April 5, 1933

Earl Derr Biggers (August 26, 1884 to April 5, 1933) was an American writer. Midwestern born (Ohio), educated at Harvard (graduating in 1907), and popularly received, Biggers' first success is described in this biographical sketch:

...[H]is first novel, Seven Keys to Baldpate ....published ....in 1913.... was very well received, resulting in his gaining a national recognition as a writer. The inevitable financial rewards of his success allowed he and Elanor to marry. George M. Cohan bought the dramatic rights to the book and produced a Broadway play that enjoyed a lengthy run. The popularity of Biggers' first novel was to continue through five different film versions spanning thirty years.

....In need of an escape to a more temperate climate Biggers and Elanor visited Hawaii in 1919 for sun and relaxation. It was while on vacation in Honolulu that the seeds were planted in the mind of Earl Derr Biggers for a new kind of hero.

"It all began so innocently," related Biggers. "A little trip to Honolulu, a harmless loitering on the beach at Waikiki. Then, some years later, in the fall of 1924, the decision to write a mystery novel about Hawaii, based on a plot that had occurred to me while I was over there. But my memories of the islands were rather dim; I dropped into a library to brighten them a bit by a perusal of recent Honolulu newspapers. In an obscure corner of an inside page, I found an item to the effect that a certain hapless Chinese, being too fond of opium, had been arrested by Sergeants Chang Apana and Lee Fook, of the Honolulu Police."....

So, with that, Sergeant Charlie Chan had arrived; a character that was very unique to American mystery readers in the mid-1920s. The idea of a Chinese detective who would be portrayed in a very positive light was a major departure from the prevailing attitude of the time. Biggers later stated, "I had seen movies depicting and read stories about Chinatown and wicked Chinese villains, and it struck me that a Chinese hero, trustworthy, benevolent, and philosophical, would come nearer to presenting a correct portrayal of the race."...

On January 24, 1925, The Saturday Evening Post carried the first installment of The House Without a Key, a story that was soon published by Bobbs-Merrill as a hard cover novel. In this book, detective Charlie Chan of the Honolulu Police Department works to solve a murder committed at a beach house in Honolulu. In this novel, John Quincy Winterslip, a young Bostonian (recalling, no doubt, Biggers' earlier years in that city) provides the romantic interest for the daughter of a prime suspect, as well as investigative assistance to Mr. Chan.

The enthusiastic public reception of Charlie Chan led Biggers to move with his wife to Pasadena, California to enjoy the warm climate and to write the next Charlie Chan story, The Chinese Parrot. The eager reception of this novel by the public prompted The Saturday Evening Post to pay Biggers $25,000 for a serialized version of his third Charlie Chan story, Behind That Curtain. The first two stories had been made into silent movies, and in 1929, Fox Film Corporation paid the writer a handsome sum for the rights to the third Chan novel....Biggers ...[later saw] the studio make Charlie Chan's Chance (1932), which was loosely based on Behind That Curtain.

I am not sure where the hero detective says, "Only very brave mouse makes nest in cat's ear," but there is a cat in "Behind That Curtain." Here is how the story starts:

Bill Rankin sat motionless before his typewriter, grimly seeking a lead for the interview he was about to write. A black shadow shot past his elbow and landed with a soft thud on his desk. Bill's heart leaped into his throat and choked him.

But it was only Egbert, the office cat. ...Rankin glared at the cat with deep disgust. Absurd to be so upset by a mere Egbert but when one has been talking with a great man for over an hour and the subject of the talk has been murder, one is apt to be a trifle jumpy.

He reached out and pushed Egbert to the floor....His dignity offended, Egbert stalked off through the desert of typewriter tables and empty chairs. ...[T]he street ten stories below was filled with home going throngs, but up here in the city room of the Globe, a momentary quiet reigned.....

Egbert, later described as "black as the night from pole to pole," plays no larger role in the story but does play into stereotypes about cats. Felines have no dignity to offend.