinton Haworth
Tom Baldwin
Leslie Fenton
Anthony Durand
Gordon Jones
Joe Dugan
Alec Craig
Harvey Dinwiddle
Dick Elliott
Philip Burton
Frank M. Thomas
Captain Williams
George Irving
Dr. Sibley
Billy Gilbert
Bartender
Joyce Compton
Mrs. Katharine "Katie" Collins, also known as Elaine Gentry
Philip Ahn
Dr. Feng Tu
Lotus Long
Lia Sen
Huntley Gordon
Arthur Trent
Edgar Dearing
Bill
Lotus Liu
Yo Ling
Tetsu Komai
Wong
Moy Ming
Chang
William Corson
Officer
Alan Curtis
Officer
Anita Colby
Crew
J. Robert Bren
Screenwriter
Samuel J. Briskin
Executive Producer
Taylor Caven
Story
Philip G. Epstein
Contract Writer
Sid Fogel
Assistant Director
Edmund L. Hartmann
Screenwriter
Al Herman
Art Director Associate
Desmond Marquette
Editing
Hugh Mcdowell Jr.
Recording
Nicholas Musuraca
Photography
Van Nest Polglase
Art Director
Cliff Reid
Associate Producer
Film Details
Also Known As
Miss Customs Agent
Genre
Adventure
Release Date
Mar
12,
1937
Premiere Information
not available
Production Company
RKO Radio Pictures, Inc.
Distribution Company
RKO Radio Pictures, Inc.
Country
United States
Technical Specs
Duration
1h 5m
Sound
Mono (RCA Victor System)
Color
Black and White
Theatrical Aspect Ratio
1.37 : 1
Film Length
7 reels
Articles
China Passage
Murder and jewel theft plague a China-bound steamer.
China Passage
Murder and jewel theft plague a China-bound steamer.
Quotes
Trivia
Notes
The working title of this film was Miss Customs Agent. A preliminary Screen Achievements Bulletin credit sheet included Philip G. Epstein as a "contributing writer." The exact nature of his contribution is not known. According to a Hollywood Reporter news item, filming was delayed for almost two weeks in early January 1937 after Vinton Hayworth was injured in an automobile accident.
