"Charlie Chan's Murder Cruise," our film for this week's Monday evening Chat!
FROM CHARLIE CHAN: “Sometimes quickest way to brain of young sprout is by impression on other end.”
Greetings, as we enter the month of June! As we continue to move along on our CHARLIE CHAN FILM TOUR 2016, we will be viewing “Charlie Chan’s Murder Cruise,” starring Sidney Toler. Charlie Chan and Number Two son, Jimmy, join the final leg of an around the world cruise, carrying on the search for a murderer following the killing of Chan’s old friend, Inspector Duff of Scotland Yard by an unknown member of the tour Party.
Also, per our newly inaugurated custom, we will be sharing, before our featured film presentation, a vintage Charlie Chan radio show produced in Australia: “The Man Who Murdered Santa Claus” which can be found on the Internet at: http://www.oldtimeradiodownloads.com/crime/charlie-chan/charlie-chan-fiery-santa-claus-pgm49
OUR PRESENTATIONS: “Charlie Chan’s Murder Cruise” (1940). Runtime: 72 minutes…AND “The Man Who Murdered Santa Claus” (Australian radio program, summer ca. 1950; Runtime: 26:18.
SUMMARIES:
“The Man Who Murdered Santa Claus” – A Christmas party, attended by Charlie Chan and his Number One Son, becomes a murder scene as a guest dressed as Santa Claus is murdered!
“Charlie Chan’s Murder Cruise” - Charlie Chan, continuing for a murdered colleague, and assisted by Number Two Son, Jimmy, seeks to uncover the identity of a strangler who strikes multiple times on an around-the-world cruise ship bound from Honolulu to San Francisco.
TIME: We begin with arrivals and greetings at 7:30 EASTERN TIME. Then, we share our radio program which will be followed at exactly 8:15 when we roll our feature, “Charlie Chan’s Murder Cruise.”
LOCATION: Our Charlie Chan Family Chat Room, which is accessed at http://www.charliechan.info/id17.html.
IF YOU LACK A COPY OF OUR FILM: Often our features can be found available online, happily, this week’s feature is presently available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Af2De6_26RM
OF NOTE: “Charlie Chan's Murder Cruise” is a much looser adaptation of Earl Derr Biggers' novel, “Charlie Chan Carries On” (1930), than was Fox studios' original adaptation, also titled “Charlie Chan Carries On,” from 1931, which was closely scripted to reflect the original Biggers Chan mystery. The working titles of this film were variously “Charlie Chan's Cruise,” “Charlie Chan's Oriental Cruise,” and “Chan's Murder Cruise.” According to materials contained at the UCLA Produced Scripts Collection at the UCLA Theater Arts Library, Robert Ellis and Helen Logan wrote the first treatment for this film, which was followed by a treatment and screenplay written by John Larkin. Their contribution to the final film has not been determined.
PLEASE have a happy, safe Monday, and I hope to see you in our Chat Room as we share another Chan-filled evening together…
