Our Monday Evening Chat/Film Viewing: "Charlie Chan at the Race Track"
FROM CHARLIE CHAN: “Hasty conclusion like toy balloon - easy blow up, easy pop.”
As our year-long Charlie Chan Film Tour 2017 moves along through March (“Time ‘Marches’ on…!” [Sorry! I Could not resist!]), our film for this week, will be “Charlie Chan at the Race Track.” Join us as Charlie Chan and Number One Son, Lee follow the very meandering and treacherous path leading to the center of a nefarious international gambling ring!
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 21) radio program (Circa 1936; Runtime: 14:35)
2. “Charlie Chan at the Race Track” (1936; Runtime: 70 minutes)
FEATURE SUMMARY: Following the suspicious disqualification of his horse, Avalanche, in the Melbourne Cup, Major Kent, a friend of Charlie Chan, returning to the United States with the thoroughbred via steamship, is found kicked to death in the horse's stall. Chan investigates when the liner stops off in Honolulu. He discovers evidence of foul play, and when the detective uncovers fraud involving another race in Los Angeles, he, along with Number One Son, Lee, seeks to expose an international gambling ring as well as the murderer.
FILM NOTES: The Roxy Theatre in New York billed this film as “At The Race Track with Charlie Chan.” ‘Variety’ reviewed the movie as “Chan at the Race Track.” According to ‘Motion Picture Herald’ and ‘Liberty’, some scenes in the film were shot at Santa Anita Racetrack in Arcadia, California, and the film contained footage of "some of the most spectacular events of the recent racing season." ‘Motion Picture Herald’ also notes that the film "has a semi-topical significance in as much as a great antipodean horse, Pharlap, brought to this country a few years ago [from Australia], died under circumstances that have never been fully explained." ‘Liberty’ notes that Technical Director Monroe Liebergold had been a jockey for the well-known horse breeder H. P. Whitney. Although ‘Hollywood Reporter’ production charts list Neil Fitzgerald and John Mooney as additional actors, and only Neil Fitzgerald's participation in the final film has been confirmed.
Horses are, by their nature, not loners. It has long been a common practice for thoroughbred racehorses to be paired with a horse known as a companion pony which provides both a source of friendship and support. However, as we see in the case in “Charlie Chan at the Race Track” of Streamline’s pet monkey, Lollipop, these companion animals are not limited to horses. Other animals, such as dogs, goats, sheep, and, yes, monkeys, have been known to provide companionship to racehorses. In her article “What is a Companion Pony?” Jill Pellettieri notes that the famous horse Seabiscuit had a number of different companion animals and a horse named Pumpkin enjoyed the company of a dog named Pocatell and a spider monkey named Jo-Jo.
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 Race Track.”
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 at the Race Track,” is available online at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=my-D6Qg3YQY. Our “extra” can be found at: https://www.oldtimeradiodownloads.com/crime/charlie-chan/charlie-chan-21-landini
NEXT WEEK: “Charlie Chan at the Opera” starring Warner Oland.
PLEASE accept this humbly offered invitation join us as we enjoy “Charlie Chan at the Race Track”!
