FROM CHARLIE CHAN: “All forgotten, like last year's bird's nest.”

GREETINGS! Charlie Chan pays a visit to the circus with his multitudinous family, a visit that soon becomes VERY eventful!

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

We Begin our evening at 7:30 Eastern Time with a 45-minute time for arrivals and greetings. During this time, we also have the opportunity to engage in open dialogue or perhaps an impromptu sharing of a short video upon request! Then, at precisely 8:15, we begin our feature film simultaneously starting our personal or online copies of this week’s feature!

THIS WEEK’S PRESENTATION: “Charlie Chan at the Circus” (1936; 70 minutes). (Distributed: Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation, August 7, 1936;
Production: May 18 to mid-June 1936)

FEATURE INTRODUCTION: 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: 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.

CAST (as credited):

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

UNCREDITED CAST (alphabetical):

Sidney Bracey: Waiter
James Eagles: Chick Patton
Bob Ellsworth: Police Officer
Eddie Fetherston: Reporter #2
James Flavin: Detective
Sammy Finn: Gangster
Neil Fitzgerald
Paul Fix: Lefty
Sam Flint: Ship's Captain [Captain Blake]
Jack Green: "Blackton" Man
Bobby Hale: Race Track Patron
Ed Hart: Detective
Holmes Herbert: Melbourne Cup Chief Steward
Lew Hicks: Police Officer
Ray Hanson: Third Officer
Sam Hayes: Track Announcer
Robert E. Homans: Judge
Boothe Howard: Ship's Doctor [Dr. Johnson]
H. Bruce Humberstone: Gambler
Selmer Jackson: J.L. Lansing
Jerry Jerome: Chuck
Josephine the monkey: Lollipop
Colin Kenny: Judge
Al Kikume: Detective
Wilbur Mack: Gangster
George Magrill: Detective
Clyde McAtee: "Blackton" Man
Tom McGuire: Track Official
Ivan "Dusty" Miller: Captain Wade
Lucille Miller: Secretary
Bruce Mitchell: Gateman
Jack Mulhall: Second Purser
Billie Oakley: Seaman
Pat O'Malley: Track Official
Cyril Ring: Race Track Extra
Les Srechley: Seaman
Harry Strang: Detective
Larry Steers: Railbird
Bobby Tanzel: Gilroy
Forrest Taylor: Photo Booth Worker
David Thursby: Steward
Harlan Tucker: Gangster
Max Wagner: Joe
Robert Warwick: Honolulu Police Chief Inspector
Billy Wayne: Smithers
William Wayne: Seaman
Charles Williams: Reporter #1
Norman Willis: Gangster
David Worth: Detective

THIS WEEK’S IMAGE: Lee, posing as a laundry worker with his delivery truck, listens as his Pop gives him quick instructions just before the race.



IF YOU LACK A COPY OF OUR FEATURE: Often our features can be found online. CONTINUED GOOD NEWS! Our feature IS available through the link provided at our Chat Room.

OUR MONTHLY POLL: Please take a moment, before it closes, to cast your vote in our MARCH 2022 POLL, right here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/XZTQ3JG

OUR FEBRUARY POLL RESULT: To see our February Poll result as well as ALL of our polls going back to 2003, please use this link: http://www.charliechan.info/id93.html

NEXT WEEK (March 21): Please join us as we continue our Charlie Chan Film Tour 2022 with a shared viewing of “Charlie Chan at the Opera,” as we have “Warner Oland vs. Boris Karloff”!

AND, AS ALWAYS… DON’T MISS THIS GREAT CHARLIE CHAN BLOG!: A great blog site, The Postman on Holiday, is 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." Updated each month, it can be found at this address: www.thepostmanonholiday.com

OUR 2022 CHARLIE CHAN FAMILY NEWSLETTER!

This year’s Charlie Chan Family Newsletter, chronicling the year 2021, is now available! Thank you so much, Lou, for your continued, masterfully hard work and dedication! It can be accessed at the following link:

https://thepostmanonholidayhome.files.wordpress.com/2021/12/2021-newsletter-lou-final.pdf

AND, FINALLY, REMEMBER: PLEASE JOIN US for this week’s feature “Charlie Chan at the Race Track.”

AS ALWAYS: THANK YOU SO MUCH…

Sincerely,

Rush Glick