As April comes to a close, we progress on our group journey through the entire Charlie Chan film series. Last week, we shared the bittersweet experience of viewing Warner Oland’s final appearance on screen as Charlie Chan. This week we will watch “Mr. Moto’s Gamble,” a “retooled” film that was originally to have been Oland’s next movie, “Charlie Chan at the Ringside.” Early on during the filming of “Ringside,” Warner Oland began showing signs of erratic behavior. May attribute this to the effects of the consumption of alcohol over time; however, Keye Luke, Number One Son on screen and sometimes off screen as well for Oland, tells something of a different story. His brief account, which may be read in a transcribed interview from circa 1985, found in our Study section of our Charlie Chan family Home, describes what would more likely have been a nervous breakdown, from which the venerable actor recovered. However, 20th Century-Fox was not pleased with having an unfinished Charlie Chan picture sitting cans and money having gone down the drain. At one point the studio even considered suing Warner Oland for the loss. However, they were able to make use of what had thus far been shot – minus the Oland scenes (Oh, how nice it would be to have those today!) – and, with the inclusion of Number One Son, Lee, a Mr. Moto mystery resulted featuring Fox’ “other” Oriental sleuth played by Peter Lorre. The result is very interesting to watch. We see Lee Chan (Keye Luke) in the role he was to have played in the original movie, minus his Pop. We hear Mr. Moto stating aphorisms meant for the lips of Charlie Chan. In fact, if one closes one’s eyes, one can almost picture the Venerable Warner Oland speaking those truisms. We also see some familiar faces including Harold Huber in a role cop role reminiscent of that which he played in “Charlie Chan on Broadway,” John “Perry White” Hamilton (we shall see him later in a Monogram Chan feature), and we even have Lon Chaney, Jr. in a fairly prominent role. And, I think that you will find “Mr. Moto’s Gamble” to be a fine mystery offering, and, an “almost Chan” as well!
So, please join us in our Chat Room which is located at our Charlie Chan Family Home: www.charliechan.info, and use any of the “Chat Room” links to join us. We begin with arrivals and greetings at 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time, and we roll our personal copies of our film exactly 15 minutes later (8:15).
Even if you cannot access a copy of the above-noted film, please do join us anyway, as you will NOT be left out of our ongoing chat and festivities. Also, as is our custom, newcomers are offered the seat of honor at our humble table. (Many of our films, such as this week’s entry, may be found available for viewing online through such outlets as YouTube, etc. Unfortunately, a check at YouTube reveals that “Mr. Moto’s Gamble” IS NOT available for viewing.)
Thank you so much, and let’s meet for yet another fun Monday evening as we gather to watch “Mr. Moto’s Gamble.”
