OUR CHARLIE CHAN FAMILY MONDAY EVENING CHAT for July 24, 2023: “The Chinese Cat”
CHAT NUMBER: 1,213
FROM CHARLIE CHAN: “Dog cannot chase three rabbits at same time.”
THIS WEEK: We continue the Monogram Pictures era of the Charlie Chan film series with the series’ second entry, “The Chinese Cat.” Again we have Birmingham Brown, not yet “officially” a member of Chan’s team, and Number Three Son, Tommy.
OUR CHAT ROOM: Go to our “Chat Room” page, and, at the bottom of that page, click on the “Charlie Chan Family Chat Room ENTRANCE” link. You may then enter as a “Guest.”
OUR FEATURE PRESENTATION: “The Chinese Cat” (1944; 65 minutes)
FEATURE SUMMARY: A scientist, George Melton, is working on an important new invention that will protect Allied shipping from German U-boat attacks. Although he has been assigned Secret Service security protection he is murdered in his Washington, D.C. home. Charlie Chan, now working for the Secret Service in Washington, is assigned to the case. Chan is soon joined by two of his children, Number Three Son, Tommy, and second daughter, Iris, as well as Birmingham Brown, the chauffeur of one of the guests. When the autopsy reveals that Melton was electrocuted, Chan must determine who among the numerous suspects is the guilty party.
FEATURE NOTES: The onscreen title is listed as “Charlie Chan in ‘The Chinese Cat’.” The working title of the film was “Murder in the Funhouse.” The film’s title, “The Chinese Cat,” is doubtless a “nod” to the 1941 Humphrey Bogart movie, “The Maltese Falcon.”
THIS WEEK’S EXTRA:
Secret Agent X-9 - Chapter 02 - Ringed by Fire - 1945
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ma1BjF2GiWU
Running time: 19:40
OUR MESSAGE BOARD: Please consider visiting our Message Board, and feel free to add a message to a post or begin a conversation…or state a thought! Our Message Board has been there for YOU since 2004!
AS ALWAYS, WE BEGIN OUR EVENING at 7:30 Eastern Time with a 45-minute block of time for arrivals and greetings, and the sharing of an extra…or two...or even three! (see above). Then, at precisely 8:15 ET, we begin running our feature film simultaneously starting our personal or online copies of this week’s feature!
AT OUR BULLETIN BOARD: THE CHARLIE CHAN FAMILY HOME 2022 NEWSLETTER is now available at our “Bulletin Board” at our Charlie Chan Family Home! Also, at our Bulletin Board you will find a lot more in the form of links to other Chan-related items of possible interest!
AND, please take a minute to cast your vote on our JULY POLL, also available on our Bulletin Board or our Home Page…or directly at this address: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/PBMPP5C
A MOST WONDERFUL NEW BOOK!
Our own "HonoluLou," Lou Armagno, has just published a fantastic new book focusing on the aphorisms of Charlie Chan as found in the original Chan stories by Earl Derr Biggers! To learn more about this book, please visit our BULLETIN BOARD section: https://charliechan.org/bulletin-board/
Thank you so much, Lou, for creating the most unique of Charlie Chan studies!
NEXT WEEK: We will be sharing “Black Magic,” a.k.a. “Meeting at Midnight.” Also, we will continue sharing the 13-part serial, Chapter 3 of “Secret Agent X-9,” featuring Keye Luke with Benson Fong as the week’s “extra”!
Take care, and let’s join together again for another Chan-filled evening within the friendly confines of our Charlie Chan Family Chat Room at charliechan.org as we share “The Chinese Cat.”
