Monday Might (3/19): "Charlie Chan at the Race Track"
FROM CHARLIE CHAN: “Rabbit run very fast, but sometime turtle win race.”
THIS WEEK, A murder of the owner of a prominent racehorse brings Charlie Chan on a case that involves a ruthless international gambling ring! Can Chan and Son live to see the murderer exposed and the gang’s plans thwarted?
Preceding our Charlie Chan feature, our weekly “extra,” will be another chapter, episode 21) 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 Race Track” (1936; 70 minutes) …AND “The Landini Murder Case,” Episode 21 (Radio Drama: 1936; 15 minutes).
FILM 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 special short “extra” which will be followed at exactly 8:15 when we roll our feature for this Monday evening, “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 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=dn4cSRKLlu4&t=424s
And, for our Charlie Chan radio drama, you may use this link: https://www.oldtimeradiodownloads.com/crime/charlie-chan/charlie-chan-21-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 26 as we view and share our thoughts as it’s “Warner Oland vs. Boris Karloff” in “Charlie Chan at the Opera.”
PLEASE JOIN US this week as we share “Charlie Chan at the Race Track”!
