Our Monday Night Chat/Film Viewing: "Charlie Chan in London"
FROM CHARLIE CHAN: “Front seldom tell truth. To know occupants of house, always look in back yard.”
GREETINGS. This week we rejoin Charlie Chan who has traveled to the capital of the British Empire, London. The purpose of his long trip from Honolulu – halfway around the world – was to bring to justice a notorious criminal. As he is about to leave, Chan becomes involved in a life or death race against the clock to save an innocent man from an appointment with the gallows, in “Charlie Chan in London.”
Along with our Charlie Chan feature, our weekly “extra,” is the 1936 radio dramatization of “The Landini Murder Case,” which is an adaptation, starring Walter Connolly, of Earl Derr Biggers’ “Keeper of the Keys,” the only Biggers Chan Story never to have been made into a film. We continue the adventure with Episode 13.
FILM SUMMARY: When a young Englishman, Paul Gray, is convicted of murder and sentenced to hang, his sister, convinced of his innocence, asks Charlie Chan, who is visiting London, to investigate and find the real murderer. To that end, Chan visits a large country manor house in England where the killing occurred. There are a number of suspects among the large group of fox hunters who are staying at the manor, and it soon becomes clear that the killer is still actively trying to avoid capture. Charlie Chan must work fast to discover the real murderer's identity and save Paul Gray from the gallows.
FILM NOTES: This was the first film in the Charlie Chan series that was not based on a particular novel by Chan's creator, Earl Derr Biggers. The ‘New York Times’ commented that this film, written by Philip MacDonald, a noted detective novelist himself, "maintains the Chan tradition." “Charlie Chan in London” is the second-oldest film in the Charlie Chan series that we have available to us today for viewing as the intervening three following “The Black Camel,” “Charlie Chan’s Chance’ (1932), “Charlie Chan’s Greatest Case” (1933) and “Charlie Chan’s Courage” (1934), are presently deemed lost.
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, “Charlie Chan in London.”
LOCATION: Our Charlie Chan Family Chat Room, which is accessed at http://www.charliechan.info/id17.html.
IF YOU LACK A COPY OF OUR FILMS: Often our features can be found available online. Happily, our featured film IS available online at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ETEKnse3utQ&t=263s
However, for our Charlie Chan radio drama, you may use this link: https://www.oldtimeradiodownloads.com/crime/charlie-chan/charlie-chan-13-landini
OUR MONTHLY POLL: Please take a moment to cast your vote in our January 2018 Poll, located at our Entrance Page (http://www.charliechan.info/index.html)!
NEXT WEEK: Join us on Monday, February 5 for “Charlie Chan in Paris” starring Warner Oland.
PLEASE JOIN US as we share “Charlie Chan in London”!
