CHAT NUMBER: 1,212

FROM CHARLIE CHAN: “Trouble with modern children, they do not smart in right place.”

THIS WEEK: We begin the Monogram Pictures era of the Charlie Chan film series with “Charlie Chan in the Secret Service.” Yes, the budgets at monogram were a fraction of what a major studio such as Fox could allot, but with less money to work with certain, imaginative creative choices appeared. First of all, we meet more Chan siblings as the series progresses, including second daughter Iris Chan (Marianne Quon) and Number Three Son, Tommy (Benson Fong). PLUS, we meet Birmingham Brown for the first time, played by the great (and versatile) Mantan Moreland!

The Monograms are sort of like a lunch at Joe’s Coffee Shop versus a splurge at Casino de Monte Carlo; different menus and taste, but in the end, both are just as filling! May you enjoy the ample servings that will be coming your way!

OUR CHAT ROOM: Go to our “Chat Room” page, and, at the bottom of that page, click on the “Charlie Chan Family Chat Room ENTRANCE” link. You may then enter as a “Guest.”

OUR FEATURE PRESENTATION: “Charlie Chan in the Secret Service” (1944; 65 minutes)

FEATURE SUMMARY: A scientist, George Melton, is working on an important new invention that 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, and second daughter, Iris, as well as Birmingham Brown, the chauffeur of one of the guests. When the autopsy reveals that Melton was electrocuted, Chan must determine who among the numerous suspects is the guilty party.

FEATURE NOTES: 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.” The California State Building (1931-1975) in Los Angeles is the government building that was used for Charlie Chan’s office at the Secret Service. Early in the film, Sidney Toler as Charlie Chan walks through the lobby of the State Building and out to the street to his awaiting taxicab.

THIS WEEK’S EXTRA:

Secret Agent X-9 - Chapter 01 - Torpedo Rendezvous - 1945

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yfdjnn__2ss

Running time: 19:36

OUR MESSAGE BOARD: Please consider visiting our Message Board, and feel free to add a message to a post or begin a conversation…or state a thought! Our Message Board has been there for YOU since 2004! Take a trip back in time and take a look at what was happening with your Charlie Chan Family “way back when,” two decades ago!

AS ALWAYS, WE BEGIN OUR EVENING at 7:30 Eastern Time with a 45-minute block of time for arrivals and greetings, and the sharing of an extra…or two...or even three! (see above). Then, at precisely 8:15 ET, we begin running our feature film simultaneously starting our personal or online copies of this week’s feature!

AT OUR BULLETIN BOARD: THE CHARLIE CHAN FAMILY HOME 2022 NEWSLETTER is now available at our “Bulletin Board” at our Charlie Chan Family Home! Also, at our Bulletin Board you will find a lot more in the form of links to other Chan-related items of possible interest!

AND, please take a minute to cast your vote on our JULY POLL, also available on our Bulletin Board or our Home Page…or directly at this address: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/PBMPP5C

NEXT WEEK: We will be sharing “The Chinese Cat,” the second entry in the Monogram Pictures Charlie Chan film series. Also, we will continue sharing the 13-part serial, Chapter 2 of “Secret Agent X-9,” featuring Keye Luke with Benson Fong as the week’s “extra”!

Take care, and let’s join together again for another Chan-filled evening within the friendly confines of our Charlie Chan Family Chat Room at charliechan.org as we share “Charlie Chan in the Secret Service.”

Sincerely,

Rush Glick