FROM CHARLIE CHAN: “Bait only good if fish bite on same.”

THIS WEEK as we move into the Sidney Toler era of the Charlie Chan film series. More specifically, we enter the Toler era at 20th Century-Fox, as the actor would continue in the venerable role later at monogram Pictures, but we shall save that until later this year!

In “Charlie Chan in Honolulu," we see Charlie Chan at home as the picture opens. The family is awaiting news regarding Number One Daughter who is in the local hospital awaiting the birth of the Chans first grandchild. Amid all the clamor in the Chan family, there is a murder to investigate that occurred aboard a passenger freighter before its arrival in Honolulu. A bevy of interesting suspects, the impending birth of the newest addition to the Chan family, as well as Number Two Son Jimmy Chan’s ambitions to become a detective, son Tommy’s desire to add his help to the case, not to mention the fact that Mr. Chan could find himself in physical danger, make this one of the detective’s most unusual cases in his long, storied career!
As is our custom, we begin arriving at 7:30 Eastern Time, we will be sharing, before our featured presentation, an “extra” in the form of a vintage Charlie Chan continuing radio drama! Following our “extra,” we will collectively run our feature at 8:15!

OUR PRESENTATIONS:
1. “The Landini Murder Case” (part 27) radio program (1936; Runtime: 14:36)
2. “Charlie Chan in Honolulu” (1938; Runtime: 72 minutes)

FEATURE SUMMARY: A murder is committed on the passenger freighter “Susan B Jennings,” as it reaches Honolulu. After a circuitous route to the docked ship, Charlie Chan learns that the murdered man's identity is a mystery and that secretary Judy Hayes is the only eyewitness to the fatal shooting. The rest of the freighters' passengers include animal keeper Al Hogan, Mrs. Carol Wayne, psychiatrist Dr. Cardigan, criminal Johnny McCoy, and police detective Joe Arnold, who is taking McCoy back to the U.S. from Shanghai. Another person is murdered and $300,000 has gone missing.

FILM NOTES: This film was the first in which Sidney Toler appeared as Charlie Chan. According to a ‘Hollywood Reporter’ news item, associate producer John Stone had chosen Toler to be the successor to Warner Oland, who had played Chan from 1931 until his death in 1938, after seeing him play a Chinese character in the Paramount film “King of Chinatown.” Toler was the thirty-fifth actor tested for the role, with ‘Hollywood Reporter’ noting that others considered for the role included Leo Carrillo, Cy Kendall, and J. Edward Blomberg who appeared in Charlie Chan on Broadway (1937). Toler continued to play Chan until his death in 1947. This was also the first film in which Sen Yung played Jimmy Chan. Yung had replaced Keye Luke, who had portrayed Lee Chan in earlier entries in the series. Luke left the series after Oland's death, when he and Twentieth Century-Fox disagreed on his new contract. According to ‘Hollywood Reporter’ news items, the search for Luke's replacement was "frantic," and led to casting director James Ryan seeking applicants among the Los Angeles university students and Chinatown residents. The ‘New York Times’ had speculated that “Charlie Chan in Honolulu” would cost $300,000 to produce, and that Toler would receive $15,000 per Chan film. Many reviewers applauded Toler's and Yung's performances and noted that followers of the series would be satisfied with the new actors. The ‘Motion Picture Herald’ review remarked on the novelty of a Chan film being previewed at Grauman's Chinese Theatre, and stated that the December 16, 1938 showing was very well received by the "top ranking executives, the most sought after reviewers and commentators and invited guests" who attended. According to a ‘Hollywood Reporter’ news item, Richard Lane was originally signed to play the "romantic lead" opposite Phyllis Brooks. A tribute to Warner Oland appears in the film “Mr. Moto's Last Warning,” starring Peter Lorre. During that picture's production in August 1938, cast and crew learned of Oland's passing in his native Sweden while on the final leg of a tour of Europe. Oland was set to resume his role as Charlie Chan upon his return in a film that was to have been “Charlie Chan in Honolulu.” In one scene during a quick passing shot over the title "Charlie Chan in Honolulu," starring Warner Oland, on the bill of the Sultana Theatre of Variety, they placed the banner "Last Day."

TIME: We begin with arrivals and greetings at 7:30 EASTERN TIME. Then, we share our “extra,” which will be followed at exactly 8:15 (EDT) when we share our featured presentation “Charlie Chan in Honolulu.”

LOCATION: Our Charlie Chan Family Chat Room, which is accessed at http://www.charliechan.info/id17.html.

IF YOU LACK A COPY OF OUR FEATURE: Often our features can be found available online. GOOD NEWS! Our feature for this week, “Charlie Chan in Honolulu,” is available online at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y8okV9a0clY&t=656s Also, our “extra” can be found at: https://www.oldtimeradiodownloads.com/crime/charlie-chan/charlie-chan-27-landini

NEXT WEEK: “Charlie Chan in Reno” with Sidney Toler and Victor Sen Yung.

PLEASE accept this invitation share part of your Monday evening as we enjoy “Charlie Chan in Honolulu”!

Sincerely,
Rush Glick