FROM CHARLIE CHAN: “Distance no hindrance to fond thoughts.”

AS I WILL BE ON THE ROAD with my family for the next three weeks, I am making this edition of our “weekly” email newsletter a “quadruple issue”! As mentioned at our last Monday Evening, I will try to join in on the fun when possible, and I thank everyone for their kindness…

OUR FEATURE PRESENTATIONS FOR THE NEXT FOUR MONDAYS will be: “Murder Over New York” (Monday, June 25), “Dead Men Tell” (Monday, July 2), “Charlie Chan in Rio” (Monday, July 9), and “Castle in the Desert” (Monday, July 16). These films are all available on YouTube if you happen to lack a personal copy for any or all of our movies, and links are provided at our Chat Room!

Preceding each Charlie Chan feature, will be a weekly “extra,” another chapter, episodes 35, 36. 37, and 38) 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. These radio dramas are also available via links at our Chat Room!

OUR PRESENTATIONS: “Murder Over New York” (1940; 65 minutes), “Dead Men Tell” (1941, 61 minutes), “Charlie Chan in Rio” (1941, 62 minutes), and “Castle in the Desert” (1942, 63 minutes) …AND “The Landini Murder Case,” Episodes 35, 36, 37, and 38, (Radio Dramas: 1936; 15 minutes).

FILM SUMMARIES:

“Murder Over New York”: Charlie Chan arrives in New York City for a policeman's convention, only to find that Number Two Son Jimmy, in that city to visit the World's Fair, is there to greet him! Following the convention, Chan's old friend, Inspector Hugh Drake, a British intelligence officer, is found dead. The killing is tied in with a gang of enemy saboteurs who are responsible for the crash of an experimental bomber. Chan must proceed through a complex web of suspects in order to capture the killer and break up the saboteur ring before another bomber and its crew meets the same fate as the first.

“Dead Men Tell”: The lure of millions of dollars in lost pirate treasure brings together an unusual and diverse group of fortune hunters aboard an old sailing ship, including Jimmy Chan, who sneaks aboard. Patience Nodbury, who holds the treasure map, torn in four pieces, dies suddenly, the apparent victim of the ghost of a long-dead pirate. Charlie Chan, on board the docked ship to locate his wayward son now finds himself in the midst of a case of what he believes to be murder.

“Charlie Chan in Rio”: Charlie Chan and son Jimmy visit the exotic city of Rio de Janeiro in order to arrest nightclub singer Lola Dean for a murder committed a year earlier in Honolulu. Later, they find the singer has been stabbed to death in her home. Her jewels have been stolen and a number of clues have been seemingly planted at the crime scene. The suspects are numerous, and Chan must sift through the evidence to unmask the killer.

“Castle in the Desert”: A guest is murdered at Manderley Castle, a medieval reconstruction located in the middle of the Mojave Desert, which is owned by wealthy historian Paul Manderley and his wife, Lucy, who is a descendent of the notorious Borgia family. Charlie Chan, who was summoned to the castle earlier, and Number Two Son, Jimmy, away on leave from the U.S. Army, quickly get to work trying to unravel the mystery.

FILM NOTES:

“Murder Over New York”: The working title of this film was “Charlie Chan in New York.” According to Fox publicity material contained in the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Library files, the studio changed the title in order to prevent the public from confusing this film with other Chan features.

“Dead Men Tell”: According to ‘Hollywood Reporter’ news items, Jean Rogers was to have appeared in this film as Laura Thursday, but was replaced after shooting began by Katherine Aldridge when she became ill with the flu. ‘Hollywood Reporter’ production charts include Faye Helm in the cast, but her participation in the completed film has not been confirmed.

“Charlie Chan in Rio”: Although Ted North's character is called "Carlos Dantas" in the film's onscreen credits and in reviews, in the picture he is called "Clark Denton." According to ‘Hollywood Review’ news items, Virgil Miller was originally assigned as the photographer on this film, but was replaced by Joseph P. MacDonald, who was promoted after serving as an operative cameraman with Twentieth Century-Fox for eight years. An April 30, 1941 ‘Hollywood Reporter’ news item noted that Jeanne Kelly had been loaned by Universal to appear in the next Charlie Chan film, and, while it was presumably this picture, her participation has not been confirmed. “Charlie Chan in Rio” bears a “striking resemblance” to “The Black Camel,” directed ten years earlier by Hamilton MacFadden, who appears in the cast of “Rio.” It is perhaps of interest to note that MacFadden also appeared briefly in “The Black Camel,” and he also had a minor role in “Charlie Chan in Reno” (1939).

“Castle in the Desert”: Although an August 15, 1941 ‘Hollywood Reporter’ news item stated that John Larkin would write the screenplay for this film based on an original story by producer Ralph Dietrich, no other contemporary source confirms Dietrich's contributions to the picture as a writer. According to a studio press release and another ‘Hollywood Reporter’ news item, Janis Carter was originally cast as Brenda Hartford. The ‘Variety’ review erroneously lists the film's running time as 51 minutes. “Castle in the Desert” was the last Charlie Chan film produced by Twentieth Century-Fox. After Sidney Toler obtained the film rights to the character from the widow of Earl Derr Biggers, he continued to make Chan films at Monogram Pictures.

TIME: Each Monday evening 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 weekly feature.

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, are in luck as all four of our upcoming features ARE available online! Please access each film using the links provided at our Chat Room!

Similarly, each of our Charlie Chan radio dramas, can be accessed through the links offered at our Chat Room!

THIS WEEK’S IMAGE: Sorry, I am pained to state that no images are offered this month…

OUR MONTHLY POLL: Please take a moment to cast your vote in our soon-to-conclude July 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!

SO, PLEASE JOIN US each Monday evening for another FUN- and MYSTERY-filled evening as we share a Charlie Chan adventure together!

Sincerely,

Rush Glick

Title correction!