[78-L] The Mystery of the Missing Mystery

[Sammy Jones]

A few years ago the First Generation Radio Archives released a special CD
containing the Adventures of Charlie Chan nos. 1,2,7,8.  They list the dates
as "September 1936 - Mutual."  I haven't had a chance to listen and see if
these are part of the Landini Case.

Also, I have an ET of episodes 13 and 14 of Charlie Chan.  The labels say "A
Raymond R. Morgan Production," and the shows were recorded by Recordings,
Inc., Hollywood.  Matrix nos. B 5851 and B 5859.  Does this sound like part
of the same series as your discs?  Does Recordings, Inc. have any relation
to RCA or perhaps Radio Recorders?

I'm playing my ET right now and the announcer does sound like Frank Nelson,
but I'm not sure it's actually him.  This episode has something to do with
Charlie Chan in disguise on a ship trying to recover a stolen diamond.

I just stuck the Radio Archives CD into the player and it sounds like it's
from the same series as my ET.  Same music and announcer.  Episode 1 begins
with a background of how Earl Derr Biggers created Charlie Chan.  Whoever's
playing Chan sounds a lot like Warner Oland (who played a great Chan in the
movies in the '30s).  Episode ends with Chan's discovery of the death of
Deacon Jessup.

Maybe there were two syndicated Chan series in the '30s...

Sammy Jones


dl wrote: 
> This is an odd one. May be a coincidence, but odd just the same. Many
> years ago
> I picked up a batch of transcriptions in rotten shape, a set of Charlie
> Chan
> programs recorded in Hollywood by RCA, missing the first 6 episodes but
> otherwise complete through #39. No sleeves, somewhat scuffed and
> scratched,
> covered with that oily gunk that exudes from Victrolac pressings from
> this era.
> I don't know if I even auditioned them at the time (probably the late
> 70s) but
> a few years later I donated them to an archive, along with several
> hundred
> other discs and tapes I thought I could do without. Recently I got some
> of this
> material back, including the Charlie Chans, and just this weekend I set
> to work
> cleaning them and transferring them (an adventure in itself, since it
> took 4
> cleanings and 2 playings to get everything out of the grooves). Not a
> bad
> series, although I have no idea who's performing on it since it's not
> in any of
> the OTR encyclopedias. I think I hear Frank Nelson (Mike or Elizabeth,
> any
> thoughts?).
> 
> I also wondered whether the missing parts or the complete series might
> be out
> there anywhere. Extensive googling kept coming up with links to a
> Charlie Chan
> series, missing the first 6 episodes. What the hell? Did someone
> transfer this
> set before I had it? Did someone transfer this set while it was in that
> archive
> (which is in Alberta)? If so, wouldn't you think they'd have cleaned
> the discs
> and put them in something other than folded white paper off a long
> roll, which
> is how they came to me?
> 
> Most inscrutable! No credits, the announcer is identified only (by
> Chan) as
> "Mr. Wilson", no titles but the series is something like The Madam
> Landini
> Murder Case. Recorded between August and December 1935.
> 
> dl
>