China Smith
In Season One, there is a shrewd, charming, and disreputable Irish adventurer called William "China" Smith in Singapore. He can be hired cheap for jobs that require an insider's knowledge of the less polite neighborhoods of the Far East. Inspector Hobson of the Singapore police disapproves of him. To Hobson, Smith is a fellow named Davey Fitzgerald, wanted for treason in Ireland. Smith frequently charms information and money out of a cool and beautiful Eurasian woman known as Madame Shira,whom he calls "Empress. She owns the Trade Winds Hotel, where stolen goods and fugitives often come to rest. In Season Two, Smith is based in Hong Kong and Macao, and there are no other continuing characters.
- 1952-1953
- 1 season
- Encore Home Video
- Action & Adventure
In Season One, there is a shrewd, charming, and disreputable Irish adventurer called William "China" Smith in Singapore. He can be hired cheap for jobs that require an insider's knowledge of the less polite neighborhoods of the Far East. Inspector Hobson of the Singapore police disapproves of him. To Hobson, Smith is a fellow named Davey Fitzgerald, wanted for treason in Ireland. Smith frequently charms information and money out of a cool and beautiful Eurasian woman known as Madame Shira,whom he calls "Empress. She owns the Trade Winds Hotel, where stolen goods and fugitives often come to rest. In Season Two, Smith is based in Hong Kong and Macao, and there are no other continuing characters.
Season 1 Episode Guide
26 Episodes 1953
Episode 1
The Bamboo Coffin
A Singapore rubber company hires China Smith to track down an escaped prisoner who once lead a gang of thieves dealing in stolen rubber. Smith determines that a manager of one of the company's rubber plantations may be involved in the thefts, but when the man is found shot in the back, he must cast his net wider to capture his quarry.
Episode 2
Celestial Pebbles
Mon, Sep 7, 2026
Hired to recover stolen jewels, Smith begins to suspect that the owner has withheld information about the theft.
Episode 3
The Corpse with the Purple Ear
Mon, Sep 7, 2026
Episode 4
Cruise to Colombo
30 mins
Episode 5
Curse of the River Gods
Mon, Sep 7, 2026
Episode 6
Devil-in-the-Godown
Con artist/private eye, China Smith, investigates the murder of a newspaperman. The investigation leads him to a brotherhood of assassins and an arson-for-hire ring.
Episode 7
Dynasty of the Dead
Mon, Sep 7, 2026
Episode 8
Espionage Express
Mon, Sep 7, 2026
Episode 9
High Sea
Tue, Jan 1, 1952
A Chinese gambler is accused of throwing a man off the deck of the SS Calebar. China Smith investigates and in the process he encounters a dancer and her knife throwing husband as well as a ship's officer with a secret.
Episode 10
The Jade Trap
Mon, Sep 7, 2026
Episode 11
Jungle Dragon
Thu, May 14, 1953
A young woman hires China Smith to find her fiance after he has been banished, by his family, to Malaya.
Episode 12
The Kaprielian Cipher
Thu, May 14, 1953
As China Smith attempts to compile a dossier on fabulous Max Kaprielien, he discovers that the man has many sides and is surrounded by mystery.
Episode 13
Killer in the Kampong
Mon, Sep 7, 2026
A tin company hires China Smith to negotiate "tribute" with a local bandit leader who has raised his rates for not attacking company trucks eight-fold in recent months. When Smith penetrates the bandits' stronghold and learns that the outlaws have made no such demands. It's up to the beachcomber to discover where the money is disappearing.
Episode 14
Kris of Death
Mon, Sep 7, 2026
The British army hires China Smith to investigate rumors that one of their officers has excepted a hefty bribe from the Singapore underworld. Smith is accused of murder by the colonial forces when the colonel he suspects of accepting the bribe is found murdered and the crooks suspect China of stealing their $40,000 from the dead officer.
Episode 15
Moon Flower
Mon, Sep 7, 2026
China Smith gives his friend Kwong money for his debts the man insists on giving Smith something in return. The adventurer is presented with Moon Flower, Kwong's lovely daughter, but Smith is at a loss of what to do with his gift.
Episode 16
My Ship Has a Golden Keel
Thu, Jan 1, 1953
Smith takes a job for Leora, a new singer at Julio Frontera's night club. She wants her suitcases, left on a yacht she fled. Smith cons Frontera out of a dinner jacket and boards the yacht as a party guest. He's caught by the owner, Endicott,and a mercenary steward named Choy. He escapes without the suitcases, but Choy has agreed to help him if he comes back later that night. There are two betrayals and some waving of guns because the suitcases might contain gold. The show ends with Smith and a tippling piano player called "Cutty" singing a duet about wished-for fortunes--"A Ship with a Golden Keel."
Episode 17
Pagoda in the Jungle
Episode 18
The Phantom Sampan
Thu, Jan 15, 1953
Peaceable Smith mugs a sailor. He rifles the man's wallet, then gives it to Inspector Hobson as found property. The inspector tells him a cautionary tale of another Singapore rapscallion, a river pirate who drove Straits Settlement Rubber almost to ruin; the firm survived only because a businessman, Wu Chow, bought into it. But the elusive pirate found it wise to retire from Hobson's jurisdiction--Smith take note! Straits Settlement, though, wants Smith to deal with a new problem. The company needs Wu Chow's vote for "the S and M merger" but he's paralyzed by fear. Smith knows how "The Collector" frightens wealthy Chinese in Singapore, who pay to protect their relatives in Red China. But Wu Chow has no relatives there. Hobson's story of the pirate and his phantom sampan explain the situation. The Collector inadvertently dispenses justice. Hobson proves to be a very good shot.
Episode 19
Port of Thieves
Mon, Sep 7, 2026
Episode 20
Shanghai Clipper
Thu, Mar 12, 1953
A man disappears from an airplane. Did he jump or was he pushed? Why did witnesses see nothing? Was he carrying a map of a fabulous oil discovery that is now missing? China Smith is hired to find answers.
Episode 21
Straight Settlement
Mon, Sep 7, 2026 30 mins
China Smith is accused of stealing a shipment of drugs that are necessary to save the life of a wealthy, dying, dying, Singapore man.
Episode 22
The Tanaka Archive
Mon, Sep 7, 2026
Episode 23
The Wondrous Funeral of Sergeant Ko
Mon, Sep 7, 2026
Episode 24
Wreath of Poppies
Mon, Sep 7, 2026
China Smith investigates any deaths that all have in common the use of Tiger Tonic herbs.
Episode 25
Year of the Phoenix
Thu, Jan 1, 1953
China Smith has been hired to find a man missing from his London family. Smith believes the missing man may be a rum soaked derelict that he has located.
Episode 26
Zorana the Destroyer
Mon, Sep 7, 2026