FROM CHARLIE CHAN: “Fruits of labor sometimes very bitter.”

As you read this, I will be on the road with my family, heading up to Lake Tahoe (Please see: “Keeper of the Keys” (http://gutenberg.net.au/ebooks02/0200711.txt) by Earl Derr Biggers, which I will be reading during our stay there). Of course, our trip through the Charlie Chan film series continues to move along as we near the end of the 20th Century-Fox phase of the Chan film series. This Monday evening (July 11), our own GS will be hosting as we share “Charlie Chan in Rio,” as our CHARLIE CHAN FILM TOUR 2016 takes us with Charlie Chan and Number Two son, Jimmy, to the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil! NEXT week (July 18), our Monday evening Chat/Film Viewing will feature “Castle in the Desert,” as Chan and Number Two son work together to solve a mystery involving murder at a modern-day castle in the middle of California’s Mojave Desert (another location that my family and I plan to visit over the next 10 days).

Also, we will be sharing, before our featured film presentation, an “extra.” Recently we have shared vintage Charlie Chan radio shows. My humble suggestion for a “bonus” presentation for this week as well as next is an audio program from 2007 entitled “Radio Detective Story Hour Episode 92 – Charlie Chan” (http://www.otr.com/blog/?p=30) an interesting presentation which has a total running time 0f 43:33. My suggestion is: please consider listening this Monday from 0:00-28:00. Next week, listen from 28:00-43:33. The second half of this “extra” contains radio material we may have heard previously, however, there is an interesting war bonds ad that was left in one of the shows. Gives a good “feel” for that moment in time!

OUR PRESENTATIONS: July 11: “Charlie Chan in Rio” (1941); runtime: 62 minutes…July 18: “Castle in the Desert” (1942); runtime: 63 minutes…AND “Detective Story Hour Episode 92 – Charlie Chan” (2007); total runtime: 43:33.

FILM SUMMARIES:
“Charlie Chan in Rio”: Charlie Chan and son Jimmy visit the exotic city of Rio de Janeiro in order to arrest nightclub singer Lola Dean for a murder committed a year earlier in Honolulu. Later, they find the singer has been stabbed to death in her home. Her jewels have been stolen and a number of clues have been seemingly planted at the crime scene. The suspects are numerous, and Chan must sift through the evidence to unmask the killer.

“Castle in the Desert”: A guest is murdered at Manderley Castle, a medieval reconstruction located in the middle of the Mojave Desert, which is owned by wealthy historian Paul Manderley and his wife, Lucy, who is a descendent of the notorious Borgia family. Charlie Chan, who was summoned to the castle earlier, and Number Two Son, Jimmy, away on leave from the U.S. Army, quickly get to work trying to unravel the mystery.
TIME: We begin with arrivals and greetings at 7:30 EASTERN TIME. Then, we share our special short “extras” which will be followed at exactly 8:15 when we roll our feature, “Dead Men Tell” (Monday, July 11); “Castle in the Desert” (Monday, July 18).

LOCATION: Our Charlie Chan Family Chat Room, which is accessed at http://www.charliechan.info/id17.html.

IF YOU LACK A COPY OF OUR FILMS: Often our features can be found available online, happily, the next two weeks’ features are presently available at YouTube:
“Charlie Chan in Rio”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=brrgSthtdtE (July 11)
“Castle in the Desert”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mBtPu2qF2so (July 18)

THIS WEEK’S IMAGES: (Please see attachments). A scene from “Charlie Chan in Rio,” and one from “Castle in the Desert.”

OF NOTE:
“Charlie Chan in Rio”: Although Ted North's character is called "Carlos Dantas" in the film's onscreen credits and in reviews, in the picture he is called "Clark Denton." According to ‘Hollywood Review’ news items, Virgil Miller was originally assigned as the photographer on this film, but was replaced by Joseph P. MacDonald, who was promoted after serving as an operative cameraman with Twentieth Century-Fox for eight years. An April 30, 1941 ‘Hollywood Reporter’ news item noted that Jeanne Kelly had been loaned by Universal to appear in the next Charlie Chan film, and, while it was presumably this picture, her participation has not been confirmed. “Charlie Chan in Rio” bears a striking resemblance to “The Black Camel,” directed ten years earlier by Hamilton MacFadden, who appears in the cast of “Rio.” It is perhaps of interest to note that MacFadden also appeared briefly in “The Black Camel,” and he also had a minor role in “Charlie Chan in Reno” (1939).

“Castle in the Desert”: Although an August 15, 1941 ‘Hollywood Reporter’ news item stated that John Larkin would write the screenplay for this film based on an original story by producer Ralph Dietrich, no other contemporary source confirms Dietrich's contributions to the picture as a writer. According to a studio press release and another ‘Hollywood Reporter’ news item, Janis Carter was originally cast as Brenda Hartford. The ‘Variety’ review erroneously lists the film's running time as 51 minutes. “Castle in the Desert” was the last Charlie Chan film produced by Twentieth Century-Fox. After Sidney Toler obtained the film rights to the character from the widow of Earl Derr Biggers, he continued to make Chan films at “Monogram Pictures.”

PLEASE have be happy and safe, and I hope that everyone will accept this humbly offered invitation to join together over the next two Mondays for more Chan-filled camaraderie!

My hope is to join in, if possible, during my family vacation, if only for a few minutes… We shall see…!

Sincerely,
Rush Glick