FROM CHARLIE CHAN: “Detective without curiosity is like glass eye at keyhole - no good.” (“Charlie Chan in the Secret Service”)

GREETINGS! This week we celebrate the birthday of Boris Karloff, who appeared famously as Gravelle in “Charlie Chan at the Opera.” He also appeared in the “sort of” Chan movie, “Behind That Curtain” from 1929. This time we will see him as detective james Lee Wong in “Mr. Wong, Detective.” We can also compare this movie to the Chan version, “Docks of New Orleans,” starring Roland Winters, which used the same plot nearly a decade later!

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 PRESENTATION: “Mr. Wong, Detective” (1938; 69 minutes) along with our “extra,” the SEVENTH episode of “The Adventures of Smilin’ Jack” with Keye Luke…and Sidney Toler! (1943; 19 minutes).

FEATURE SUMMARY: When a chemical manufacturer is killed after asking detective James Wong to help him, Wong investigates this and two subsequent murders. He uncovers a international spy ring hoping to steal the formula for a poison gas being developed by the first victim's company. (IMDb)

FEATURE NOTES: “Mr. Wong, Detective” was the first entry in the 6-film series from Monogram Pictures featuring the character created by Hugh Wiley (1884–1968).

CAST:

Boris Karloff: Mr. James Lee Wong

Grant Withers: Capt. Sam Street

Maxine Jennings: Myra Ross

Evelyn Brent: Olga - aka Countess Dubois

George Lloyd: Devlin

Lucien Prival: Anton Mohl

John St. Polis: Carl Roemer

William Gould: Theodore Meisle

Hooper Atchley: Christian Wilk

John Hamilton: Simon Dayton

Wilbur Mack: Russell

Lee Tung Foo: Tchin (as Lee Tong Foo)

Lynton Brent: Tommy

Grace Wood: Mrs. Roemer

Rest of cast listed alphabetically:

Frank Bruno: Lescardi - Mohl's Henchman (uncredited)

Ed Cassidy: Ambulance Doctor (uncredited)

Wheaton Chambers: Chemistry Lab Director (uncredited)

Clancy Cooper: Warehouse Man (uncredited)

George DeNormand: John (uncredited)

Lester Dorr: Coroner (uncredited)

Herbert Evans: Mr. Wilk's Butler (uncredited)

Dick Reinhart: Dock Worker (uncredited)

FOR COMPLETE INFORMATION ON OUR FEATURE: Please go to http://www.charliechan.info/id57.html

TRIVIA: The film's copyright was not renewed and it is in the Public Domain.

THIS WEEK’S IMAGE: Boris Karloff as Gravelle in “Charlie Chan at the Opera.”


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. Happily, OUR FEATURE IS AVAILABLE ONLINE! The link to it will be found above our Chat Room screen. (SOMETIMES there are occasional 5-second commercial intrusions. If so, after the 5 seconds, click on “Skip Ad”.)

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 OCTOBER POLL RESULT:

QUESTION: Which is your favorite of Jimmy Chan's "case crush" girlfriends?

Choy Wong (Charlie Chan in Reno) 27%

Lili Wong (Charlie Chan in Rio) 53%

San Toy (The Trap) 20%

Please cast your vote in our NOVEMBER 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: “The Shanghai Chest,” starring Roland Winters.

AND… DON’T MISS THIS GREAT CHARLIE CHAN BLOG!: AND… DON’T MISS THIS GREAT CHARLIE CHAN BLOG!: Continuing strongly in 2020, a great blog site, The Postman on Holiday, is 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: www.thepostmanonholiday.com

SO, REMEMBER, PLEASE JOIN US for this week’s feature, “Mr Wong, Detective.”

THANK YOU SO MUCH…

Sincerely,

Rush Glick