FROM CHARLIE CHAN: “Puzzle always deepest near the center.”

NOTE: PLEASE vote in our SEPTEMBER Poll! The poll can be reached at: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/H3BZY6C

GREETINGS: This week we reach the end of the Sidney Toler era of the Charlie Chan film series with “The Trap.” Let’s join the detective as he works in a very unusual environment of sea, sand, sunbathers, screams, snivelers, strangling, and screeching tires!

OUR CHAT ROOM is located at: http://www.charliechan.info/id17.html

WE BEGIN OUR EVENING at 7:30 Eastern Time with a 45-minute time for arrivals and greetings. During this time, we also have the opportunity to engage in open dialogue along with one or more “extras” (Thank you so much, as always, Hawaii Steve!) that relate in some way to our feature presentation. Then, at precisely 8:15 ET, we begin our feature film simultaneously starting our personal or online copies of this week’s feature!

THIS WEEK’S PRESENTATION: “The Trap” (1946; 69 minutes)

FEATURE INTRODUCTION: The members of Cole King's variety troupe occupy a Malibu, California beach house. One of the showgirls disappears, and her body is discovered by San Toy, a Chinese member of the troupe. Because Lois has been strangled, a murder technique said to be favored by the Chinese and the French, both San Toy and Adelaide, who is French, are under immediate suspicion. San Toy, who is a friend of Jimmy Chan, asks his father to investigate.

FEATURE NOTES: Working titles for “The Trap” were “Murder in Malibu Beach” and “Charlie Chan in the Trap.” This is one of two Chan films in the series proper to have been filmed in large measure on location, the other being “The Black Camel” (1931). “The Trap” marked the final film appearance for Sidney Toler, who died on February 12, 1947. Roland Winters assumed the role of Charlie Chan in the 1947 film “The Chinese Ring.”

CAST (as credited):

Sidney Toler: Charlie Chan
Mantan Moreland: Birmingham Brown
Victor Sen Young: Jimmy Chan
Tanis Chandler: Adelaide
Larry Blake: Rick Daniels
Kirk Alyn: [California Highway Patrol] Sergeant Reynolds
Rita Quigley: Clementine
Anne Nagel: Marcia
Helen Gerald: Ruby
Howard Negley: Cole King (also called "the Maestro")
Lois Austin: Mrs. [Irene] Thorn
Barbara Jean Wong: San Toy
Minerva Urical: Mrs. Weebles
Margaret Brayton: Madge Mudge
Bettie Best: Winifred
Jan Bryant: Lois

UNCREDITED CAST (alphabetical):

Walden Boyle: George "Doc" Brandt

THIS WEEK’S IMAGE: Jimmy and Birmingham follow a suspect outside the beach house.



IF YOU LACK A COPY OF OUR FEATURE: Often our features can be found online, and happily, the good news continues! Our feature IS available through the link provided at our Chat Room (located as a link above the Chat Room Board). Also, if you do not own the films of the Charlie Chan Film Series, please consider purchasing them, as commercially produced, authorized copies of ALL existing Charlie Chan movies on DVD are available for purchase across the Internet, often at very reasonable prices!

FROM HAWAII STEVE’S DESK…THIS WEEK’S EXTRAS & INFO:

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FEATURE FILM: Charlie Chan in "The Trap"

“The Trap” is the eleventh, and last, Charlie Chan film made with Sidney Toler at Monogram Pictures. It was released on November 30, 1946 in the USA.

The Trap (1946 film) - Wikipedia

(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Trap_(1946_film)

OPENING FILM CREDITS from Monogram Pictures

The film print is from Monogram Pictures, as stated in the opening titles. There is no copyright notice to this film. The film entered the public domain due to the omission of a valid copyright notice on original prints.

FILMING LOCATION/FICTITIOUS SETTING

Filmed at Monogram's sound stages, Hollywood. On location in the Malibu area, along Pacific Coast Highway, in Los Angeles.

FILM NOTES

This film shows that Sidney Toler is not well. Suffering from cancer during his last few films, Toler was often so weak that he could hardly walk or say his lines coherently. [Source: Wikipedia.]

STORYLINE OF FILM: Detective Charlie Chan invests the murders of members of a show troupe.

THEME OF FILM: Solve the murders of entertainment group in Malibu.

CURTURAL AND HISTORIC CONNECTION between Feature Film and Short Extra

Please see below.

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Sidney Toler as Charlie Chan

As a special farewell tribute to our beloved Sidney Toler, we present a rare radio episode of “The Eddie Cantor Show.” Guest Star: Sidney Toler as Charlie Chan.

EXTRA: It's Time to Smile starring Eddie Cantor

Air Date: Wednesday, March 12, 1941 on the NBC radio network.

Guest: Sidney Toler as Charlie Chan.

Who Was Eddie Cantor?

Eddie Cantor was a popular entertainer of Broadway, movies, and radio. He won a special place in the hearts of the American public through his radio programs. For more details, please see Wikipedia below.

Eddie Cantor - Wikipedia

(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eddie_Cantor)

PROGRAM NOTES: For the fans of the Charlie Chan movies, this is a special treat. Of the three major actors to portray Charlie Chan in the movies, Sidney Toler is the only film actor to portray Chan on a national radio program.

“The Eddie Cantor Show” is a full 25-minute sitcom broadcast from network radio. (If we play the entire episode I suggest that we start the YouTube video no later than 45 minutes after the hour. The radio episode would end at 10 minutes after the new hour, still time to start the feature film at 15 minutes after the hour.)

NOTE: The first ten minutes of the program deals with Cantor's problems with the IRS. Sidney Toler is not involved in this part of the program. Beginning at 10:15 video mark, Sidney Toler is introduced as Charlie Chan.

At age 67, Toler holds his own with comedian Eddie Cantor, actress Hattie McDaniel (award-winning actress from “Gone With the Wind”), and character actor Bert Gordon AKA "The Mad Russian." This is a fun, hip episode from the golden age of network radio. If you a Chan fan, you will enjoy this program.

It’s Time To Smile (Eddie Cantor Show) - Guest Sidney Toler (AFRS) - Ep. 24 - 03-12-41 (OTR) - YouTube

(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZExCU2pgj2s)

Air Date: 3/12/1941 NBC radio.

Cast: Sidney Toler, Dinah Shore, Harry Von Zell.

NOTE: Chan sequence begins at 10:15.

Running Time: 25:39, OTRchive, May 30, 2021.

For additional information about this old-time radio program, please view the Eddie Cantor episode guide at "Old-Time Radio Site". Scroll down to #70575A Guest: Sidney Toler.

www.otrsite.com/logs/loge1005.htm

(http://www.otrsite.com/logs/loge1005.htm)

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On-Line Viewing of Charlie Chan Film here

TITLE: The Trap (1946 Monogram).

Charlie Chan | The Trap (1946) [Crime] [Mystery] - YouTube

(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ba54ksD7niA)

Running Time: 1:08:28 Inter-Pathe.

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OUR MONTHLY POLL: Please take a moment to cast your vote in our SEPTEMBER 2022 POLL, right here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/H3BZY6C

LAST MONTH’S POLL RESULT: To see our AUGUST 2022 Poll result as well as ALL of our polls going back to 2003, please use this link: http://www.charliechan.info/id93.html

NEXT WEEK (October 3): Please join us as we pause to celebrate the birthday of Warner Oland with a viewing of“The Black Camel.”

AND, AS ALWAYS… DON’T MISS THIS GREAT CHARLIE CHAN BLOG!: A great blog site, The Postman on Holiday, is 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: www.thepostmanonholiday.com

OUR 2022 CHARLIE CHAN FAMILY NEWSLETTER!

This year’s Charlie Chan Family Newsletter, chronicling the year 2021, is now available! Thank you so much, Lou, for your continued, masterfully hard work and dedication! It can be accessed at the following link:

https://thepostmanonholidayhome.files.wordpress.com/2021/12/2021-newsletter-lou-final.pdf

AND, FINALLY, REMEMBER: PLEASE JOIN US for this week’s feature, “The Trap.”

AS ALWAYS: THANK YOU SO MUCH…

Sincerely,

Rush Glick