 Three Spanish @-@ language Charlie Chan films were made in the 1930s and 1950s . The first , Eran Trece ( There Were Thirteen ) ( 1931 ) , is a Spanish @-@ language version of Charlie Chan Carries On ( 1931 ) . The two films were made concurrently and followed the same production schedule , with each scene filmed twice the same day , once in English and then in Spanish . The film followed essentially the same script as the <unk> version , with minor additions such as brief songs and skits and some changes to characters ' names ( for example , the character Elmer Benbow was renamed Frank Benbow ) . A Cuban production , La Serpiente Roja ( The Red Snake ) , followed in 1937 . In 1955 , Producciones Cub @-@ Mex produced a Mexican version of Charlie Chan called El <unk> en la Sombra ( Monster in the Shadow ) , starring Orlando Rodriguez as " Chan Li Po " ( Charlie Chan in the original script ) . The film was inspired by La Serpiente Roja as well as the American Warner Oland films . 
