Our Monday Evening Chat/Film Viewing for 3/12: "Charlie Chan at the Circus"
FROM CHARLIE CHAN: "Man who seek trouble never find it far off."
THIS WEEK, We follow Charlie Chan, along with Number One Son, Lee, as well as the entire Chan family as they take what they think to be a short break from their trip to the Grand Canyon. Pausing, very probably at Flagstaff, Arizona, to enjoy an evening at a small traveling circus, Chan and son are suddenly swept up into a case of murder under the big top!
Preceding our Charlie Chan feature, our weekly “extra,” will be another chapter, episode 20) of the 1936 radio dramatization of “The Landini Murder Case,” an adaptation, of Earl Derr Biggers’ “Keeper of the Keys,” the only Biggers Chan Story never to have been made into a film, starring Walter Connolly.
OUR PRESENTATIONS: “Charlie Chan at the Circus” (1936; 72 minutes) …AND “The Landini Murder Case,” Episode 20 (Radio Drama: 1936; 15 minutes).
FILM 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 special short “extra” which will be followed at exactly 8:15 when we roll our feature for this Monday evening, “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 FILM: Often our features can be found available online. Once again, good fortune smiles as our feature IS available online at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=89MMEVNWBxg
And, for our Charlie Chan radio drama, you may use this link: https://www.oldtimeradiodownloads.com/crime/charlie-chan/charlie-chan-20-landini
OUR MONTHLY POLL: Please take a moment to cast your vote in our March 2018 Poll, located at our Entrance Page (http://www.charliechan.info/index.html)!
NEXT WEEK: Join us on March 19 as we view and share our thoughts as we face danger and intrigue with Mr. Chan and Number One Son, Lee, in “Charlie Chan at the Race Track.”
PLEASE JOIN US this week as, joining with the entire Chan family, we share “Charlie Chan at the Circus”! As always, NEWCOMERS are seated as our Guests of Honor...
