FROM CHARLIE CHAN: “Suspicion, like rain, fall upon just and unjust."

OUR CHAT ROOM: Our Chat Room can be accessed the same way that we accessed by going to our “Chat Room” link at charliechan.info, or use this direct link: http://www.charliechan.info/id17.html

THIS WEEK’S PRESENTATIONS: “Charlie Chan in the Secret Service” (1944; 65 minutes), as we begin the Monogram Pictures era of the Charlie Chan film series, AND we have as our “extra” presentation, the FIRST chapter of the movie serial, “Secret Agent X-9“ (1945; 19 minutes), which features our Number One Son, Keye Luke, as well as our Number Three Son, Benson Fong.

FEATURE SUMMARY: A scientist, George Melton, is working on an important new invention which will protect Allied shipping from German U-boat attacks. Although he has been assigned Secret Service security protection he is murdered in his Washington, D.C. home. Charlie Chan, now working for the Secret Service in Washington, is assigned to the case. Chan is soon joined by two of his children, Number Three Son, Tommy, second daughter, Iris, as well as Birmingham Brown, the chauffeur of one of the guests. When the autopsy reveals the Melton was electrocuted, Chan must determine who, among the numerous suspects, is the guilty party.

FEATURE NOTES: This was the first Charlie Chan film that Sidney Toler made at Monogram Pictures after leaving Twentieth Century-Fox following the cancellation of the Charlie Chan film series at that studio. Toler, who had starred as Chan in many of the Fox films, bought the screen rights to the character from the widow of writer Earl Derr Biggers and continued to star as Chan for Monogram until his death in 1947, after which time Roland Winters assumed the role. This film also marked the beginning of Charlie Chan's work with the U.S. Secret Service for the remainder of the war. Mantan Moreland also made his debut as Birmingham Brown, a character who would become a mainstay of the series for the remainder of its run. Benson Fong appeared for the first time as Number Three Son Tommy, while his sister Iris, portrayed by Marianne Quon, made her sole series appearance in “Charlie Chan in the Secret Service.”

TIME: We begin with arrivals and greetings at 7:30 EASTERN TIME. Then, we share our “extra” presentation which will be followed at exactly 8:15 when we roll our feature for our Monday evening, “Charlie Chan in the Secret Service.”

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. Happily, both our feature as well as our extra are available online. Please use the links provided at our Chat Room.

THIS WEEK’S IMAGE: (Please see attachment) Outside George Melton's residence, Sgt. Billings greets Frances and Tommy Chan.

OUR MONTHLY POLL: Please take a moment to cast your vote in our JULY 2019 POLL, found as you scroll down our Entrance Page (http://www.charliechan.info/index.html)!

OUR CCF CHAT ARCHIVE: Please take a look at our growing collection of CCF Chat Texts from previous years and this year: http://www.charliechan.info/id630.html

NEXT WEEK: Please join us on Monday, July 29, as we move forward along our Charlie Chan Film Tour as we share a viewing of “The Chinese Cat.”

A NEW CHARLIE CHAN BLOG!: A NEW blog site, The Postman on Holiday, offered by our own Lou Armagno which is: "A place to explore all things surrounding Detective Charlie Chan, his creator Earl Derr Biggers, and their connection with Hawaii, Cleveland, and mystery fiction." It can be found at this address: https://thepostmanonholiday.com/

DO YOU HAVE A POLL QUESTION? Please feel free to suggest a Monthly Poll question! Send your ideas to: charliechanfamily@lycos.com!

SO, PLEASE JOIN US for this week’s Monday Evening Chat and Film Viewing as we share “Charlie Chan in the Secret Service.”

Sincerely,

Rush Glick