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OUR CCF MONDAY EVENING CHAT AND FILM VIEWING FOR September 7: “Dark Alibi”

FROM CHARLIE CHAN: “Skeletons in closets always speak loudest to police.”

LABOR DAY GREETINGS! This week, Charlie Chan takes us to prison! No, not as guests of the state, but as HIS guests as we follow him on a wild race to save an innocent man from execution!
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: “Dark Alibi” (1946; 61 minutes) along with our “extra,” the TENTH episode of “Secret Agent X-9” with Keye Luke! (1945; 20 minutes).

FEATURE SUMMARY: Ex-convict Thomas Harley is arrested for robbing a bank and killing a bank guard. He claims that he was summoned to a theatrical warehouse by a note that sent to him by a former cell mate named James Wyatt and was subsequently locked inside at the time the robbery and killing took place. The police do not believe his alibi because Wyatt has been dead for eight years. Fingerprints belonging to Harley are found at the crime scene, and he is put on trial, found guilty, and condemned to death. Desperate to prove her father innocent, Harley's daughter, June asks Charlie Chan to help her and her father.

FEATURE NOTES: The film's working titles were “Fatal Fingerprints,” “Fatal Fingertips,” and “Charlie Chan in Alcatraz.” The opening title card reads: "Charlie Chan in 'Dark Alibi.'" The Call Bureau Cast Service Lists Minerva Urecal as "Mrs. Foss." However, production information included in the file on the film at the American Motion Picture Arts and Sciences library states that she was replaced by Edna Holland, who is listed in the onscreen credits.

TRIVIA: Stock footage used in “Dark Alibi” shows California's San Quentin State Prison.

TERM OF THE WEEK: sent up - (Idiom) Sent to prison. Short for "sent up the river."

Anthony R. Morgan: "Harley was sent up for the bank robbery in this city."

THIS WEEK’S IMAGE: Warden Cameron and Charlie Chan stand over the prone body of prisoner Slade who feigns being shot following a shootout during his escape attempt.


For a viewing of more than 500 images from ALL films in the Charlie Chan series, please visit our Gallery: http://www.charliechan.info/id448.html

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.

CAST (as credited):

Sidney Toler: Charlie Chan
Mantan Moreland: Birmingham Brown
Ben Carter: Ben Carter
Benson Fong: Tommy Chan
Teala Loring: June Harley
George Holmes: Hugh Kensey
Joyce Compton: Emily Evans
John Eldridge: Anthony R. Morgan
Russell Hicks: Warden Cameron
Tim Ryan: Foggy
Janet Shaw: Miss Petrie
Edward Earle: Thomas Harley
Ray Walker: Danvers
Milton Parsons: Johnson
Edna Holland: Mrs. Foss
Anthony Warde: Jimmy Slade
George Eldredge: Brand
Meyer Grace: Punchy

UNCREDITED CAST (alphabetical):

Chet Brandenburg: Convict
Frank Marlowe: Barker
Matthew McCue: Convict
Tom Quinn: Criminologist
William Ruhl: Thompson
FOR DETAILED INFORMATION on this week’s feature, please visit: http://www.charliechan.info/id56.html

OUR MONTHLY POLL: Please take a moment to cast your vote in our September 2020 POLL, found as you scroll down our Entrance Page (http://www.charliechan.info/index.html)!

OUR AUGUST POLL RESULT:

QUESTION: Which Charlie Chan film offers the best "shipboard" murder(s)?

“Charlie Chan Carries On” (as seen through the Spanish language version, “Eran Trece”) 0%

“Charlie Chan at the Race Track” 11%

“Charlie Chan at the Olympics” 6%

“Charlie Chan in Honolulu” 6%

“Charlie Chan's Murder Cruise” 38%

“Dead Men Tell” 38%

“Dangerous Money” 6%

Please cast your vote in our SEPTEMBER Poll!!

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, September 14 for “Shadows Over Chinatown”!

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." Updated each month, 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 conne...

SO, REMEMBER, PLEASE JOIN US for this week’s feature: “Dark Alibi.”

THANK YOU SO MUCH…

Sincerely,

Rush Glick