Our upcoming Monday Evening Chat (December 10): "The Feathered Serpent"
FROM CHARLIE CHAN: “Guilty conscience always first to speak up.”
THIS WEEK: Charlie Chan, with Number Two Son, Tommy, Number One Son, Lee, and assistant, Birmingham Brown, while traveling through Mexico on their way to that nation’s capital, become involved in a case involving the disappearance of archaeologists, an ancient Aztec tomb, and…MURDER.
OUR PRESENTATIONS: “The Feathered Serpent” (1949; 60 minutes) AND we continue an “extra” presentation with a dramatized tribute to Keye Luke.
FILM SUMMARY: In San Pablo, Mexico, an expedition prepares to look for two missing archaeologists, Professors Scott and Farnsworth, who had been searching for the lost Aztec Temple of the Sun. The two men have now been missing for two months. Charlie Chan, who is on his way to Mexico City for a vacation with two of his sons, Number One Son, Lee and Number Two Son, Tommy plus chauffeur and associate, Birmingham Brown, finds Professor Scott delirious as he collapses in a field near the road to San Pablo. Later, in San Pablo, Scott explains that after he and Farnsworth had found the temple, they were held as hostages and were forced to unearth a fortune in Aztec jade and gold. However, before Scott can name his captor, the lights go out and he is murdered with a knife. A search party, including Chan, his sons, and Birmingham, is organized out to look for Farnsworth and the lost temple.
FILM NOTES: The opening title card of this film reads: “Charlie Chan in ‘The Feathered Serpent.’” This is the only film in which Charlie Chan's number one and number two sons actively work together with their father on a case. It is also the final appearance in a Charlie Chan film by Victor Sen Yung (Sen Yung). The plot of this film was based on that of the 1937 movie, “The Riders of the Whistling Skull” (which, interestingly, featured Robert Livingston who later appeared as John Stanley in the Charlie Chan version).
TIME: We begin with arrivals and greetings at 7:30 EASTERN TIME. Then, we share our “extra” which will be followed at exactly 8:15 when we roll our feature for our Monday evening, “The Feathered Serpent.”
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 online, but, sadly, there is NO online version of this week’s movie available. (Personal copies only for viewing this week.)
For our “extra,” a Keye Luke dramatized tribute: “Keye Luke” which is available online at this address: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SqUH0-CcvOI
OUR MONTHLY POLL: Please take a moment to cast your vote in our December 2018 Poll, located at our Entrance Page (http://www.charliechan.info/index.html)!
NEXT WEEK: Please join us on Monday, December 17 for a viewing of “The Sky Dragon.”
SO, PLEASE JOIN US as we share a Keye Luke extra followed by “The Feathered Serpent”!
A FINAL NOTE: Use those creative writing talents that I know you ALL have to write an article for a year-end Charlie Chan Family special publication! You can pen anything that you would like to share! It can be about your favorite aspects of our Weekly Chats, or it can be about your experience as a Charlie Chan fan over the years (how you "discovered" Charlie Chan, how you watched Chan movies over the years, how you have shared the detective with others - family and friends, etc!). You may wish to share a description of your personal Charlie Chan collection of memorabilia, or you might wish to share some film trivia....ANYTHING Chan-related! So, please consider this invitation to contribute to our first attempt at a Charlie Chan Family publication. You can email your contribution to: charliechanfamily@lycos.com. Happy writing and THANK YOU SO MUCH, and a special thanks to those who have already contributed!
