FROM CHARLIE CHAN: “Innocent act without thinking; guilty always make plans.”

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: “The Sky Dragon” (1949; 64 minutes) and, as our “extra,” the Charlie Chan radio drama, “The Case of the Marching Ants“ (1945; 15 minutes).

“THE SKY DRAGON” CAST:
Roland Winters: Charlie Chan
Keye Luke: Lee Chan
Mantan Moreland: Birmingham Brown
Noel Neill: Jane Marshall
Tim Ryan: Lieutenant Mike Ruark
Iris Adrian: Wanda LaFern
Elena Verdugo: Marie Burke (also known as
Connie Barrett, Constance Jackson, and
Constance LaFern)
Milburn Stone: [Captain] Tim Norton
Lyle Talbot: Andy Barrett (alias Andrew J. Smith, also called Andrew J. Barrett)
Paul Maxey: John Anderson
Joel Marston: Don Blake
John Eldredge: William E. French
Eddie Parks: Jonathan Tibbetts
Louise Franklin: Lena Franklin
Ivan Bell: Stagehand (not credited)
Frank Cady: Clerk (not credited)
Bob Curtis: Watkins (not credited)
George Eldredge: Stacy (not credited)
Suzette Harbin: Second Maid (not credited)
Edna Holland: Old Maid (not credited)
Charles Jordan: Assistant Stage Manager
Lyle Latell: Ed Davidson (not credited)
William O'Brian: Airline Passenger (not credited)
Frank O'Connor: Airline Passenger (not credited)
Gaylord Pendleton: Ben Edwards (not credited)
Lee Phelps: Plainclothesman (not credited)
Cosmo Sardo: Pilot at Gate (not credited)
Emmett Vogan: Doctor (not credited)
Joe Whitehead: Doorman (not credited)

FEATURE SUMMARY: Charlie Chan and Number One Son, Lee, are passengers aboard a commercial airliner. There are also two insurance couriers who are carrying a shipment of $250,000. Minutes after drinking coffee that was served, everyone on board the plane falls asleep, including the crew. Lee is the first to awaken and he notices a limp hand protruding from the cockpit door. Upon closer inspection, discovers that one of the couriers has been stabbed to death and that the insurance money has been stolen.

FEATURE NOTES: The working title of this film was “Murder in the Air.” The film's title card reads: “Charlie Chan in ‘The Sky Dragon.’” Although Roy Livingston is credited onscreen as editor, ‘Hollywood Reporter’ production charts credit Ace Herman as editor. Keye Luke: "’Sky Dragon’ was the best thing we made down at Monogram. I finished up the series - the forty-sixth, which is ‘The Feathered Serpent,’ and the forty-seventh, which is ‘Sky Dragon.’ They liked them so well - especially ‘Sky Dragon’ - that they planned to make three more Chans over in London with frozen funds. I was in New York waiting to go over the Atlantic and got a call from them that said, 'Gee, we're sorry but Her Majesty's government devaluated [sic] the pound and our frozen funds have taken a dive.' So we never made them. ‘Sky Dragon’ was a good story. It worked out very well and the response to it was so strong that they decided to make three more – ‘Charlie Chan in London,’ ‘Charlie Chan in Paris,’ and ‘Charlie Chan in Rome,’ I think were the titles. Of course, we never did." (Adapted from: Hanke, Ken, Charlie Chan at the Movies: History, Filmography, and Criticism, p. 251).

TRIVIA: Emmett Vogan, who appears as a doctor in “The Sky Dragon,” played roles in no less than EIGHT films in the Chan series, working with all three Chans! Here is the list:

“Charlie Chan at the Opera”: Smitty, ‘Chicago Sun’ Wire Photo Technician

“Charlie Chan at the Olympics”: Ship's Officer

“Charlie Chan's Murder Cruise: Hotel Manager

“Charlie Chan at the Wax Museum”: Prosecuting Attorney

“The Scarlet Clue”: Hamilton

“Dangerous Money”: Professor Henry Martin

“Docks of New Orleans”: Henri Castanaro

“The Sky Dragon”: Doctor

WORD OF THE WEEK: terpsechoean - Relating to dance.

Lena Franklin: "I'll have you know that Miss La fern is an expert exponent of the terpsichorean art and a premier danseuse."

TIME: We begin with greetings at 7:30 EASTERN TIME. Then, we share our “extra” presentation, “The Case of the Marching Ants,” which will be followed at exactly 8:15 when we roll our first feature for our Monday evening, “The Sky Dragon.”

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. Unfortunately, our feature is available online, but our extra is, so please use the link provided at our Chat Room.

OUR MONTHLY POLL: Please take a moment to cast your vote in our DECEMBER 2019 POLL, found as you scroll down our Entrance Page (http://www.charliechan.info/index.html)! This month’s question: “In your opinion, who (of two Chan sons) provided the better ‘pairing’ with Birmingham Brown?” VOTE!!

OUR NOVEMBER POLL RESULT:

Would you like to see the revival of a collaborative group-produced Charlie Chan script project?

Yes 90%

No 10%

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

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, December 23, as we view TWO episodes of “THE NEW ADVENTURES OF CHARLIE CHAN”: “Circle of Fear,” and “Backfire.”

DON’T MISS THIS GREAT CHARLIE CHAN BLOG!: A great 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: The Postman on Holiday

The Postman on Holiday
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/

SO, PLEASE JOIN US for this week’s Monday Evening Chat and Film Viewing as we share “THE SKY DRAGON.”

THANK YOU SO MUCH…

Sincerely,
Rush Glick