FROM CHARLIE CHAN: “Curiosity responsible for cat needing nine lives.”
As our year-long Charlie Chan Film Tour 2017 moves along, our film for this week, will be “Charlie Chan at the Circus,” featuring the entire Chan family on their tour of the wonders of the mainland! However, as the Chan’s enjoy a night at the circus, murder brings Charlie Chan, and son, Lee, on to the trail of the killer!
As is our custom, we begin arriving at 7:30 Eastern Time, we will be sharing, before our featured presentation, an “extra” in the form of a vintage Charlie Chan continuing radio drama! Following our “extra,” we will collectively run our feature at 8:15!
OUR PRESENTATIONS:
1. “The Landini Murder Case” (part 20) radio program (Circa 1936; Runtime: 14:33)
2. “Charlie Chan at the Circus” (1936; Runtime: 72 minutes)
FEATURE SUMMARY: Charlie Chan takes his wife and twelve children, who are sightseeing on the mainland, to a circus owned by kindly John Gaines and his unscrupulous partner, Joe Kinney. Kinney, who had sent Chan free passes to bring him to the circus, tells the detective that he has been receiving threatening letters. Kinney, a man so widely disliked by his co-workers and employees, is murdered, and virtually any one might have killed him. Convinced to assist the investigation by circus performer Lady Tiny, Chan and Number One Son, Lee, travel with the circus seeking to unmask the killer.
FILM NOTES: According to ‘Hollywood Reporter’ news items and production charts, June Lang and John Dilson were to be in the cast, but their participation in the final film has not been confirmed. According to another ‘Hollywood Reporter’ news item, the film was shot "on location at the Al G. Barnes winter quarters," and a ‘Motion Picture Herald’ pre-release article states that "the Barnes Circus [was] used as a background for production settings." In a mid-1980s interview, Keye Luke mentioned that the winter home of the circus used in the film was in the eastern Los Angeles community of El Monte.
TIME: We begin with arrivals and greetings at 7:30 EASTERN TIME. Then, we share our “extra,” which will be followed at exactly 8:15 (EST) when we share our featured presentation “Charlie Chan at the Circus.”
LOCATION: Our Charlie Chan Family Chat Room, which is accessed at http://www.charliechan.info/id17.html.
IF YOU LACK A COPY OF OUR FEATURE: Often our features can be found available online. GOOD NEWS! Our feature for this week, “Charlie Chan’s Secret,” is available online at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=89MMEVNWBxg. Our “extra” can be found at: https://www.oldtimeradiodownloads.com/crime/charlie-chan/charlie-chan-20-landini
NEXT WEEK: “Charlie Chan at the Race Track” starring Warner Oland.
PLEASE join us as we enjoy “Charlie Chan at the Circus”!
