FROM CHARLIE CHAN: “One scholar in family better than two detectives.”

THIS WEEK, we visit the 1939 West Coast World’s Fair with Charlie Chan and Number Two Son, Jimmy as the father-son duo seek to solve a strange murder. Surprises galore await them as they seek clues and face danger at the World’s Fair on San Francisco’s Treasure Island!

Preceding our Charlie Chan feature, our weekly “extra,” will be another chapter, episode 29) of the 1936 radio dramatization of “The Landini Murder Case,” an adaptation, of Earl Derr Biggers’ “Keeper of the Keys,” the only Biggers Chan Story never to have been made into a film, starring Walter Connolly.

OUR PRESENTATIONS: “Charlie Chan at Treasure Island” (1939; 74 minutes) …AND “The Landini Murder Case,” Episode 29 (Radio Drama: 1936; 15 minutes).

FILM SUMMARY: On a Clipper flight from Honolulu to San Francisco, Paul Essex, a novelist friend of Charlie Chan, appears to have committed suicide. At the Golden Gate International Exposition, held on San Francisco Bay's Treasure Island, Chan, with Number Two Son, Jimmy, at his side, investigates a strange mystic called Dr. Zodiac who, the detective learns, blackmails clients.

FILM NOTES: According to ‘Hollywood Reporter’ news items and production charts, John Carradine and Joyce Compton were to be included in the cast of this film, but their participation in the completed picture is doubtful. It is of interest, however, to note that two photographs, one that is certainly of John Carradine and another that is very possibly of Joyce Compton, can be seen on a wall in Rhadini's office in “Charlie Chan at Treasure Island.” According to Kay Linaker, Gerald Mohr was the voice of Dr. Zodiac. An April 19, 1939 ‘Hollywood Reporter’ news item refers to the film as "Charlie Chan at the World's Fair." The Golden Gate International Exposition, held on Treasure Island in San Francisco Bay February 1939 to October 1940, provided the backdrop for some of the picture's action.

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 at Treasure Island.”

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. Once again, good fortune beams her bright smile as our feature IS available online at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ZAxmucDnKg

And, for our Charlie Chan radio drama, you may use this link: https://www.oldtimeradiodownloads.com/crime/charlie-chan/charlie-chan-29-landini

OUR MONTHLY POLL: Please take a moment to cast your vote in our soon-to-conclude April 2018 Poll, located at our Entrance Page (http://www.charliechan.info/index.html)!

NEW BOOK RELEASE! “The Charlie Chan Films” Here is the link at amazon.com to order James Neibaur’s new Charlie Chan book, “The Charlie Chan Films”:

https://www.amazon.com/Charlie-Chan-Films-James-Neibaur/dp/162933314X/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1523727689&sr=1-2&keywords=charlie+chan+film

This is the link to the softcover version. It is also available in hardcover for an additional $10.

I have just begun looking through and reading my copy, and I HIGHLY recommend getting a copy! Though there may be an occasional slight error or so along the way, these are almost to be expected in a fact-filled volume such as this, and will not detract from your enjoyment (that’s what second editions are for!). New information and insights abound, including tidbits gleaned from the author’s 1971 interview(s) with Mantan Moreland! Please, do yourself a favor, and GET THIS BOOK!

NEXT WEEK: Join us on May 21 when we join Charlie Chan as he is caught up in the confusion and intrigue of impending war in “Charlie Chan in City in Darkness”!

SO, PLEASE JOIN US this week as we have fun viewing and sharing “Charlie Chan at Treasure Island.”

Sincerely,

Rush Glick



Charlie Chan meets the Pete Lewis and the disguised Fred Rhadini outside the residence of Dr. Zodiac.