OUR CCF MONDAY EVENING CHAT AND FILM VIEWING FOR July 27: “The Chinese Cat”
FROM CHARLIE CHAN: “Fear of future is wrong for young people in love.”
GREETINGS! We continue this week as Charlie Chan, taking a brief break from his Secret Service work, takes on a case of murder in the city of San Francisco.
OUR CHAT ROOM: Our Chat Room can be accessed the same way that we accessed by going to our “Chat Room” link at charliechan.info, or use this direct link: http://www.charliechan.info/id17.html
THIS WEEK’S PRESENTATIONS: “The Chinese Cat” (1944; 65 minutes) along with our “extra,” the FORTH episode of “Secret Agent X-9” with Keye Luke! (1945; 20 minutes).
FEATURE SUMMARY: Leah Manning enlists Charlie Chan's help in solving the murder of her stepfather, Thomas, who was found slain in his study. With no concrete leads, the police have given up and only Chan's deducing can refute a scandalous book that blames Mrs. Manning, Leah's mother, for the crime. Number Three Son, Tommy and Birmingham Brown assist the detective as the trail to the identity of Manning's killer leads to a ruthless diamond smuggling gang.
FEATURE NOTES: This was Monogram's second entry in the Charlie Chan series. The onscreen title is listed as “Charlie Chan in The Chinese Cat.” The working title of the film was “Murder in the Funhouse.” The film's title, The Chinese Cat, is doubtless a "nod" to the 1941 Humphrey Bogart movie, “The Maltese Falcon.”
TRIVIA: Following the death of Warner Oland, Cy Kendall (Walter Deacon in this week’s film) was one of a number of actors considered for the role of Charlie Chan.
TERM OF THE WEEK: flatfoot - (Slang) A police officer.
Karl Karzos: "Chan's no flatfoot."
IF YOU LACK A COPY OF OUR FILM: Often our features can be found online. Fortunately, OUR FEATURE IS AVAILABLE ONLINE, so please use the link provided at our Chat Room.
OUR MONTHLY POLL: Please take a moment to cast your vote in our JULY 2020 POLL, found as you scroll down our Entrance Page (http://www.charliechan.info/index.html)!
CAST (as credited):
Sidney Toler: Charlie Chan
Joan Woodbury: Leah Manning
Mantan Moreland: Birmingham Brown
Benson Fong: Tommy Chan
Ian Keith: Dr. Paul Reknik
Sam Flint: Thomas P. Manning
Cy Kendall: Webster Deacon [referred to as George Deacon in a newspaper headline]
Weldon Heyburn: Harvey Dennis
Anthony Ward: Catlen
John Davidson: Karl Karzos/Kurt Karzos
Dewey Robinson: Salos
Stan Jolley: Gannett
Betty Blythe: Mrs. [Thomas] Manning
Jack Norton: Hotel Desk Manager
Luke Chan: Wu Song
UNCREDITED CAST (alphabetical):
Fred Aldrich: Police Officer
Daisy Bufford: Carolina
George Chandler: Taxicab Dispatcher
Danny Desmond: Bellboy
Terry Frost: Police Officer Writing Ticket
OUR JUNE POLL RESULT:
QUESTION: Whom do you feel most like in your life?
Charlie Chan 43%
Birmingham Brown 57%
Please take our JULY Poll before it closes!
DO YOU HAVE A POLL QUESTION? Please feel free to suggest a Monthly Poll question! Send your ideas to: charliechanfamily@lyahoo.com.
OUR CCF CHAT ARCHIVE: Please take a look at our growing collection of CCF Chat Texts from previous years and this year: http://www.charliechan.info/id630.html
NEXT WEEK: Please join us on Monday, August 3 as we share “Black Magic” also known as “Meeting at Midnight”!
AND… DON’T MISS THIS GREAT CHARLIE CHAN BLOG!: Continuing strongly in 2020, great blog site, The Postman on Holiday, offered by our own Charlie Chan and Earl Derr Biggers expert, Lou Armagno which is: "A place to explore all things surrounding Detective Charlie Chan, his creator Earl Derr Biggers, and their connection with Hawaii, Cleveland, and mystery fiction." Updated each month, it can be found at this address: https://thepostmanonholiday.com/
