The Charlie Chan Family Weekly Message
charliechan.org
CHAT NUMBER: 1,246

FROM CHARLIE CHAN: "Confucius say, 'No man poor who have worthy son.'"

THIS WEEK: Please join us as we share “Charlie Chan at the Race Track.”

OUR CHAT ROOM: Go to our “Chat Room” page, and, at the bottom of that page, click on the “Charlie Chan Family Chat Room ENTRANCE” link. You may then enter as a “Guest,” choosing the name you wish to use.

OUR FEATURE PRESENTATION: “Charlie Chan at the Race Track” (1936; 70 minutes) Happily, this film IS available online for those who lack a personal copy:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2AzubYpACpA&t=17s

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 Park 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, only Neil Fitzgerald’s participation in the final film has been confirmed. The running of the “Santa Juanita Handicap,” featured in “Charlie Chan at the Race Track,” was probably inspired by the Santa Margarita Handicap, an American Thoroughbred horse race, inaugurated in 1935, and run annually in early April at Santa Anita Park.

Horses are, by 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 portrayed 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.

THIS WEEK’S EXTRAS:

EXTRA #1: History of Santa Anita Derby

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AOlE42Ie10U

Running time: 7:00

EXTRA #2: Santa Anita Handicap (1936)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WCtmQOBuX_4

Running time: 1:27

EXTRA #3: 1938 Santa Anita Park Opening Day

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nFTUhlCapAE

Running time: 3:08

OUR MESSAGE BOARD: Please consider visiting our Message Board. Feel free to add a message to a post or begin a conversation…or state a thought! Our Message Board has been there for YOU since 2004!

AS ALWAYS, WE BEGIN OUR EVENING at 7:30 Eastern Time with a 45-minute block of time for arrivals and greetings, and the sharing of an extra…or two...or even three! (please see above). Then, at precisely 8:15 ET, we begin running our feature film simultaneously starting our personal or online copies of this week’s feature!

AT OUR BULLETIN BOARD: THE CHARLIE CHAN FAMILY HOME 2023 NEWSLETTER is available for your enjoyment at our “Bulletin Board” and “Study” (under the “Charlie Chan” category) at our Charlie Chan Family Home!

OUR MARCH POLL is available on our Bulletin Board or directly at: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/7DLMVM6

NEXT WEEK: “Charlie Chan at the Opera”: “Warner Oland vs. Boris Karloff”!

SO… Please join us as we share “Charlie Chan at the Race Track.”

Sincerely,
Rush Glick