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OUR CCF MONDAY EVENING CHAT AND FILM VIEWING FOR March 16: “Charlie Chan at the Race Track”

FROM CHARLIE CHAN: “Suspicion often father of truth.”

GREETINGS! It’s time to join “Charlie Chan at the Race Track” again! Following the Melbourne Cup horse race in Australia, Charlie Chan’s old friend, major Kent, dies very mysteriously aboard ship on his way to Honolulu. This brings Chan and son, Lee into a very dangerous case of race-fixing and murder!

OUR CHAT ROOM: Our Chat Room can be accessed the same way that we accessed by going to our “Chat Room” link at charliechan.info, or use this direct link: http://www.charliechan.info/id17.html

THIS WEEK’S PRESENTATIONS: “Charlie Chan at the Race Track” (1936; 70 minutes) along with our “extra,” the 11th episode of “The Green Hornet“: “Disaster Rides the Rails” (19 minutes).

“Charlie Chan at the Race Track” CAST:

Warner Oland: Charlie Chan
Keye Luke: Lee Chan
Helen Wood: Alice Fenton
Thomas Beck: Bruce Rogers
Alan Dinehart: George Chester
Gavin Muir: Bagley
Gloria Roy: Catherine Chester
Jonathan Hale: Warren Fenton
G.P. Huntley, Jr.: Denny Barton
George Irving: Major [Gordon] Kent
Frank Coghlan, Jr.: Eddie Brill
Frankie Darro: "Tip" Collins
John Rogers: Mooney
John H. Allen: "Streamline" Jones
Harry Jans: Al Meers
Robert Warwick: Honolulu Police Chief Inspector (not credited)
Billy Wayne: Smithers (not credited)
Sam Flint: Ship's Captain [Captain Blake] (not credited)
Selmer Jackson: J.L. Lansing (not credited)
Ivan "Dusty" Miller: Captain Wade (not credited)
Ed Hart: Detective (not credited)
George Magrill: Detective (not credited)
David Worth: Detective (not credited)
James Flavin: Detective (not credited)
Harry Strang: Detective (not credited)
Al Kikume: Detective (not credited)
Boothe Howard: Ship's Doctor [Dr. Johnson] (not credited)
Sidney Bracey: Waiter (not credited)
Jack Mulhall: Second Purser (not credited)
William Wayne: Seaman (not credited)
Les Srechley: Seaman (not credited)
Billie Oakley: Seaman (not credited)
Charles Williams: Reporter #1 (not credited)
Eddie Fetherston: Reporter #2 (not credited)
Max Wagner: Joe (not credited)
Jerry Jerome: Chuck (not credited)
Harlan Tucker: Gangster (not credited)
Sammy Finn: Gangster (not credited)
Wilbur Mack: Gangster (not credited)
Norman Willis: Gangster (not credited)
Paul Fix: Lefty (not credited)
Holmes Herbert: Melbourne Cup Chief Steward (not credited)
Colin Kenny: Judge (not credited)
Robert E. Homans: Judge (not credited)
H. Bruce Humberstone: Gambler (not credited)
Lew Hicks: Policeman (not credited)
Bob Ellsworth: Policeman (not credited)
Lucille Miller: Secretary (not credited)
James Eagles: Chick Patton (not credited)
Bobby Tanzel: Gilroy (not credited)
Bruce Mitchell: Gateman (not credited)
Clyde McAtee: "Blackton" man (not credited)
Jack Green: "Blackton" man (not credited)
Pat O'Malley: Track Official (not credited)
Tom McGuire: Track Official (not credited)
David Thursby: Steward (not credited)
Forrest Taylor: Photo Booth Worker (not credited)
Ray Hanson: Third Officer (not credited)
Sam Hayes: Track Announcer (not credited)
Cyril Ring: Race Track Extra (not credited)
Larry Steers: Railbird (not credited)
Bobby Hale: Race Track Patron (not credited)
Neil Fitzgerald (not credited)
Josephine the monkey: Lollipop (not credited)
John Mooney (?) (not credited)

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.

FEATURE 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.

TRIVIA (a portion of a circa 1985 interview of Keye Luke):

KEYE LUKE: But, somewhere along the line, he managed to absorb a little, you see? So that, I remember when we were making Charlie Chan at the Race Track. He had to lean on the rail and watch these horses go by, see? So, he'd see them coming in, so he'd follow like this (Turning his head), you see? Well, of course, he was a little unsteady, so he'd slide along that thing - like that. (Acting unsteady) So finally, Lucky Humberstone the director says, "Well, I know how to fix it. Come on down here everybody!" you know? So the crowd that was in the stands, you know, got - came down - and he said, "Now, crowd around him and prop him up." (Chuckling)
INTERVIEWER: Ohhh...!

KEYE LUKE: See? Crowd around and prop up. So, all right, Poppa was pinched in there, you see? So, now, the thing to do was to get him to look at the horse when it was coming, and he wouldn't turn, sort of like that (Looking to his left). So he said, "So, what shall I do now?" So he says, "Oh, I know what!" So got a starter's pistol, and he went down there a little ways, you see (Chuckling), and at a [zoom point], with the horses, he'd fire this -

INTERVIEWER: Bang!
KEYE LUKE: - and Pop would go (Looking to his left, laughing) and he'd follow the horses by! God, it was funny! Oh, we just died! Everybody just died! (Laughing)

TERM OF THE WEEK:
palooka - A clumsy, easily defeated athlete, usually a prize-fighter.

Lewis: "What's the idea puttin' an unknown palooka in Avalanche's place?"

TIME: We begin with greetings at 7:30 EASTERN TIME. Then, we share our “extra” presentation, the 10th chapter (“Bullets and Ballots”) of the movie serial “The Green Hornet,“ which will be followed at exactly 8:15 when we roll our feature film for our 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 online. Fortunately, OUR FEATURE IS AVAILABLE ONLINE, so please use the link provided at our Chat Room.

OUR MONTHLY POLL: Please take a moment to cast your vote in our MARCH 2020 POLL, found as you scroll down our Entrance Page (http://www.charliechan.info/index.html)! This month’s question relates to “Charlie Chan‘s off-year.” Please be sure to cast YOUR vote!

OUR FEBRUARY POLL RESULT:

How are you like Charlie Chan at times?

I say "Thank you so much." 10%

I use occasional aphoristic statements. 10%

I use Chan-like courtesy at times 30%

From time to time, I do all of the above. 50%

DO YOU HAVE A POLL QUESTION? Please feel free to suggest a Monthly Poll question! Send your ideas to: charliechanfamily@lyahoo.com.

OUR CCF CHAT ARCHIVE: Please take a look at our growing collection of CCF Chat Texts from previous years and this year: http://www.charliechan.info/id630.html

NEXT WEEK: Please join us on Monday, March 16, for a shared viewing of “Charlie Chan at the Opera”!

AND… DON’T MISS THIS GREAT CHARLIE CHAN BLOG!: Continuing strongly in 2020, great blog site, The Postman on Holiday, offered by our own Charlie Chan and Earl derr Biggers expert, Lou Armagno which is: "A place to explore all things surrounding Detective Charlie Chan, his creator Earl Derr Biggers, and their connection with Hawaii, Cleveland, and mystery fiction." It can be found at this address: https://thepostmanonholiday.com/

THE CHARLIE CHAN FAMILY NEWSLETTER FOR THE YEAR 2019 IS NOW AVAILABLE! HonoluLou has edited and produced this year's recap of the past year, 2019, for all things Charlie Chan. This tour de force issue can be accessed at: https://thepostmanonholidayhome.files.wordpress.com/2019/12/2019-newsletter-master1-dec-28.pdf ENJOY!

SO, PLEASE JOIN US for this week’s Monday Evening Chat and Film Viewing as we share “Charlie Chan at the Race Track.”

THANK YOU SO MUCH…

Sincerely,
Rush Glick