Actors Cast Spells in Black Magic

We are starting off the month of October with a seance or two . . . oh, you might encounter a skeleton or three . . . and assorted spirits (and not all of them come out of bottles, either!)

Now, for our list of suspects . . . er, actors!

Sidney toiler: Charlie Chan

Frances Chan: Frances Chan

Joseph Crehan: Police Sergeant Matthews

Helen Beverly (as Helen Beverley): Norma Duncan

Jacqueline de Whit: Justine Bonner

Geraldine Wall: Harriet Green

Ralph Peter: Officer Rafferty

Frank Jaquet: Paul Hamlin

Edward Erle: Dawson, Police Lab

Claudia Dell: Vera Starkey

Harry Depp: Charles Edwards

Charles Jordon: Tom Starke

Dick Gordon: William Bonner

Black Magic Bloopers!

One blooper in Black Magic (aka Meeting at Midnight) that may just be plain laziness on Sidney Toler's part occurs in the basement.

He is supposed to be manipulating a skeleton back and forth on a wire. His hand doesn't match what he's trying to do: Toler grasps the wire and moves his hand back and forth instead of pulling it forward, releasing the wire to grasp in a different place to continue pulling it forward.

The murderer is quite talented in this movie. When he has lured Justine onto an office roof downtown, he calls her to come forward so she'll walk up to the edge of the roof and then off (a la suicide). One problem is he has to be calling her from the roof across the street if she has to come toward the edge of the roof to reach him. If he has to call loud enough for her to hear him across the street, why didn't anyone down on the street hear the murderer?

The last one is from Robert S.:
...when Charlie is in the police department explaining how he is psychic, and the handkerchief dances above his head, take a close look behind him and you can see the lever going that the prop man is using to make the handkerchief jump. That's as bad a blooper as the scrim in the original Dracula!

The Answers for Bonus Questions for Treasure Island

Did you figure out the answers!

Charlie Chan in Paris, Charlie Chan at Treasure Island and Charlie Chan's Murder Cruise all had two or more characters sharing a costume--One person spending time in it to give the other person an alibi and visa virsa!

Did you guess that one of the characters in CC at Treasure Island would be part of the answer to the other bonus questio?!

Charlie Chan at Treasure Island and Murder Over New York had Trevor Bardette (Dr. Zodiac's Hindu Servant) as Hindus!

Bardette would go on to make such classics as Dick Tracey Vs. Cueball (1946)
and The Monolith Monsters (1957)!

A Brother Blog Site

The Cyber Space Chan Blog has announced a new feature for the month of October.

Every Thursday will feature a new Haunted House for your enjoyment with a new special host and equally special guests!

It sounds like a ghoulishly delicious time! Who knows what ghastly ghost may appear out of the fog . . . .

You do have your vampire complete and with you, don't you?

Don't you . . .? Oh, dear . . . . Well, better borrow mine. It may just come in handy.

Wha . . . did you hear . . .no, it probably wasn't any thin

AAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHH!


http://cyberspacechan.blogspot.com/

Rush's Halloween Movies!!

It's time to get in the mood for Halloween, folks!!

Get out your pumpkins and witches' brooms and spider webs for Rush's selections for the always haunting month of Halloween time!!

Bbbbwwwwwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahh!

October 4: Black Magic/Meeting at Midnight

October 11: Charlie Chan's Secret

October 18: Dead Men Tell (They do to Charlie!)

October 25: Charlie Chan at the Wax Museum (What more could you ask for? Spooky rain . . . oddball characters . . . hidden rooms . . . working electric chairs . . . bodies all over the place!)

So light the fire, pop the corn, pour the soda, turn off the lights and hope that you're only hearing tree limbs scrapping the house outside!

Boo!

Something Different . . . !

Next month is . . . October . . . Halloween . . . and time for ghosties and ghoulies and long-leggity beasties!!

So this is a request . . . for anyone who has a good spook story you'd like to share or the time watching that spooky Chan movie sent you under the covers!

So start thinking and share with us during the month of Halloween . . . using our old comment section underneath each movie entry!

Virginia

Let's Party Hardy at Treasure Island with Mrs. Chan!

Charlie Chan at Treasure Island has a party scene where The Great Rhadini showcases the psychic featured in his show, Eve Cairo.

An ongoing gag is between Rhadini and his snack-knoshing assistant, Fred, "Well, you invite me, you gotta invite my tapeworm!"

So Mrs. Chan is posting a recipe for Chocolate Bourbon Pecan Pie. To be more accurate, a recipe for four such pies! Which is why Mrs. Chan is posting it now so you could have it handy for the coming holiday season when one such recipe might be able to save you time and trouble!!

Mrs. Chan is giving credit to her # 1 daughter for giving her this recipe. (Your humble host is # 2. . . . I try harder!)

So here it is:

CHOCOLATE BOURBON PECAN PIE
(Makes Four Pies)

Use 4 (2 pie package) frozen pie crusts
Regular 9" - not deep dish

8 ounces semisweet chocolate (melted, then cooled)
2 cups pecan halves (I use a bit more)
6 large eggs, beaten lightly
2 sticks unsalted butter (melted, then cooled)
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 1/2 cups light Karo Syrup
2 tablespoons (or a bit more) bourbon
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 teaspoon salt

Scatter pecans over bottom of pie shells.
In a bowl, cream butter and both sugars.
Beat in eggs, corn syrup, chocolate, bourbon, vanilla and salt.
Pour into pie shells.
Bake in lower third of oven preheated to 375 degrees F. for about 40 minutes, but check after 20 minutes to see if you need to switch racks if the bottom crusts aren't browning as much as the top ones.
(You can cover the crust edges with foil if they get too brown before the pies are done.)
Also, they are easy to over cook.
When done, the filling will still be "jiggly" in the middle.

Two-Timing Treasures

Actors who have appeared in more than one Charlie Chan movie:

BARDETTE, Trevor
Abdul, the Turkish Servant in Charlie Chan in Treasure Island
Hindu Businessman in Murder Over New York

DUMBRILLE, Douglas
Thomas Gregory in Charlie Chan at Treasure Island
Mr. Manderley in Castle in the Desert

FOWLEY, Douglas
John Burke in Charlie Chan on Broadway
Peter Lewis in Charlie Chan at Treasure Island
Grock in Docks of New Orleans

LINAKER, Kay
Joan Karnoff in Charlie Chan in Monte Carlo
Mrs. Wayne Russell in Charlie Chan in Reno
"Seance Spirit" in Charlie Chan at Treasure Island
Linda Pendleton in Charlie Chan's Murder Cruise
Barbara Cardozo in Charlie Chan in Rio

MacBRIDE, Donald
Deputy Chief of Police J.J. Kilvaine in Charlie Chan at Treasure Island
Inspector Vance in Murder Over New York

MOORE, Pauline
Betty Adams in Charlie Chan at the Olympics
Mary Whitman in Charlie Chan in Reno
Eve Cairo in Charlie Chan in Treasure Island

A Treasure of Charactor Actors!

This week's cast of suspects for Charlie Chan at Treasure Island isn't the longest but has some of the best!


Sidney Toler: Charlie Chan

Victor Sen Yung: Jimmy Chan

Cesar Romero: Fred Rhadini

Douglas Fowley: Peter Lewis

Pauline Moore: Eve Cairo

Donald MacBride: Deputy Police Chief J.J. Kilvaine

Wally Vernon: Elmer Kelner

Douglas Dumbrille: Stewart Salsbury, alias Thomas Gregory

Sally Blane: Stella Essex

Charles Halton: Uncle Redley

Billie Seward: Mrs. Bessie Sibley

June Gale: Myra Rhadini

Trevor Bardette: Abdul, the Turkish Servant

Louis Jean Heydt: Paul Essex

Fred Kelsey: Lead Detective, with bushy eyebrows in cab and at theatre (not credited)

John Elliot: Doctor, backstage (not credited)

Gerald Mohr: Doctor Zodiac (not credited)

Kay Linker: Seance Apparition (not credited)

An Extra Treat for Treasure Island

This is an introduction from Nick Clooney at American Movie Classics that I saved from February 5, 2002 that you might like to read before watching this week's movie, Charlie Chan at Treasure Island:


Nick Clooney's Introduction:

This is fun.

This is a Charlie Chan film.

I love 'em. I love 'em.

I suppose one of the first things that I'd better clear up for those of you who are not from the Bay area of San Francisco.

I'd better explain why this is called Charlie Chan at Treasure Island when it doesn't involve pirates, buried treasure, or remote desert islands anywhere.

Treaure Island is in San Francisco Bay.

It's where the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge goes right past there.

It's part of San Francisco's version of the 1939 World's Fair.

Now I know that the 1939 World's Fair took place in New York City but there was also what was known as the Century of Progress that some year out on the west coast and that was called the World's Fair as well.

And this will be explained when we get into the movie.

Our star is Sidney Toler and Mr. Toler was actually from Missouri and had been rather typecast as Irish Cops before switching nationalities to take over the role of Charlie Chan from Warner Oland who had died at the age of 57 just a short time before.

Second lead went to Cesar Romero who enjoyed learning all the tricks he did as Rhadini, the illlusionist.

Also cast~~this is interesting~~is Sally Blane is in this movie.

She is Loretta Young's older sister and the wife of Treasure Island director, Norman Foster, and plays the widow of the murder victim, you see.

Charlie Chan's # 2 son~~he was Victor Sen Yung~~

He had been employed as a house boy by concert pianist Carmen de Obario before he was cast in his first Chan Picture.

He invited his former employer to all of his sneak previews of all his Chan pictures thereafter.

The pianist loved them.

One actress was certainly left breathless by her part in this picture.

Excuse me a second while I pull this up to illustrate what I'm talking about.

Kay Kinaker [sic] was wrapped up in something that was really new then, brand new.

It was plastic wrap.

She was wrapped in that to achieve the ghostly ectoplasmic appearance that you'll see.

But, you know, we really didn't know much about it then~~not really enough~~and the cast and crew went off to lunch and no one remembered to help her out of the plastic wrap.

And you know what happened there.

She nearly suffocated.

They finally, of course, and fortunately, took care of it.

This Charlie Chan mystery you're about to see is considered to be one of the best.

And see what you think.

Sidney Toler in Charlie Chan at Treasure Island.



Nick Clooney's Epilogue:

Okay, let me just throw something out here for your consideration.

Is this a case of life imitating art or what?

Cesar Romero's character was the Amazing Rhadini, you saw that.

A magician who helped expose the phony Dr. Zodiac.

Okay, fast forward now: the 1980's another magician called the Amazing Randi stepped out of his magician's guise to uncover phony psychic phenomena.

Remember? James Randi, former magician who became a crusader against fraudulent spiritualists, who has written several books uncovering how some psychics, how some faith healers bilked naive believers out of millions of dollars.

I'm sure many of you remember Randi's famous appeaance on the "Tonight" show in which he revealed video tape evidence of a supposed faith healer's hearing aid and which was really a small receiver through which his wife transmitted the information he was supposedly receiving from the great beyond?

Now is it coincidence that Randi's name was foreshadowed in a movie made 50 years before?

Or was some unexplained force at work?

Or do I have an earpiece here with my wife talking to me right now:

Meat loaf dinner.

Yep!

Two Bonus Quiz Questions for Charlie Chan at Treasure Island

This week's Bonus Quiz Questions are:

What do Charlie Chan in Paris, Charlie Chan at Treasure Island, and Charlie Chan's Murder Cruise have in common?

What do Treasure Island and Murder Over New York have in common?

Now set those movies to watch and . . . GO!

An Island of Blooper Treasures

We have something of a treasure trove of bloopers this week!

For starters, just who really is Dr. Zodiac? Okay, this may seem to be a bonus question but it's a blooper the way they cast it! They want you to think that the Turk (Trevor Bardette) is Dr. Zodiac but . . . . Does he really have the time to change into that get-up after letting Charlie, Pete Lewis, and Rhadini in? And does that really sound like the Turk's voice, even in disguise?

Watch for when Charlie walks up to the Zodiac house by himself. A black cat crosses his path!

The taxi driver who deposits Charlie, Lewis and Rhadini at Dr. Zodiac's drives off without his fare!

When our fearless threesome have broken into Zodiac's house, they find his blackmailing vault where he keeps file drawers of information on various people. Charlie starts a fire with the contents of only a few files out of a few drawers. The others are kept closed when Chan closes the vault door. Question: wouldn't that limit the potential for fire damage to the files, not to mention the house?!

There is a major blooper between when Eve Cairo is levitated and when Jimmy Chan is: Rhadini shows there is nothing under the table before he levitates Eve. The trick is shown up when Jimmy gets on the table. Rhadini shows the space under the table and there is clearly a dummy of Miss Cairo on the under side of the table that comes up as Jimmy's side goes underneath, sending him through a trap door to the basement.

Jimmy goes onto the stage to make an announcement for Charlie. The jacket he puts on has one shoulder exaggerated to accommodate all of Rhadini's tricks stored inside.

Bonus Answer for The Scarlet Clue

What The Scarlet Clue has in common with Charlie Chan in Monte Carlo is . . . Waffles/Waffels!

The infamous breakfast that Charlie tries to order for himself has its match in Marsh's Mellow Mix for waffles, the product put out by the overbearing sponsor of the radio and experimental tv shows, Mrs. Marsh.

Bonus Question for The Scarlet Clue

We have one bonus question this week!

The one should be easy . . . What does The Scarlet Clue have in common with Charlie Chan in Monte Carlo?

The Scarlet Clue's Blooper

This is the only blooper that I have listed.

(Shame on me, especially since I seem to remember that Rush Glick clued me onto it. Thinking about all the stuff that I owe Rush reminds me of a T-Shirt that read: "God put me on Earth to do certain things. [On the back:] But I'm so far behind that I'll never die!)

When Charlie, Jimmy and Birmingham are in the Hamilton Laboratory, Birmingham is over on the left in the middle of electrical gadgets. All of a sudden they start sparking, arcing around him. He starts calling to Mr. Chan.

Look closely at his mouth and the audio won't match the picture!

Marsh's Mellow Waffle Mix

Okay, so this isn't Marsh's Mellow Waffle Mix from The Scarlet Clue!

But this is as close as Mrs. Chan can get!!


Bisquick's Best . . . Waffles

Makes 12 4-inch Waffles

2 cups Original Bisquick
1 1/3 cups milk
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 egg
[1 heaping teaspoon sugar*]

(1) HEAT waffle iron; grease if necessary. (Consider spraying with vegetable oil.)

(2) STIR all ingredients until blended. (You could either use a bowl with a spout--the easier method--or use a cup to transfer the batter from bowl to the waffle iron.)
POUR batter for waffle onto center of hot waffle iron.
Repeat with remaining batter.

(3) BAKE about 5 minutes or until steaming stops.
Carefully remove waffle

To reheat: Heat waffles in toaster until crisp.


*This is Mrs. Chan's suggestion. Mrs. Chan comes from a long line of cooks who tend to put sugar in anything that they can get away with! Suffice it to say that it's optional!--VLJ

The Scarlet Clue Word Power

Here are our entries for the Chan Dictionary from The Scarlet Clue:

BATTLE-AX (OR BATTLE-AX) (slang): a woman held to be antagonistic or overbearing.
(Willie Rand: "Oh-oh, the 'battle-ax.'")

GOLD DIGGER (informal): A woman who seeks money and expensive gifts from men.
(Captain Flynn: "She used to be a 'gold digger.'")

MUG (informal): (1) The human face; the area of the human mouth, chin, and jaw;
(2) A thug, a hoodlum.

MUG SHOT: A photograph of a person's face, especially one made for police files.

RADAR: (1) A method of detecting distant objects and determining their position, velocity or other characteristics by analysis at very high frequency radio waves reflected from their surface.
(2) The equipment used in such detection.

TELETYPE: Trademark name of a device that can send typed messages over telephone lines to a receiving device.

Have You Seen These "Suspects?!"

Here we are again, with the ever growing list of character actors who have been in two or more Charlie Chan movies. . . . To be perfectly honest, I tried matching faces to names without looking at The Scarlet Clue and couldn't!

See if you can do it--Good Luck!

ROGER T. HOMANS:
Chief of Police in The Black Camel
Judge in Charlie Chan at the Race Track
Captain Flynn in The Scarlet Clue

J. STANFORD JOLLEY:
(Unconfirmed in Charlie Chan in The Secret Service)
(As Stan Jolley:) Gannet in Charlie Chan in The Chinese Cat
Ralph Brett in The Scarlet Clue

CHARLES JORDAN:
Tom Starkey in Charlie Chan in Black Magic/Meeting at Midnight
Nelson in The Scarlet Clue
Jenkins in Shadows Over Chinatown
Stage Manager in The Sky Dragon

FRANK MAYO:
Detective Hodge in The Scarlet Clue
Police Lieutenant in Shadows Over Chinatown

JACK NORTON:
Hotel Desk Clerk in Charlie Chan in The Chinese Cat
Willie Rand in The Scarlet Clue
Cosgrove in Shadows Over Chinatown*

JANET SHAW:
Gloria Bayne in The Scarlet Clue
Miss Petrie in Dark Alibi

EMMETT VOGAN:
Smitty, Wire-photo Technician in Charlie Chan at the Opera
Ship's Officer in Charlie Charlie Chan at Olympics
Hotel Manager in Charlie Chan's Murder Cruise
Prosecuting Attorney in Charlie Chan in the Wax Museum
Mr. Hamilton in The Scarlet Clue
Henri Castanara in Docks of New Orleans
Doctor in The Sky Dragon


*This Chan movie was also known as The Mandarin's Secret.

Whodunit in The Scarlet Clue

Can you guess who did it in The Scarlet Clue?

Sidney Toler: Charlie Chan
Mantan Moreland: Birmingham Brown
Virginia Brissac: Mrs. Marsh
Ben Carter: Ben Carter
Benson Fong: Tommy Chan
Robert Homans
(as Robert E. Homans): Captain Flynn
Jack Norton: Willie Rand
Janet Shaw: Gloria Bayne
Helen Devell: Diane Hall (as Helen Devereax)
Victoria Faust: Hulda Swenson
Kernan Crips: Detective (uncredited)
J. Stanford Jolley: Ralph Brett
Charles Jordan: Nelson (uncredited)
Miton Kibbee: Herbert Sinclair
Reid Kilpatrick: William Chester (uncredited)
Frank Mayo: Detective Hodge (uncredited)
Leonard Mudie: Horace Karlos (uncredited)
Tom Quinn: Chemist (uncredited)
Charles Sherlock: Sgt. McGraw (uncredited)
Emmett Vogan: Mr. Hamilton (uncredited)
Charles Waggenheim: Raucsh (uncredited)
Crane Whitley: Cooper (uncredited)

A Mixed Honolulu Bag

Tonight we have one blooper and one bonus question.

I hope to end up with more after viewing the movie with everyone on Monday night!!

The blooper is courtesy of Rush Glick--if I goof it up, Rush, email me and I'll correct it promptly! . . .

Detective Hannigan (Richard Lane) has a gun on him at the end that Charlie missed. (This is besides the fact that it was a mistake to begin with trying to outwit Charlie!

The bonus question is what do Honolulu and Dark Alibi have in common?

So enjoy the movie!

The Bonus Question for Honolulu Revealed!

Charlie and Jimmy out wit suspects in Honolulu and Dark Alibi (George Zucco in the first one and Milton Parsons in the other) by tossing coins onto the floor near them to check if they were really deaf!

Mealtime with the Chan Family in Honolulu

Charlie Chan in Honolulu starts out with the family in the dining room with the table laden with food.

Mrs. Chan* would like to pass along a long-cherished family recipe! As a matter of fact, her # 2 Daughter (me!) and #'s 2, 3, and 4 Sons all started making this recipe while still teenagers!

This is the simplified recipe so enjoy!

Popovers

2 eggs
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup cold milk
1 cup Gold Medal Wonder flour

Heat oven to 450 degrees F.
In a medium bowl, beat eggs with flour until slightly blended.
Add the salt and milk.
Stir with fork for a few seconds until smooth.
Grease custard cups (or muffin cups) and put on baking sheet in oven briefly. Remove from oven and quickly fill greased custard cups 1/2 full (or greased muffin cups 3/4 full).
Bake at 450 degrees F. 25 minutes, then 350 degrees for 15 - 20 minutes, or until golden brown.
You can remove them five minutes before being done to pierce each one with a knife for dryer popovers and return to to the oven.
Remove from cups immediately and serve hot.


Mrs. Chan is also known as my mother, Becky Truesdale!

Repeats, Three-petes and Four-petes--Lotus-eaters in Honolulu!

Lotus-eaters are people who found themselves out in places like the Hawaiian Islands and ended up so addicted to the intoxicating life, beautiful scenery and gracious people that they never left.

Well, some actors kept coming back to the Chan movies, in the same way!

Among the guilty parties are:

BROOKS, Phyllis:
Judy Hayes in Charlie Chan in Honolulu
Vivian Welles in Charlie Chan in Reno

COLLINS, Eddie
Al Hogan in Charlie Chan in Honolulu
The Chatty Cabbie in Charlie Chan in Reno

FLAVIN, James
Detective in Headquarters in Charlie Chan at the Race Track
Policeman in Charlie Chan on Broadway
Desk Officer in Honolulu
H.R. Jarvis in The Shanghai Cobra

KIKUME, Al
Plainclothes Policeman in White Suit in Charlie Chan at the Race Track
Uniformed Policeman at microphone/desk in Police Station in Charlie Chan at the Olympics
Police Officer Molookai in Charlie Chan in Honolulu
Police Officer in Charlie Chan in Reno

LOFT, Arthur,
Peabody in Charlie Chan in Honolulu
Inspector Jones in Charlie Chan in the Secret Service

Layne, Tom, Jr.
Charlie Chan, Jr., in Charlie Chan at the Olympics
Willie Chan in Charlie Chan in Honolulu
Willie Chan in Charlie Chan's Murder Cruise

WONG, Iris
Choy Wong in Charlie Chan in Reno
Lili Wong in Charlie Chan in Rio
Number 2 Daughter in Charlie Chan in Honolulu

You Can't Tell the Players without a Program!

Charlie Chan in Honolulu with Sidney Toler is one of the more delightful Chan movies, with Oscar the Lion and Eddie Collins as his companion just for starters!

So here are the jewels that go to making up another Chan masterpiece!

Sidney Toler: Charlie Chan
Victor Sen Yung: Jimmy Chan
Phyllis Brookes: Judy Hayes
John "Dusty" King: George Randolph
Robert Barrat: Captain Johnson
Eddie Collins: Al Hogan
George Zucco: Dr. Corrigan
Claire Dodd: Elsie Hillman, alias Carol Wayne
Marc Lawrence: Johnnie McCoy
Layne Tom, Jr.: Willie Chan
Philip Ahn: Wing Foo
Paul Harvey: [Chief] Inspector Rawlins
Arthur Loft: Peabody
Grace Key: Mrs. Chan (not credited)
Florence Ling: Ling [Number 1 Chan Daughter]
Iris Wong: Number Two Chan Daughter
Barabara Jean Wong: Number Three Chan Daughter
Faye Lee: Number Four Chan Daughter
Margie Lee: Number Five Chan Daughter
Sinclair Yip: Number Three Chan Son
David Dong: Number Four Son
Frank Dong: Number Five Son
Richard Alexander: Tough Crewman Chomping Cigar as Jimmy Questions
(not credited)
James Flavin: Homicide Division Desk Officer (not credited)
Al Kikume: Police Officer Molokai (not credited)

I'd like to thank Rush Glick (for the umptheenth time) for my accessing his notes on Charlie Chan in Honolulu at http://charliechanfamily.tripod.com/id36.html as well as www.imdb.com.

Yikes!

My computer is giving me fits today. I've gone from not being able to post the answers to the Black Camel Bonus Question -- The Answers to having TWO sets of it to managing to delete both!

So here I go again--and if you don't see a post for at least 24 hours, you'll know why!--

The actress playing Charlie's # 1 daughter at the family table in Black Camel is Ivy Ling. She has the uncredited part of Lee's romantic interest (albeit on the phone!) in Shanghai!

She's listed as "Bo Ling" in the credits to Calling Philo Vance (with James Stephenson as Vance) in the remake of William Powell as Vance in The Kennel Murder Case. Her part of the maid was originally played by James Lee as Liang, the butler.

As to what the following movies have in common: Black Camel, Monte Carlo, Honolulu, Shadows Over Chinatown, and Shanghai Chest? They all have meals, from the family meal with Ivy Ling as # 1 Daughter to Tommy chowing down Chop Suey in Shadows Over Chinatown!

Aloha 'Oe

Many of us have copies of The Black Camel with 'Aloha 'Oe' at the end. I thought we might like to see the lyrics and came across this website. Enjoy!

Aloha 'Oe

.

words and music by Queen Lili'uokalani

.

Ha'aheo ka ua i na pali

Proudly swept the rain by the cliffs

Ke nihi a'ela i ka nahele

As it glided through the trees

E hahai (uhai) ana paha i ka liko

Still following ever the bud

Pua 'ahihi lehua o uka

The 'ahihi lehua of the vale

.

Hui:

Chorus:

Aloha 'oi, aloha 'oi

Farewell to you, Farewell to you

I ke onaona noho i ka lip

The charming one who dwells in the shaded bowers

One fond embrace,

One fond embrace,

A ho'i a'e au

'Ere I depart

Until we meet again

Until We meet again

.

'O ka hali'a aloha i hiki mai

Sweet memories come back to me

Ke hone a'e nei i

Bringing fresh remembrances

Ku'u manawa

Of the past

'O'oe no ka'u ipo aloha

Dearest one, yes, you are mine own

A loko e hana nei

From you, true love shal never depart

.

Maopopp ku'u 'ike i ka nani

I have seen and watched your loveliness

Na pua rose o Maunawili

The sweet rose of Maunawili

I laila hia na manu

And 'tis there the birds of love dwell

Miki'ala i ka nani o ka lipo

And sip the honey from your lips

.

Source: Jonathan Wong - This song of farewll between two lovers is the most famous of the Queen's compositions, written in 1878. The tune of the verse resembles "The Rock Beside the Sea", composed by Charles Crozat Converse and published in Philadelphia, 1857. The melody of the chorus is remakably close to the chorus of George Frederick Root's composition, "There's Music In The Air", published in 1854. There is a manuscript of "Ahoha Oe" in Queen Lii'uokalani's handwriting in the Bishop Museum. Lahilahi Webb and Virginia Cominis Koch tell of a visit b the queen and her attendants to Maunawili Ranch, the home of Edwin oyd n windward Oahu. As they started their return trip to Honolulu on horseback up the steep Pali trail, the queen turned to admire the view of Kaneohe Bay. She witnessed a particularlly affectionate fairwell between Coloel James Boyd of her party and a lovely young girl from Maunawili. As they rode up the steep cliff and into the swirling winds, she started to hum this melody weaving words into a romantic song. At the top of the pali, a cloudhung over the mounntain peak and slowly floated down Nu'uanu Valley. The queen continued to hum and completed her song as they rode the winding trail down the valley back to Honolulu. Tanslated by Lili'uolalani.

.

http://www.huapla.org/Aloha/Aloha_Oe.html

The Chan Family and Food

Our dictionary entries this week represent both the good and the bad points of The Black Camel.

On the one hand, we have the word, "Jap," an offensive slang term referring to persons of Japanese birth or descent. It is certainly a word that has come into considerable disrepute in the 70+ years since The Black Camel came out.

At the other end of the spectrum are Charlie's kids teasing him at table with cries of "Applesauce" and "Baloney" (both meaning nonsense) to Pop "spilling the beans" and telling them about the case!

We certainly have a charming picture of family life to carry through our Labor Day Holiday, don't we!

Mrs. Chan's Table in the Black Camel

For Labor Day, Mrs. Chan* has included a recipe from Helen Corbitt (the former master chef of Neiman-Marcus fame who had a multitude of her cookbooks published over the years plus giving master classes that included Mrs. Chan* herself!).

You can fix it ahead as is and/or adapt it to your tastes and/or needs, as Mrs. Chan would herself!

Good Eating and Happy Labor Day with your family!


Chicken Salad Supreme

2 1/2 cups cold chicken, cooked and diced
(save some thin slices for garnishing)
1 cup celery, chopped finely
1 cup white grapes, halved
1/2 cup slivered almonds, toasted
2 tablespoons minced parsley
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup heavy cream, whipped
(stuffed and/or ripe olives for garnishing)

Combine and serve in lettuce cups with thin
slices of chicken on top, garnished with stuffed
olives, sliced thin, or chopped ripe olives.

Mrs. Chan is also known as Becky Truesdale,
my honorable # 1 mother!

What DID They Have in Mind in Black Camel?!

We have something of a blooper bumper crop in The Black Camel!!

See if you can spot these bloopers!

Shelah Fane's early scene on the beach with the surfer . . . they shift places depending on the camera position.

Keep an eye on both her hair color and that of Julie O'Neill (her secretary).

When Julie O'Neill pulls up behind him, Alan Janes is sitting in his car near Fane's tent. If he's waiting for her, why does she leave the tent and go AWAY from his car. If he's not waiting for her , why is he there?

Next thing we know, Shelah and Alan are in his car going down the road. Did someone miss a scene, cut it or is this just another blooper?!

When Fane gets out at the Royal Hawaiian Hotel to meet Tarneverro she tells Jayne to come early that night for her party. He promises to come "hours early." Is this another appointment that they got messed up and he was stuck with the other party guests?

When Tarneverro is paged during his visit with the MacMasters, they refer to him as "Jimmy." If his name is "Arthur" (as we find out later in the movie), why do they call him "Jimmy?"

Tarneverro tells Charlie that he is not in Honolulu for professional reasons, to tell fortunes. Later in Chan's car he confesses that Shelah did come to him for "advice."

When Chan questions the MacMasters again, he talks like they had seen just that morning. Possibly such a scene was filmed but not used?

If Alan Jaynes really loved Shelah Fane, why did he keep trying to get out of town instead of staying and trying to find her killer? (Courtesy of Mrs. Chan, aka Becky Truesdale)

The biggest blooper? Arguably, why didn't everyone who knew Denny Mayo realize who Tarneverro was?!?!

Returning to the Scene of The Black Camel

There are two-timers and then there are two-timers!

We have three of the classic character actors in The Black Camel:

HOMANS, Robert:
Chief of Police in The Black Camel
Judge in Charlie Chan at the Race Track
Capt. Flynn in The Scarlet Clue

KIMMELL, Murray:
Smith in The Black CAMEL
Martin Thorne in Charlie Chan's Courage
Capt. Sexton (alias Phillips, the Butler in Charlie Chn in Loedon]
Henri Latouche in Charlie Chan in Paris

WHITE, Marjorie:
Sadie in Charlie Chan Carries On
Rita Ballou in The Black Camel

And then we have Hamilton MacFadden, who's in a class all by himself!

HAL ERIKSON (All Movie Guide): "American actor/director Hamilton Macdden attended Harvard Law School before entering the world of the theatre. At first, MacFadden decided that stage directing was his meat, and remained in this line of work until brought to Hollywood by Fox Studios in 1929. For the first few years of the '30's, it seemed as though every major Fox production was helmed by either MacFadden or his fellow contractee Daid Butler. It was Mac Fadden who launched the studio's Charlie Chan series with Charlie Chan Carries On and The Black Camel (both 1931); and it was he who was put in charge of Fox's "prestige" Depression-busting musical of 1934, Stand Up and Cheer, which wa an artistic fiasco save for the presence of Shirley Temple in her first important roll. Given the banality of much of MacFadden's work, one suspects he was kept on payroll at the behest of Fox exeutive Winfield Sheehan, who was famous for honoring friendships and favors at the expense of cinematic quality. Whatever the case, Hamilton MacFadden was eased out of Fox when the studio merged with Darryl F. Zanuck's 20th Centuary Productions in 1935. By the end of the '30's, Hamilton MacFadden had returned to acting in supporting and minor roles: ironically, he was cast as a suspect in Charlie Chan in Rio (1941), a remake of MacFadden's own Black Camel.

=====================================================

[After Hamilton MacFadden's film career was over in 1945, what did MacFadden do with the rest of his life? Did he remain married to wife Violet Dunn {Anna in The Black Camel}?]
"This is a very good very question. I had read somewhere that he went back East to direct stage productions. Yet a check of the IDBD shows his Broadway directing career only goes up to 1928 and nothing thereafter It's interesting to note that he directed 3 of the first 4 Oland Chans: another interesting item is that he directed the first week's shooting of Paris before being replaced for some reason. Remember also that for Black Camel the studio trusted him enough to let him go off to Hawaii with a 40 member cast and crew for a location shoot for that movie, so he must have been impressive.

"His work on the Chans received good reviews from critics so it's intriguing to speculate on his career. I get the impression that he was a somewhat eccentric character. "

Steve Rhodes; CCMB; Monday; May 12, 2003


From the Internet Movie Database.com:

McFadden career as director lasted over 28 movies from 1931 to 1945 and included
1931 - Charlie Chen Carries On
1931 - The Black Camel (Director/First Job as Actor)
1933 - Charlie Chang's Greatest Case
1935 - Charlie Chen in Paris (First week's uncreated shooting only)

His acting career also lasted 28 years from 1930 to 1942 and covered Charlie Chen in Reno (1938) and Charlie Chen in Rio (1941).

A Black Camel Quiz with a Twist!

Charlie has a meal with his family in The Black Camel. . . . Can you name the actress who plays # 1 Daughter and what other Chan movie she was in?

She was also in another series entry, in the Philo Vance series. Can you name the movie and the role?!

While we're at it. . . a bonus question: What do Black Camel, Monte Carlo, Honolulu and Shanghai Chest have in common?!

The Black Camel Cast--A Story in Itself!

You could have fun just thinking about who played who in The Black Camel!

Bela Lugosi and Dwight Frye had just appeared in Dracula as His "Vampirship(!)" and as the unfortunate Renfield. Frye had ironically played Fritz to The Monster, played by another Chan alumni, Boris Karloff, from Behind That Curtain.

Robert Young (Jimmy Bradshaw) and Sally Eilers (Julie O'Neill) would go on to appear together again in Remember Last Night?

Let's just settle for the moment to aqcuaint oursleves with who is who in The Black Camel:

Warner Oland: Charlie Chan
Bela Lugosi: Tarneverro
Robert Young: Jimmy Bradshaw
Victor Varconi: Robert Fyfe
J.M. Kerrigan: Thomas MacMaster
Marjorie White: Rita Ballou
Mary Gordon: Mrs. MacMaster
C. Henry Gordon: Van Horn
Robert Homans: Chief of Police
Dwight Frye: Jessop
Sally Eilers: Julie O'Niell
Violet Dunn: Ann
Dorothy Revier: Shelah Fane
Richard Tucker: Wilkie Ballou
Murray Kinnell: Smith
Otto Yamaoka: Kashimo
Rita Rozelle: Luana
Wlliam Post Jr.: Alan Jaynes
Louise Mackintosh: Housekeeper (uncredited)
Hamilton Macfadden: Movie Director [Val Martino] (undredited)
Melvin Paoa: Hawaiian Beach boy (uncedited)
Ivy Ling(!): # 1 Daughter
unknown: Miss Dixon