Our Melbourne Cup Night, Monday: "Charlie Chan at the Race Track"
"When player cannot see man who deal cards, much wiser to stay out of game.” – Charlie Chan
This week, we celebrate the annual running of the famous Melbourne Cup horse race in Sidney, Australia, as we have done for more than a decade; the same race that is shown in our film for this week! All participants will be issued a horse or horses from the actual race and later that night, after our Monday Evening Chat, the race is run. The lucky person holding the "winning ticket" will win a 1936 silver half-dollar coin, just like the one (could it be the ACTUAL one???) Charlie Chan used to place his bet on Avalanche in our movie.
So, please join us in our Chat Room which is located at our Charlie Chan Family Home: www.charliechan.info, and use any of the “Chat Room” links to join us. We begin with arrivals and greetings at 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time, and we roll our personal copies of our film exactly 15 minutes later (8:15).
Even if you cannot access a copy of the above-noted film, please do join us anyway, as you will NOT be left out of our ongoing chat and festivities. Also, as is our custom, newcomers are offered the seat of honor at our humble table. Many of our films, such as this week’s entry, may be found available for viewing through such outlets as YouTube, etc. HAPPY NEWS…this week’s film, “Charlie Chan at the Race Track,” IS available at YouTube at this address: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IpWXYDgojMo
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.For more information, please check our Charlie Chan Family Home site at: http://www.charliechan.info/id30.html
NEXT WEEK: (November 10) we will be sharing “Mr. Wong in Chinatown,” starring Boris Karloff as detective James Lee Wong in the film that provided the basis for the Charlie Chan movie, “The Chinese Cat.” As we watch this picture, we can compare it to the Chan version.
PLEASE NOTE: “THE RETURN OF CHARLIE CHAN” ON DVD: If you are interested in purchasing a clear, clean copy of “The Return of Charlie Chan” (Universal – 1971) a made-for-TV movie starring Ross Martin as Charlie Chan (which will be our final film stop on this year’s Chan Film Tour), I can recommend a version which you will find available at: http://www.ioffer.com/i/the-return-of-charlie-chan-ross-martin-dvd-504052734. It lists for $12.00 which includes postage/handling. However, you may make a lower offer! “The Return of Charlie Chan” is this year’s final film in our journey through Chandom!
As always, have a pleasant Monday, and let’s all get together for an evening of fun at the race track as we watch, while we place our wagers, “Charlie Chan at the Race Track.”
