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OUR CCF MONDAY EVENING CHAT AND FILM VIEWING FOR December 14: “The Sky Dragon”

FROM CHARLIE CHAN: “Ideas planted too soon often like seeds on winter ground - quickly die.”

GREETINGS! Death stalks an airliner on route to San Francisco as Charlie Chan and Number One Son, Lee, who are aboard the flight, jump into immediate action, along with Birmingham Brown!

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: “The Sky Dragon” (1949; 65 minutes; along with our “extra,” the TENTH episode of “The Adventures of Smilin’ Jack” with Keye Luke…and Sidney Toler! (1943; 20 minutes).

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).

CAST (as credited):

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

UNCREDITED CAST (alphabetical):

Ivan Bell: Stagehand
Frank Cady: Clerk
Bob Curtis: Watkins
George Eldredge: Stacy
Suzette Harbin: Second Maid
Edna Holland: Old Maid
Charles Jordan: Assistant Stage Manager
Lyle Latell: Ed Davidson
William O'Brian: Airline Passenger
Frank O'Connor: Airline Passenger
Gaylord Pendleton: Ben Edwards
Lee Phelps: Plainclothesman
Cosmo Sardo: Pilot at Gate
Emmett Vogan: Doctor
Joe Whitehead: Doorman
FOR COMPLETE INFORMATION ON OUR FEATURE: Please go to http://www.charliechan.info/id61.html

TRIVIA: Emmett Vogan, who appears in “The Sky Dragon” as a doctor, was in a total of EIGHT films in the Charlie Chan film series at both 20th Century-Fox and Monogram Pictures, playing opposite of all three Charlie Chans, Warner Oland, Sidney Toler, and Roland Winters in the process!

THIS WEEK’S IMAGE: Charlie Chan and all those aboard the airliner for a reenactment of the fatal moments of the flight, are held at gunpoint!



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

IF YOU LACK A COPY OF OUR FILM: Often our features can be found online. GOOD NEWS, “The Sky Dragon” IS AVAILABLE online! Simply use the link provided at our Chat Room!

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 NOVEMBER POLL RESULT:

QUESTION: Do you support a return of Charlie Chan to cinema or television, reimagined for today's audience as we have seen with the likes of Sherlock Holmes, Hercule Poirot, and others?

Definetly 79%

Maybe 7%

Not sure 7%

No way 7%

Please cast your vote in our DECEMBER Poll! It closes soon!

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: TWO episodes from “The New Adventures of Charlie Chan.”

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, “The Sky Dragon.”

THANK YOU SO MUCH…

Sincerely,

Rush Glick