We have reached a new month, and, we have also reached a new phase in our yearlong tour through the entire Charlie Chan film series.

Our film for this week’s Monday Evening Chat and Film Viewing will be “Charlie Chan in the Secret Service,” starring Sidney Toler and introducing Benson Fong as Number Three Son, Tommy and Mantan Moreland as Birmingham Brown. We are also treated to an appearance by Mariane Quon as Iris Chan. In this adventure, Charlie Chan and offspring, along with Birmingham Brown, working within the confines of a very mysterious and equally dangerous home, seek out the killer of a noted scientist who was working on a top secret project for the U.S. government.

FILM NOTES: This was the first Charlie Chan film that Sidney Toler made at Monogram Pictures after leaving Twentieth Century-Fox following the cancellation of the Charlie Chan film series at that studio. Toler, who had starred as Chan in many of the Fox films, bought the screen rights to the character from the widow of writer Earl Derr Biggers and continued to star as Chan for Monogram until his death in 1947, after which time Roland Winters assumed the role. This film also marked the beginning of Charlie Chan's work with the U.S. Secret Service for the remainder of the war. Mantan Moreland also made his debut as Birmingham Brown, a character who would become a mainstay of the series for the remainder of its run. Benson Fong appeared for the first time as Number Three Son Tommy, while his sister Iris, portrayed by Marianne Quon, made her sole Series appearance in “Charlie Chan in the Secret Service.”

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. Again this week we have HAPPY NEWS! A check at YouTube reveals that “Charlie Chan in the Secret Service” IS available online at YouTube for viewing. You may find it at this address: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IpiyEiJEirs

NEXT WEEK we will be viewing “The Chinese Cat,” starring Sidney Toler.

OUR MONTHLY POLL(S): Please take a moment and participate in our monthly poll questions for both this month's august Poll as well as our July Poll (which suffered from a technical glitch last month!). These are found at our ENTRANCE of our Charlie Chan family Home at: www.charliechan.info. Thank you so much...

Take care, and let’s all get together for another Chan-filled evening of fun and sharing as we watch “Charlie Chan in the Secret Service.”

Sincerely,
Rush Glick