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TONIGHT (Monday, 12/14)! "The Feathered Serpent"

“Man who improve house before building solid foundation apt to run into very much trouble.” (Charlie Chan - “The Feathered Serpent”)

Happy Monday! The film we will be viewing together for this tonight’s Monday Evening Chat and Film Viewing is “The Feathered Serpent,” starring Roland Winters, with Mantan Moreland as Birmingham Brown, and Victor Sen Yung as Tommy Chan…and KEYE LUKE in his return as Number One Son, Lee! This would be the ONLY instance where sons One and Two appeared together in the same adventure, unless one counts the brief pairing as depicted in the “lost” movie, “Charlie Chan’s Greatest Case.” “The Feathered Serpent” is also the second-to-last entry in the Charlie Chan film series.

So, please accept this humbly offered invitation join with 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 sit with us at our table. 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).

SUMMARY: In San Pablo, Mexico, an expedition prepares to look for two missing archeologists, Professors Scott and Farnsworth, who had been searching for the lost Aztec Temple of the Sun. The two men have now been missing for two months. Charlie Chan, who is on his way to Mexico City for a vacation with two of his sons, Number One Son, Lee and Number Two Son, Tommy plus chauffeur and associate, Birmingham Brown, finds Professor Scott delirious as he collapses in a field near the road to San Pablo. Later, in San Pablo, Scott explains that after he and Farnsworth had found the temple, they were held as hostages and were forced to unearth a fortune in Aztec jade and gold. However, before Scott can name his captor, the lights go out and he is murdered with a knife. A search party, including Chan, his sons, and Birmingham, is organized out to look for Farnsworth and the lost temple.

THE FACTS:
Monogram Pictures Corporation
Distributed: Monogram Pictures Corporation, December 19, 1948
Production: Late September to early October 1948
Copyright: Monogram Pictures Corporation, January 9, 1949; LP2171
Sound: Western Electric Recording
Film: Black and white
Running Time: 60 minutes
Source: Based on the character created by Earl Derr Biggers

Producer: James S. Burkett
Director: William Beaudine
Assistant Director: William Calihan
Story and Screenplay: Oliver Drake
Additional Dialog: Hal Collins (not credited)
Photography: William Sickner
Camera Operator: John Martin (not credited)
Stills: Eddie Jones (not credited)
Gaffer: Lloyd Garnell (not credited)
Special Effects: Ray Mercer
Technical Director: David Milton
Supervising Film Editor: Otho Lovering
Editor: Ace Herman
Set Decorations: Ray Boltz (not credited)
Musical Director: Edward j. Kay
Recording: Tom Lambert
Makeup: Webb Overlander (not credited)
Production Manager: Allen K. Wood
Screenplay Supervisor: Ilona Vas (not credited)
Grip: Harry lewis (not credited)

CAST:

Roland Winters: Charlie Chan
Keye Luke: Lee Chan
Mantan Moreland: Birmingham Brown
Victor Sen Yung: Tommy Chan
Carol Forman: Sonia Cabot
Robert Livingston: [Professor] John Stanley
Nils Asther: Professor Paul Evans
Beverly Jons: Joan Farnsworth
Martin Garralaga: Pedro [Francisco Lopez]
George J. Lewis: Captain Juan Gonzalez
Leslie Dennison: Professor [Henry] Farnsworth
Jay Silverheels: Diego (not credited)
Charles Stevens: Manuel (not credited)
Milton Ross: Pete (not credited)
Fred Cordova: Felipe (not credited)
Erville Alderson: Professor Scott (not credited)
Juan Duval: Dr. Castelar (not credited)
Frank Leyva: Jose (not credited)

FILM NOTES: The opening title card of this film reads: Charlie Chan in “The Feathered Serpent.” This is the only film in which Charlie Chan's number one and number two sons actively work together with their father on a case. It is also the final appearance in a Charlie Chan film by Victor Sen Yung (Sen Yung). The plot of this film was based on that of the 1937 movie, “The Riders of the Whistling Skull” (which, interestingly, featured Robert Livingston who later appeared as John Stanley in the Charlie Chan version. Note the “play” on “Stanley” and “Livingston!).

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, new comers 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…sort of! This week’s film, “The Feathered Serpent,” IS available in TWO PARTS at DailyMotion, at these addresses:
PART ONE: http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xv2fro_charlie-chan-the-feathered-serpent-part-1_shortfilms
PART TWO: http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xv2g26_charlie-chan-the-feathered-serpent-part-2_shortfilms

NEXT WEEK (Monday, December 21) our featured film will be “The Sky Dragon.”

Have a wonderful Monday, and I hope to see you tonight as we watch and discuss “The Feathered Serpent,” and have a lot of FUN in the process!

Sincerely,
Rush Glick