I entered my first Ebay auction a couple of weeks ago. I lost. I gave in. It was me and one other person but the price got higher than I was willing to pay. So what's this all about? Charlie Chan, that's what! I've being drifting more and more into the the 1930's. I've been reading about Walter Winchell, Jack Dempsey, and Will Rogers. I've been buying Fred Astaire & Ginger Rogers movies, Marx Brother movies, Mr. Moto movies, and now I can't get it out of my head, Charlie Chan. I can't even find those old movies at the library. If you don't know what I'm talking about, then you've got something wonderful to look forward to. Number one son and all those great philosophical sayings from the great Honolulu chief of detectives, Charlie Chan. I even once owned a book, "The Sayings of Charlie Chan." That's how much I love him. Here's the only saying I remember. "It takes a lot of rain to drown a duck." Exqusite and true.
Anyway, the bidding was tight. We both knew what we were after, a set of 13 Charlie Chan movies including a tasty treat, a dvd of W.C. Fields movies. Wow! The pricing started at $10.00 and went up to $30.00 as time got tight. Four others dropped out of the early bidding and at $30.00 I pulled out too. I love Charlie Chan but I wanted to steal it. This is Ebay after all. Why does this matter? Well if you go to some of your local big box book sellers, new packages of Charlie Chan movies sell in sets of 4 or 5 movies for $50-$60 PER SET. That's a lot of won ton.
So I gave in but I didn't give up. I kept searching Ebay and Bango! I hit the jackpot. I found 42 Charlie Chan movies, the "Platinum Set", for $59.95 including shipping. I haven't ordered it yet. They seem to have a lot of them. It's got to include the Warner Oland movies and the Sidney Toler ones, plus other actors I'm sure. And Keye Luke. I can't wait to hear Keye Luke saying, "Hiya Pops." again. Nobody screwed things up more than Charlie's number one son, Keye Luke.
These movies are from the 1930's and 1940's. I was a kid when I watched them on TV. Fabulous mysteries and best of all, the fabulous Charlie Chan, wise, intelligent, and tough with steel nerves in a crisis. It's a grim sight facing down Charlie Chan holding a revolver in his hand. Inscrutable and steady. That's Charlie Chan. A fair family man ready to take on the toughest crooks. Sometimes I forget how old I'm getting and all the water that's run under this bridge. Charle Chan is fading UNLESS!!!...unless you heed the call to FIND CHARLIE CHAN! Jump the next time you have a chance to see a Charlie Chan movie. And you'll see. You'll love him too. Charlie...I love ya.
