First, the Arrow pointed only East. Then, as they ventured further it pointed both East and West, eleven more times. Who dare follow this dark foretoken into the future, or into the past! What is the secret to activate it’s wisdom? It has revealed much to those who’ve traveled it’s path and promises great moments for those who seek it’s wisdom into the future.
Nope. It’s not a new book or movie. It’s actually a feature–unknown to many–on Rush Glick’s Charlie Chan Family Home, Calendar link. Ah yes, so what is The Secret of The Black Arrow? It’s at the bottom of each page of the month you are in.
For many years each January, I’d visit the Calendar. And at the bottom of the page I’d point my curser atop the words Charlie Chan Family Home with the arrow above it. However, clicking on it (much to my disappointment) took me right back to the site’s Home Page (sigh.) However, once upon a time my curser happened to land above those words, and atop the black arrow. You see it looks like one figure, but there are actually two links there! Low and behold, clicking The Black Arrow took me to the next month! And from then on there were two arrows; one pointing to the future, one pointing to the past (OK, forward and backward…just trying to add a little drama here.) And from there I could navigate to all twelve months of the year. And now so can you! (well, you always could if you weren’t as naive as me.)
So what will you find should you dare travel the path of The Black Arrow? Rush Glick has entered many significant dates relevant to Detective Charlie Chan, the movies, and primary actors. However, the true Secret of The Black Arrow is here you’ll discover the annual schedule for each Charlie Chan film viewing Monday nights in the Chat Room. Here are just a few entries The Black Arrow reveals for 2025:
January 20: WEEKLY CHAT/FILM VIEWING: The Black Camel starring Warner Oland in the oldest existing picture from the Charlie Chan film series proper. Please join us as we discuss this film LIVE, watching it together via personal video…or online, if available!
March 22: Ross Martin, who would portray Charlie Chan in The Return of Charlie Chan (also known as Happiness is a Warm Clue), a made-for-television movie, is born in Grodek, Poland, on this day in 1920.
April 3: Earl Derr Biggers, the creator of Charlie Chan, dies of a heart attack in Pasadena, California, on this day in 1933.
June 2: WEEKLY CHAT/FILM VIEWING: Charlie Chan’s Murder Cruise starring Sidney Toler. Please join us as we discuss this film LIVE, watching it together via personal video…or online, if available!
July 2: Detective Chang Apana, an inspiration for Earl Derr Biggers’ Charlie Chan, retires from the Honolulu Police Department after more than three decades of service, 16 years as a detective, on this day in 1932.
August 19: A special Invitational Performance of Charlie Chan at the Opera at the Metropolitan Opera Festival in Newport, Rhode Island, was held on this day in 1967.
September 8: WEEKLY CHAT/FILM VIEWING: Dark Alibi starring Sidney Toler. Please join us as we celebrate the birthday of Mantan Moreland and discuss this film LIVE, watching it together via personal video…or online, if available!
October 18: A stage version of Keeper of the Keys, by Earl Derr Biggers, opens on Broadway at the Fulton Theatre. Featuring William Harrigan as Inspector Charlie Chan, the three-act play runs for 23 performances on this day in 1933.
December 16: Twentieth Century-Fox previews Charlie Chan in Honolulu, starring Sidney Toler in the title role, at Grauman’s Chinese Theatre in Hollywood, California, on this day in 1938.
So, now you too carry with you The Secret of The Black Arrow! Use it wisely and refer to it often. Do not betray its secret or…or; well I’m not sure, but just don’t do that!
“Men stumble over pebbles, never over mountains”
Behind That Curtain, 1928, Chap 5
The Postman on Holiday 