This week’s Monday Evening Chat and Film Viewing offers a change of pace for us as we will be viewing “Mr. Wong in Chinatown” starring Boris Karloff as Detective James Wong. “Mr. Wong in Chinatown” provided the basis for our Charlie Chan movie for last week, “The Chinese Ring.” Let’s compare these two pictures, both products of Monogram Pictures, and see how they are similar and how they differ! 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).
FILM NOTES: Mr. Wong (James Lee Wong) was a fictional Chinese-American detective created by Hugh Wiley (1884-1968), in great measure due to the great popularity of Earl Derr Biggers’ Charlie Chan. Twelve Mr. Wong adventures were published in ‘Colliers’ magazine between 1934 and 1938, and six Wong films were produced by Monogram Pictures between 1938 and 1940; five starred Boris Karloff while one featured Keye Luke as a younger Mr. Wong. Mr. Wong in Chinatown was produced and released in 1938. It is interesting to note that Lee Tung Foo plays the same role – that of a butler – in both this film as well as the Charlie Chan version.
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. GOOD NEWS…this week our film, “Mr. Wong in Chinatown,” IS available at YouTube! You will find it at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_s6rZVNU5Vg
NEXT WEEK (November 25) we will viewing of “Docks of New Orleans,” starring Roland Winters.
A CONTINUED HUMBLE REMINDER: If you have not already done so, please consider ordering your copy of the new “Charlie Chan Collection” Warner Brothers box DVD collection! The best price I have found thus far is from Amazon.com at $28.79 with FREE postage! Hawaii Steve notes that this collection may be purchased at Oldies.com for $21.80 plus postage! So, get yours now!
(PLEASE NOTE: If you would like to receive weekly email announcements regarding our Monday Evening Chats, as well as receive high-quality scanned movie still images (one per week) from our films of the week, please email us at: charliechanfamily@lycos.com.)
Please take care, have a restful, contemplative day, and let’s all get together for another Wong/Karloff/Chan-filled evening of fun and sharing as we watch “Mr. Wong in Chinatown.”
