FROM CHARLIE CHAN: “Confucius say, ‘No man is poor who have worthy son.’”

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, KEYE LUKE! Our Number One Son portrays detective James Lee Wong in his only starring role as we watch and share our thoughts on “Phantom of Chinatown”!

Preceding our Charlie Chan feature, our weekly “extra,” will be another chapter, episode 34) 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: “Phantom of Chinatown” (1940; 62 minutes) …AND “The Landini Murder Case,” Episode 34 (Radio Drama: 1936; 15 minutes).

FILM SUMMARY: In the middle of a pictorial lecture on his recent expedition to the Mongolian Desert, Dr. John Benton the famous explorer, drinks from the water bottle on his lecture table, collapses and dies. His last words "Eternal Fire" are the only clue Chinese detective Jimmy Wong and Captain Street of the police department have to work on. Win Lee, Benton's secretary, reveals the doctor's dying words refer to a scroll which tells the location of rich oil deposits. Wong and Street then begin the search for the killer among Benton's associates. (Les Adams, IMdB)

FILM NOTES: This was the only Hollywood film of the period in which an Asian detective was played by, and top billing was given to, an actor (Keye Luke) who was actually Asian. The last of the six-film series, and the only one not to star Boris Karloff, replaced by Keye Luke. Monogram owed the distributors one more Wong feature, and had completed Karloff's six-picture contract with the horror film “The Ape” (1940). Possibly the very first instance where Hollywood produced a “prequel,” because this last entry in the series depicts the first meeting between Mr. Wong and Capt. Street. The earliest documented telecasts of this film took place in Salt Lake City Tuesday 29 November 1949 on KSL (Channel 5), in Los Angeles Monday 19 December 1949 on KTLA (Channel 5) and in New York City Monday 27 March 1950 on WATV (Channel 13). (IMdB)

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, “Phantom of Chinatown.”

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 nods affirmatively as our feature IS available online at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fm5t5UylSHc

And, for our Charlie Chan radio drama, you may use this link: https://www.oldtimeradiodownloads.com/crime/charlie-chan/charlie-chan-34-landini

THIS WEEK’S IMAGE: In the form of a screen capture, we see James Wong, accompanied by Win Lee, as he speaks with Captain Street.



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

(STILL) 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.

In spite of a number of publisher-made typos, I recommend getting a copy! These errors 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 June 25 as we share a viewing of “Murder Over New York.”

SO, PLEASE JOIN US for our Monday Evening Chat and Film Viewing as we share “Phantom of Chinatown,” starring Keye Luke as we celebrate his birthday!

Sincerely,

Rush Glick