FROM CHARLIE CHAN: “Biggest mistakes in history made by people who didn't think.”

GREETINGS: This week, we will be sharing the final entry from the 20th Century-Fox Charlie Chan film series.

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

We Begin our evening at 7:30 Eastern Time with a 45-minute time for arrivals and greetings. During this time, we also have the opportunity to engage in open dialogue along with one or more “extras” (Thank you so much, Hawaii Steve!) that relate in some way to our feature presentation. Then, at precisely 8:15 ET, we begin our feature film simultaneously starting our personal or online copies of this week’s feature!

THIS WEEK’S PRESENTATION: “Castle in the Desert” (1942; 63 minutes)

FEATURE INTRODUCTION: A guest is murdered at Manderley Castle, a medieval reconstruction located in the middle of the Mojave Desert, which is owned by wealthy historian Paul Manderley and his wife, Lucy, who is a descendent of the notorious Borgia family. Charlie Chan, who was summoned to the castle earlier, and Number Two Son, Jimmy, away on leave from the U.S. Army, quickly get to work trying to unravel the mystery.

FEATURE NOTES: Although an August 15, 1941 ‘Hollywood Reporter’ news item stated that John Larkin would write the screenplay for this film based on an original story by producer Ralph Dietrich, no other contemporary source confirms Dietrich's contributions to the picture as a writer. According to a studio press release and another ‘Hollywood Reporter’ news item, Janis Carter was originally cast as Brenda Hartford. The ‘Variety’ review erroneously lists the film's running time as 51 minutes. “Castle in the Desert” was the last Charlie Chan film produced by Twentieth Century-Fox. Although the official copyright date for “Castle in the Desert” is February 27, 1942, the on-screen date reads "MCMXLI" (1941). After Sidney Toler obtained the film rights to the character from the widow of Earl Derr Biggers, he continued to make Chan films at Monogram Pictures. It is interesting to note that Victor Sen Yung's life would soon share a parallel with that of Charlie Chan's Number Two Son, Jimmy, as he would soon be joining the U.S. Army Air Forces for the duration of World War II.

CAST (as credited):

Sidney Toler: Charlie Chan
Mary Beth Hughes: Joan Reynolds (also called Joannie)
Cobina Wright, Jr.: Grace Ellis
Ted North: Clark B. Denton (billed as Carlos Dantas)
Victor Jory: Alfredo Marana (alias of Alfredo Cardosa; also called Alfred)
Harold Huber: Delegado (Captain) of Police Souto (billed as Chief Souto; also called Senhor Souto)
Sen Yung: Jimmy Chan
Richard Derr: Ken Reynolds
Jacqueline Dalya: Lola Dean (alias of Lola Wagner)
Kay Linaker: Helen Ashby (alias of Barbara Cardosa)
Truman Bradley: Paul Wagner
HamiltoSidney Toler: Charlie Chan
Arleen Whelan: Brenda Hartford
Richard Derr: Carl Detheridge
Douglas Dumbrille: [Paul] Manderley
Henry Daniell: Watson King (also known as Jim; alias Cesare Borgia)
Edmund MacDonald: Walter Hartford
Sen Yung: Jimmy Chan
Lenita Lane: Lucy Manderley (formally known as Lucia and Princess Lucrezia della Borgia)
Ethel Griffies: Madame Saturnia (also called Lizzie)
Milton Parsons: [Arthur] Fletcher
Steve Geray: Dr. Retling
Lucien Littlefield: [Professor] Gleason
Hamilton MacFadden: Bill Kellogg
Leslie Denison: Rice
Iris Wong: Lili [Wong]
Eugene Borden: Armando
Ann Codee: Margo

UNCREDITED CAST (alphabetical):

Oliver Blake: Hotel Owner
George Chandler: Bus Driver
Paul Kruger: Servant
Tex Phelps: Townsman
Oliver ********* Hank
Eric Wilton: Wilson

THIS WEEK’S IMAGE: Paul Manderley and the Hartfords react to the sudden collapse of one of the guests during dinner at Manderley Castle.



IF YOU LACK A COPY OF OUR FEATURE: Often our features can be found online, and happily, the good news continues! Our feature IS available through the link provided at our Chat Room.

FROM HAWAII STEVE…THIS WEEK’S EXTRAS:

WORLD WAR TWO ENTERS THE CHARLIE CHAN FAMILY

In the final scene from Charlie Chan in Rio (Sep 5, 1941 TCF), Poppa Chan reads a telegram from Mama Chan in Honolulu. Number Two Son has been drafted into the U.S. Army. Jimmy Chan happily agrees to defend his country.

World War Two Draft
Selective Training and Service Act established on Sept 16, 1940.
Selective Training and Service Act of 1940 - Wikipedia

America Enters World War Two (2014 History Channel)
WWII In HD: America Enters World War II | History - YouTube
Running Time: 4:23.

Young Men in the U.S.A., including Jimmy Chan, are Drafted
History of the WWII Draft - YouTube (2015)
Running Time: 1:24.

FDR Signs Military Draft Act, Chinatown Responds (Universal Newsreel)
FDR Signs Military Draft Act - 1940 | Today in History | 16 Sept 16 - YouTube
Running Time: 1:50.

OUR MONTHLY POLL: Please take a moment to cast your vote in our JULY 2022 POLL, right here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/7CW752H

LAST MONTH’S POLL RESULT: To see our JUNE 2022 Poll result as well as ALL of our polls going back to 2003, please use this link: http://www.charliechan.info/id93.html

NEXT WEEK (July 18): Please join us as we move to Monogram Pictures and continue our Charlie Chan Film Tour 2022 with a shared viewing of “Charlie Chan in the Secret Service”!

AND, AS ALWAYS… DON’T MISS THIS GREAT CHARLIE CHAN BLOG!: 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

OUR 2022 CHARLIE CHAN FAMILY NEWSLETTER!

This year’s Charlie Chan Family Newsletter, chronicling the year 2021, is now available! Thank you so much, Lou, for your continued, masterfully hard work and dedication! It can be accessed at the following link:

https://thepostmanonholidayhome.files.wordpress.com/2021/12/2021-newsletter-lou-final.pdf

AND, FINALLY, REMEMBER: PLEASE JOIN US TODAY, July 11, for this week’s feature, “Castle in the Desert”

AS ALWAYS: THANK YOU SO MUCH…

Sincerely,

Rush Glick