FROM CHARLIE CHAN: “Good detective never ask ‘what’ and ‘why’ until after he's seen.”
Happy birthday, Boris Karloff. Yes, we are celebrating the birthday of the man who challenged Warner Oland to a battle of wits in “Charlie Chan at the Opera,” and who also appeared in Earl Derr Biggers’ “Behind That Curtain.” AND, Mr. Karloff also portrayed another Chinese detective of note, the inimitable Mr. Wong. And, it is “Mr. Wong, Detective” we will be viewing for our Monday Evening Chat session, the film that, in fact, supplied the storyline for last week’s Charlie Chan movie, “Docks of New Orleans.” As we watch Boris Karloff as Mr. Wong, we can also note both the similarities as well as the differences between the two pictures!
Also, as our weekly “extra,” we will be sharing another of the cartoons from the 16-episode cartoon series from 1972 which featured KEYE LUKE as the voice of Charlie Chan, “The Amazing Chan and the Chan Clan.” The episode we will be sharing is “The Great Illusion Caper.”
OUR PRESENTATIONS: “Mr. Wong, Detective” (1938; 69 minutes) …AND “The Great Illusion Caper” (1972; 22 minutes).
FILM SUMMARY: When a chemical manufacturer is killed after asking detective James Lee Wong to help him, Mr. Wong investigates this and two subsequent murders. In the process, he uncovers an international spy ring that is trying to steal the formula for a poison gas that is being developed by the first victim's company.
FILM NOTES: The Mr. Wong character was featured in a series of six films for Monogram Pictures. The first five starred Boris Karloff and were directed by William Nigh. The sixth and final film in the Mr. Wong series starred our own Number One Son, Keye Luke. All the films co-starred Grant Withers as Wong's friend, Police Captain Street. Lee Tung Foo, who appeared in three films in the Charlie Chan series, is seen as Wong’s faithful servant. Another face to look for is John Hamilton of “Superman” fame (Perry White), who also appeared in the Charlie Chan movie, “Shadows Over Chinatown.”
TIME: We begin with arrivals and greetings at 7:30 EASTERN TIME. Then, we share our special short “extra” which will be followed at exactly 8:15 when we roll our feature for this Monday evening, “Mr. Wong, Detective.”
LOCATION: Our Charlie Chan Family Chat Room, which is accessed at http://www.charliechan.info/id17.html.
IF YOU LACK A COPY OF OUR FILM: Often our features can be found available online. Good fortune once again smiles, as our featured film is available online as this address: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1vlJ-HraBRY. And, for our Chan cartoon, you may use this link: https://watchcartoonsonline.to/watch/the-amazing-chan-and-the-chan-clan-episode-10-the-great-illusion-caper/
OUR MONTHLY POLL: Please take a moment to cast your vote in our November 2017 Poll, located at our Entrance Page (www.charliechan.info)!
NEXT WEEK: Join us as this week we share “The Shanghai Chest,” starring Roland Winters.
SO, please join in on the fun as we watch and share “Mr. Wong, Detective.”
