Our Film for Our Monday Evening (8/6): "Black Magic" (Also known as: "Meeting at Midnight")
FROM CHARLIE CHAN: “Spirits always have very long way to come.”
THIS WEEK: Moving along in the Monogram Pictures era of the Charlie Chan film series, we come to the third entry of that phase, “Black Magic,” later renamed “Meeting at Midnight.” Can Charlie Chan and his Number Three Daughter, Frances, along with Birmingham Brown (not yet a permanent part of the Chan team), solve a mystery that has its roots trailing back a decade?
OUR PRESENTATIONS: “Black Magic” (1944; 65 minutes) …AND, the second installment of “The Baffling Murder of Colonel Willoughby,” (Radio Drama: 1936; 15 minutes).
FILM SUMMARY: A murder occurs during a séance conducted by a fraudulent medium. Birmingham Brown, who happens to be on the premises when the killing occurs as is Charlie Chan's daughter, Frances. Chan finds himself entangled in a dangerous web as he follows the killer's trail of death in a case that has its origins a decade in the past.
FILM NOTES: The working titles of this film were “Murder Chamber” and “Charlie Chan in the Murder Chamber.” It was also reviewed as “Charlie Chan in Black Magic.” The film was later reissued as “Meeting at Midnight,” probably so as to avoid confusion following the 1949 release of the Orson Wells film also titled “Black Magic.” Although a ‘Hollywood Reporter’ news item lists Trevor Bardette in the cast, his participation in the completed film has not been confirmed.
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, “Black Magic.”
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, and, I am pleased to announce that our feature IS available online at YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vo-7AwC2nRM
And, for our Charlie Chan radio drama, you may use this link: http://podbay.fm/show/288425504/e/1243404360?autostart=1
OUR MONTHLY POLL: Please take a moment to cast your vote in our August 2018 Poll, located at our Entrance Page (http://www.charliechan.info/index.html)!
NEXT WEEK: Join us on Monday, August 13, as we share a viewing of “The Jade Mask.” We also continue with Part Three of our Charlie Chan radio mystery, “The Baffling Murder of Colonel Willoughby” as an “extra” prior to the viewing of our film!
SO, PLEASE JOIN US for our Monday Evening Chat and Film Viewing as we share “Black Magic.”
