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Charlie Chan Reference in Dennis the Menace

I was watching an episode of the b&w Dennis the Menace show from 1959 called "Dennis and the TV Set". Dennis wants his own tv set in his room but when his parents say no, he decides to watch Mr. Wilson's tv set next door through a window with binoculars. When his mom comes in to find him looking out the window with binoculars, she asks him what he's doing. He replies that he's watching a Charlie Chan movie.

His mom tells him that his dad wants him to come downstairs. Dennis says that's ok.. and adds "I couldn't hear what the Charlie Chan movie was about anyway. All I could tell was the number 1 son kept falling through trap doors".

I found this humorous, and interesting that there was a Charlie Chan reference in the show. When Dennis' mom looks through the binoculars at the tv set next door after Dennis says he was watching a CC movie, they show this:




It's an outdoor scene with lightning. I can't tell (since it's very hard to see) if that's actually a clip from a CC movie or just a fake picture that's supposed to be the movie.

Re: Charlie Chan Reference in Dennis the Menace

Fan - It sure doesn't look familiar to me, from a Chan movie perspective. Looks more like an outdoor scene from a monster movie. Sure is hard to see, isn't it?

Diana

Re: Charlie Chan Reference in Dennis the Menace

DMC
Fan - It sure doesn't look familiar to me, from a Chan movie perspective. Looks more like an outdoor scene from a monster movie. Sure is hard to see, isn't it?

Diana


Yeah it's definitely hard to see. Here's a slightly larger version of it:



You're probably right though. It's probably from a monster movie or something. I can see a tree and you can see the lightning, but it's still very difficult to make out the rest of the scene. I wonder what the scene is from though. Also, I don't remember any Charlie Chan movie with Keye Luke and trap doors so I doubt they were refering to a real movie. Interesting to have the CC reference in the episode though.

Re: Charlie Chan Reference in Dennis the Menace

Fan - This could be from any movie or show, really.

I had my husband look at it, and he saw something completely differently than I did (I put that down to his laser eye surgery last week). He saw a man in office with a hood on. I could not get him to explain those very obvious (to me at least) trees.

But, while standing above and to the left of the screen, I saw faces too. One in the middle, kinda over that large lump that looks like a small hill or a monster, and a Charlie Chan looking face in the very lower right hand corner of the little screen.

By the way, I saw all this by blowing up my computer screen to 400%.

The Charlie face almost looks like it was placed over the action sceen.

Why do we ask ourselves these questions anyway?

Diana

Re: Charlie Chan Reference in Dennis the Menace

DMC
Fan - This could be from any movie or show, really.

I had my husband look at it, and he saw something completely differently than I did (I put that down to his laser eye surgery last week). He saw a man in office with a hood on. I could not get him to explain those very obvious (to me at least) trees.

But, while standing above and to the left of the screen, I saw faces too. One in the middle, kinda over that large lump that looks like a small hill or a monster, and a Charlie Chan looking face in the very lower right hand corner of the little screen.

By the way, I saw all this by blowing up my computer screen to 400%.

The Charlie face almost looks like it was placed over the action sceen.

Why do we ask ourselves these questions anyway?

Diana


True, it might be a fake scene also but then again it could be a clip to a real movie. Just too hard to see. Now that mention it though, I did see what looks like a man sitting a desk in a hood as your husband saw and by zooming the sight to 400% I could see that face you mentioned. Very interesting.

Re: Charlie Chan Reference in Dennis the Menace

Fan - The only movie that I can think of that has #1 son involved with trap doors is "Opera". And, there was a tree on stage in that opera. We just rewatched the movie, but did not see anything conclusive. Maybe someone else can spot something.

Another "trap door" movie is "Treasure Island", but that is #2 son, but perhaps Dennis does not keep track of the numbers of the sons?

Diana

Re: Charlie Chan Reference in Dennis the Menace

DMC
Fan - The only movie that I can think of that has #1 son involved with trap doors is "Opera". And, there was a tree on stage in that opera. We just rewatched the movie, but did not see anything conclusive. Maybe someone else can spot something.

Another "trap door" movie is "Treasure Island", but that is #2 son, but perhaps Dennis does not keep track of the numbers of the sons?

Diana


I was thinking Treasure Island as well. Since Dennis couldn't actually hear the tv perhaps he was mistaken. Although Opera would make sense as well if that was one of the sets they had. Seems more likely they were referencing Treasure Island with the trap doors though.

Re: Charlie Chan Reference in Dennis the Menace

Fan - Opera has #1 son, AND more trap doors I think. He and Gravelle (Karloff) are always going through the trap doors. Diana

Re: Charlie Chan Reference in Dennis the Menace

DMC
Fan - Opera has #1 son, AND more trap doors I think. He and Gravelle (Karloff) are always going through the trap doors. Diana


You might be right. Of course we'll never know for sure, but I think we can assume that if Dennis was correct and it was number 1 son, then it would most likely have been At the Opera.

Re: Charlie Chan Reference in Dennis the Menace

RChanfan,

Thanks for the info. I love these little long forgotten references. I'm not surprised that C.C. was still alive and well on TV viewers minds in the 1950's. The pace of life, and entertainment was so much slower.

Thanks again...and see ya some Monday night on Chat...janet

Re: Charlie Chan Reference in Dennis the Menace

JaninPenna
RChanfan,

Thanks for the info. I love these little long forgotten references. I'm not surprised that C.C. was still alive and well on TV viewers minds in the 1950's. The pace of life, and entertainment was so much slower.

Thanks again...and see ya some Monday night on Chat...janet


Yep, I agree. I thought it was amusing to hear the CC movie being mentioned. In fact at first I thought I was hearing things heh. Hopefully I'll be in the chat today (Monday), always a fun time!

Re: Charlie Chan Reference in Dennis the Menace

Episode #1.22: "Dennis and the TV Set" (3/13/1960) was directed by Charles T. Barton, the same man who directed "Abbott & Costello Meet Frankenstein" (1948).

The TV series "Dennis the Menace" was a product of Screen Gems, the television division of Columbia Pictures. Broadcast on Sunday nights over the CBS television network (1959-63).

Screen Gems/Columbia Pictures did not own any Charlie Chan films, so they would have had to paid a fee for the use of a Charlie Chan clip on their "Dennis" TV series.

In order to avoid paying a fee, Screen Gems/Columbia would have used a clip from their own film library or used a clip from a public domain film. During the 1950s, Columbia produced a number of low-budget horror/sci-fi films. Mostly likely, Screen Gems/Columbia used a "dark and spooky" clip from their own film library.

To me, the TV image reminds me of desert scenes featured in the sci-fi classics "It Came From Outer Space" (1953) and "Tarantula" (1955). Both Universal films have scenes shot in the desert with cactus and big rocks.

Never the less, this is a very nice reference to movie detective Charlie Chan.

Re: Charlie Chan Reference in Dennis the Menace

Very interesting Steve! Thanks for the info! Most likely it was from one of those horror flicks. I actually don't think I've seen either of those two movies you mentioned, unfortunately.

Re: Charlie Chan Reference in Dennis the Menace

It reminded me of a scene from Charlie Chan In Rio when Jimmy and the maid are outside dancing and Joanie comes stumbling through the brush, of course I seriously doubt that really is what it is