TONIGHT! "Charlie Chan in the Secret Service" (Plus an "extra")
FROM CHARLIE CHAN: “Everything grow rapidly in Hawaii.”
Greetings, as out trip through the entire Charlie Chan film series now enters the realm of Monogram Pictures as we view and share “Charlie Chan in the Secret Service.” Yes, with the shift to monogram from 20th Century-Fox the budgets dropped, but with a decline in the material aspect, the amount of “heart” injected into the projects carries the day. “New blood” in the form of Mantan Moreland (as Birmingham Brown), Benson Fong (as Number Three Son, Tommy), and Marianne Quon (in her sole appearance as Number Two Daughter, Iris brings along a certain charm and added fun. Of course, the connection between Chan’s past appearances and the new shift is linked by the presence of Sidney Toler who was responsible for the series carrying on as he was able to shop the Charlie Chan film rights to another studio, eventually landing the detective at Monogram, thus allowing us to catch the detective on the silver screen for five additional years!
With the war now on, “Charlie Chan in the Secret Service” shows us that Chan has returned to work with the federal government. I say “returned” as service to his country was not unusual for the detective as we note in “Charlie Chan in Panama” as well as his work with the Intelligence Service during World War I as mentioned in “Charlie Chan in City in Darkness.” In our film for tonight, Charlie Chan, with the assistance of son Tommy, daughter Iris, as well as Birmingham Brown, work within the confines of the Washington, D.C. of a murdered scientist who was at work on a top secret project for the government, seeking to solve this killing while also looking to uncover the identity of a notorious international spy!
Also, we will be sharing, before our featured film presentation, an “extra.” Tonight, our “bonus” presentation will feature the special featurette “The Real Charlie Chan” which can be found on the Fox DVD for “Charlie Chan in Egypt.” Sorry, but this featurette is not available online…
OUR PRESENTATIONS: “Charlie Chan in the Secret Service” (1944); runtime: 65 minutes…AND “The Real Charlie Chan” (2006); total runtime: 21:00.
FILM SUMMARY: A scientist, George Melton, is working on an important new invention which will protect Allied shipping from German U-boat attacks. Although he has been assigned Secret Service security protection he is murdered in his Washington, D.C. home. Charlie Chan, now working for the Secret Service in Washington, is assigned to the case. Chan is soon joined by two of his children, Number Three Son, Tommy, second daughter, Iris, as well as Birmingham Brown, the chauffeur of one of the guests. When the autopsy reveals the Melton was electrocuted, Chan must determine who, among the numerous suspects, is the guilty party.
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, “Charlie Chan in the Secret Service.”
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, our feature isare presently available at YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XUad-bMfSN4
OF NOTE: This was the first Charlie Chan film that Sidney Toler made at Monogram Pictures after leaving Twentieth Century-Fox following the cancellation of the Charlie Chan film series at that studio. Toler, who had starred as Chan in many of the Fox films, bought the screen rights to the character from the widow of writer Earl Derr Biggers and continued to star as Chan for Monogram until his death in 1947, after which time Roland Winters assumed the role. This film also marked the beginning of Charlie Chan's work with the U.S. Secret Service for the remainder of the war. Mantan Moreland also made his debut as Birmingham Brown, a character who would become a mainstay of the series for the remainder of its run. Benson Fong appeared for the first time as Number Three Son Tommy, while his sister Iris, portrayed by Marianne Quon, made her sole series appearance in “Charlie Chan in the Secret Service.”
PLEASE have be happy and safe, and I hope that everyone will accept this humbly offered invitation to join together tonight for more Chan-filled fun and discussion!
