FROM CHARLIE CHAN: “Confucius say, ‘No man is poor who have worthy son’."

GREETINGS… as we all continue to roll with the present time of unusual happenings. This week we will share the film that had begun production as “Charlie Chan at the Ringside,” starring Warner Oland. As shooting progressed, Mr. Oland suddenly left the set with what was probably a nervous breakdown. Although it was planned for the actor to return as Charlie Chan in another film, sadly that was not to be as Warner Oland passed away from bronchial pneumonia while visiting his country of birth, Sweden. 20th Century-Fox was in a fix as they had to do something with the unfinished “Charlie Chan at the Ringside.” What they did was to take the footage that was finished – minus Warner Oland’s parts…(OH, if we could have that discarded cutting room footage today…!) – and, re-tooling it into a Mr. Moto adventure starring Peter Lorre, it became what we have today…”Mr. Moto’s Gamble.” This is still a “sort of” Charlie Chan movie, as Keye Luke plays a key role as Chan’s Number One Son, Lee who is taking a criminology class that is now taught by Mr. Moto instead of his Pop.

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: “Mr. Moto’s Gamble” (1938; 71 minutes) along with our “extra,” the SECOND episode of “Lost City of the Jungle” with Keye Luke! (1946; 26 minutes).

“Mr. Moto’s Gamble” CAST:

Peter Lorre: Mr. Moto

Keye Luke: Lee Chan

Dick Baldwin: Bill Steele

Lynn Bari: Penny Kendall

Douglas Fowley: Nick Crowder

Jayne Regan: Linda Benton

Harold Huber: Lieutenant Riggs

Maxie Rosenbloom: Wellington

John Hamilton: Philip Benton

George E. Stone: Connors

Bernard Nedell: Clipper McCoy

Charles Williams: Gabby Marden

Ward Bond: Biff Moran

Cliff Clark: McGuire

Edward Marr: Sammy

Lon Chaney Jr.: Joey

Russ Clark: Frankie Stanton

Pierre Watkins: District Attorney

Charles D. Brown: Editor

UNCREDITED CAST (alphabetical):

Carol Adams: Tourist (uncredited)

Leon Alton: Boxing Spectator (uncredited)

Irving Bacon: Sheriff Tuttle (uncredited)

Al Bain: Trainer (uncredited)

Brandon Beach: Boxing Spectator (uncredited)

Edward Biby: Boxing Spectator (uncredited)

James Blaine: Policeman (uncredited)

Stanley Blystone: Policeman (uncredited)

Gary Breckner: Announcer (uncredited)

Don Brodie: Ticket Seller (uncredited)

George Chandler: Boxing Spectator (uncredited)

Chester Clute: Ticket Theft Victim (uncredited)

James Conaty: Boxing Spectator (uncredited)

Bing Conley: Second (uncredited)

Russell Custer: Boxing Spectator (uncredited)

Pete De Grasse: Fighter (uncredited)

Dick Dickinson: Knock-Out Timer (uncredited)

Lester Dorr: Reporter (uncredited)

Ralph Dunn: Detective (uncredited)

Edward Earle: Medical Examiner (uncredited)

Dick Elliott: Kansas City Gambler (uncredited)

Matty Fain: Detroit Gambler (uncredited)

Frank Fanning: Turnkey (uncredited)

Paul Fix: Gangster (uncredited)

George Ford: Boxing Spectator (uncredited)

Allen Fox: Reporter (uncredited)

Dick French: Reporter (uncredited)

Arthur Gardner: Elevator Boy (uncredited)

Jack Gargan: Usher (uncredited)

Joe Gray: Fighter (uncredited)

Harrison Greene: Cleveland Gambler (uncredited)

Sherry Hall: Ticket-Taker (uncredited)

Eddie Hart: Policeman (uncredited)

Tommy Herman: Fighter (uncredited)

Olin Howland: Deputy Sheriff Burt (uncredited)

Gladden James: Cashier (uncredited)

Fred Kelsey: Mahoney (uncredited)

Carl M. Leviness: Boxing Spectator (uncredited)

Stanley Mack: Usher (uncredited)

Wilbur Mack: St. Louis Gambler (uncredited)

George Magrill: Policeman (uncredited)

Allen Mathews: Handler (uncredited)

Frank McGlynn Jr.: Detective (uncredited)

Larry McGrath: Referee (uncredited)

Lucille Miller: Boxing Spectator (uncredited)

Adrian Morris: Policeman (uncredited)

Charles Morton: Student (uncredited)

David Newell: Detective (uncredited)

Franklin Parker: Reporter (uncredited)

Bob Perry: Referee (uncredited)

Bob Reeves: Detective (uncredited)

Dick Rich: Pickpocket Detail Cop (uncredited)

Matty Roubert: Elevator Boy (uncredited)

Gloria Roy: Detroit Gambler's Moll (uncredited)

Robert Ryan: Policeman (uncredited)

Syd Saylor: Hotel Desk Clerk (uncredited)

Lee Shumway: Policeman (uncredited)

Edwin Stanley: Doctor (uncredited)

Landers Stevens: Doctor (uncredited)

Jack Stoney: Kid Grant (uncredited)

Harry Strang: Policeman (uncredited)

Brick Sullivan: Detective (uncredited)

Charles Sullivan: Handler (uncredited)

Dan Tobey: Fight Announcer (uncredited)

Emmett Vogan: Fingerprint Man (uncredited)

Max Wagner: Thug (uncredited)

FEATURE SUMMARY: When the #1 heavyweight contender is mysteriously poisoned during a bout, Moto knows that identifying the gambler who placed large bets against him is the key to solving the murder.

FEATURE NOTES: “Mr. Moto’s Gamble” was originally planned as the next Charlie Chan film in the 20th Century-Fox series. In this film numerous Charlie Chan series “regulars” can be seen throughout.

TRIVIA: A tribute to Warner Oland appears in “Mr. Moto's Last Warning” (1939), the next film in the Moto series. During the movie's production in August 1938, cast and crew learned of Oland's passing in his native Sweden (five months after the completion and release of "Mr. Moto's Gamble"). Over the title "Charlie Chan in Honolulu" (the next Charlie Chan film which was originally planned to star Warner Oland), on the bill of the Sultana Theatre of Variety, they placed the banner "Last Day."

THIS WEEK'S IMAGE (attached below): Mr. Moto speaks with Lieutenant Riggs regarding the mysterious death of a champion boxer in the ring.
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. Fortunately, OUR FEATURE IS AVAILABLE ONLINE, so please use the link provided at our Chat Room.

OUR MONTHLY POLL: Please take a moment to cast your vote in our MARCH 2020 POLL, found as you scroll down our Entrance Page (http://www.charliechan.info/index.html)! This month’s question: Which of these two Charlie Chan films better exemplifies the current coronavirus threat that we are now experiencing in our time?

OUR MARCH POLL RESULT:

QUESTION: As, by all indications, the conclusion of Charlie Chan's case in “Charlie Chan in Egypt” occurred in late April 1934, and his next adventure, as seen in “Charlie Chan in Shanghai,” is documented as commencing on May 7, 1935, which explanation would you choose to best explain "Charlie Chan's off-year"?

Charlie Chan was engaged in "run of the mill" cases in Honolulu 13%
Charlie Chan was taking a break from his work to be at home with Mrs. Chan, his family, and to be there for the impending birth of the Chans' next daughter (first seen in Charlie Chan at the Circus) 34%

Charlie Chan was engaged in heretofore "undocumented" cases 13%

Two or more of the above 40%

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, April 27, for a shared viewing of “Charlie Chan in Honolulu,” starring Sidney Toler in his first appearance as Charlie Chan with Victor Sen Tung as Number Two son, Jimmy.

AND… DON’T MISS THIS GREAT CHARLIE CHAN BLOG!: Continuing strongly in 2020, great blog site, The Postman on Holiday, offered by our own Charlie Chan and Earl Derr Biggers expert, 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/

THE CHARLIE CHAN FAMILY NEWSLETTER FOR THE YEAR 2019 REMAINS AVAILABLE! HonoluLou has edited and produced this year's recap of the past year, 2019, for all things Charlie Chan. This tour de force issue can be accessed at: https://thepostmanonholidayhome.files.wordpress.com/2019/12/2019-newsletter-master1-dec-28.pdf ENJOY!

SO, PLEASE JOIN US for this week’s Monday Evening Chat and Film Viewing as we share “Mr. Moto’s Gamble.”

THANK YOU SO MUCH…

Sincerely,

Rush Glick