“Very old Chinese wise man once say, "Madness twin brother of genius because each live in world created by own ego. One sometime mistaken for other." - Charlie Chan

It’s formal gowns and “soup and fish as our film for this week is “Charlie Chan at the Opera,” starring Warner Oland, and featuring Keye Luke as Number One Son, Lee, and…BORIS KARLOFF. Murder stalks the Civic Opera House on the opening night of the opera “Carnival,” and Charlie Chan and son take on the challenging task of finding the perpetrator of these crimes that wereseemingly committed by a madman!

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. HAPPY NEWS…this week’s film, “Charlie Chan at the Opera,” IS available at YouTube! Here is the address:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IR2haxIH3WA

FILM NOTES: The film's title card reads: "Twentieth Century-Fox presents Warner Oland vs. Boris Karloff in ‘Charlie Chan at the Opera’”. Although contemporary reviews call Margaret Irving's character "Lucretia Barelli," she is called "Anita Barelli" in the film. A ‘Motion Picture Daily’ news item noted that the picture was banned in Germany for having "too many murders." The ‘Hollywood Reporter’ noted that public response to the film's preview was so positive that Twentieth Century-Fox planned to up the production and advertising budgets for the Charlie Chan series, and that future films would see "Warner Oland co-starred with a top name opposite." The first star the studio was said to be approaching to star with Oland was Peter Lorre. According to another ‘Hollywood Reporter’ news item, this film marked the first time that a DeBrie camera, which was lighter and more quiet than other models, was used in the United States. According to modern sources, director H. Bruce Humberstone borrowed some of the sets from “Café Metropole” for this film. Oscar Levant, in his autobiographical writings, states that he was assigned to write an operatic sequence that would take advantage of a Mephistophelian costume that had been created for Lawrence Tibbett in a previous Twentieth Century-Fox film (presumably “Under Your Spell.”). Levant also relates that the words for the opera were written originally in English by William Kernell and then translated into Italian by "studio linguists." Benson Fong, who later portrayed Number Three Son, Tommy Chan, appeared unbilled in this film as one of the opera extras (the third "soldier" from the left as they are first seen lined up). Baritone Tudor Williams provided Boris Karloff's operatic singing voice.

NEXT WEEK (April 7) we will be sharing “Charlie Chan at the Olympics.”

WARNER OLAND SCRAP BOOK: It was through great good fortune for me to come across a very meticulously accumulated collection of newspaper and magazine articles and trade paper items dating from 1916 until 1932, all housed within an old scrap book. This was compiled by someone who was EXTREMELY devoted to Warner Oland; a family member, perhaps? Presently, I am beginning the very lengthy process of scanning each page, as well as loose items that were placed between pages. Eventually this item will be on view in its entirety at our Charlie Chan family Home for all to see and enjoy.

“THE RETURN OF CHARLIE CHAN” ON DVD: If you are interested in purchasing a clear, clean copy of “The Return of Charlie Chan” (Universal – 1971) a made-for-TV movie starring Ross Martin as Charlie Chan, I can recommend a version which you will find at: http://www.ioffer.com/i/the-return-of-charlie-chan-ross-martin-dvd-504052734. It lists for $14.99 which includes postage/handling. However, you may make a lower offer!

A NEW CHARLIE CHAN BOOK: “The Charlie Chan Mystery Movie Guide” by Luke Freemen, who attended last week’s Chat, is available at a list price of $16.99 (and less via Amazon.com). Please read our description of this new Chan entry at our Entrance page at www.charliechan.info.

AND… Please check out the new comic series, “Chinatown Cop,” based on the life of HPD Detective Chang Apana at: www.chinatowncop.com.

Please take care, have a pleasant Monday, and let’s all get together for another Chan-filled evening of fun and sharing as we watch “Charlie Chan at the Opera.”

Sincerely,
Rush Glick