Charlie Chan Collection, Vol. 2 (Charlie Chan at the Circus / Charlie Chan at the Olympics / Charlie Chan at the Opera / Charlie Chan at the Race Track)

Charlie Chan Collection, Vol. 2 (Charlie Chan at the Circus / Charlie Chan at the Olympics / Charlie Chan at the Opera / Charlie Chan at the Race Track) Review

Charlie Chan's long reign at the box office really began in 1931, two years after Fox bought the rights and cast Swedish born Warner Oland in the role. Adaptations of Earl Derr Biggers' fine mysteries had proved disappointing on the silent screen, but Oland's casting and Fox's production values, coupled with sound, scored big with audiences. This set contains some of the very best of Oland's films as our favorite sleuth from Hawaii. Keye Luke was a fixture by this point and has a lot to do in these entries.


CHARLIE CHAN AT THE RACE TRACK

Charlie Chan at the Racetrack is one of the most exciting in this great series based on Earl Derr Biggers' Honolulu based sleuth. Warner Oland seemed to enjoy the lightning pace set by director H. Bruce Humberstone in this entry, as he and Keye Luke are obviously having a good time. Charlie actually slugs a guy in this one, vowing to apologise after same awakes from sleep! And Lee sets off a truck filled with fireworks while Charlie rectifies a wrong.

Charlie is revealing how to read blood spatter to other members of law enforcement when son Lee (Keye Luke) bursts in with a hot tip regarding a horse running in The Melbourne Cup in Australia. Even Charlie places a bet because he knows the owner. A jockey paid to throw the race lightens Lee's pockets, however, and soon leads to murder. Charlie hops onboard a Matson oceanliner and heads for the next race with a ship full of suspects and Lee, who has finagled a job onboard. Moving at a nice clip, a lot happens on the way to Santa Juanita, and even more once they arrive.

Charlie takes one in the leg onboard, and has Lee thrown in the brig to protect his foolish son! Keye Luke has a lot to do in this one, however, and the screenplay by Robert Ellis, Helen Logan, and Edward T. Lowe keeps us guessing till the end. Switched horses, a monkey, and a stylish 1930's look fashion this entry into a real winner. A nice little romance between Alice (Helen Wood) and Bruce (Thomas Beck) augment a tight and fast moving Charlie Chan fun for classic movie fans. Chan fans will be delighted with this one.


CHARLIE CHAN AT THE OLYMPICS

Charlie Chan attends the Berlin Olympics and keeps a device allowing planes to fly unmanned out of the hands of spies in this fun entry. Robert Ellis and Helen Logan teamed up again to adapt Paul Burger's story for H. Bruce Humberstone with stellar results. Keye Luke was a fixture at this juncture opposite Warner Oland as Earl Derr Biggers' famous sleuth. In this entry we are introduced to Lee's younger sibling, Chan Jr. (Layne Tom Jr.), who has unfortunately for Charlie, picked up many bad habits from his big brother!

When a plane equipped with a new device for automated operation is stolen, Charlie and his boy discover it abandoned on the beach while on a fishing trip. The new device is missing and the pilot disposed of in the ocean. Soon it becomes apparent that many people were after it including a girl named Yvonne (Katherine DeMille) wearing a white fur. She's Chan Jr's. favorite suspect, but before long Charlie sheds the tiny detective with big ideas to catch up with the steamship, Manhattan, bound for Berlin. That's where the suspects are, including the girl in white fur.

Lee is onboard as part of the swimming team, helping his friend Betty in the romance department but finding time to help with the mystery too. Getting the device back is only part of the story, as Lee is then nabbed and offered to Charlie in a swap. A worried Charlie may prove even more dangerous to the criminals, however, as he sifts through clues and sets a dangerous trap. Coded messages, a lip reader, and the famous Olympics all play a part in making this a fine entry in the series. The sets are nicely done in this one, from Honolulu to Berlin, giving it an enjoyable atmosphere.

You can't miss Lee winning the gold, or Charlie's backup plan to aid him! Great fun for Charlie Chan fans.


CHARLIE CHAN AT THE CIRCUS

Charlie takes his wife and always increasing brood to the circus for one of the most fun entries in the Charlie Chan franchise. A bit more amusement and humor has slipped in to the screen version of Earl Derr Biggers' famous sleuth at this point, with Warner Oland retaining the elegance of Chan while loosening up a bit, showing amusement in dealing with his most enthusiastic supporter, son Lee Chan (Keye Luke). We get to see all Charlie's offspring in this one, as well as his often mentioned wife, portrayed by Annie Mar.

Charlie rarely had a setting this fun, and director Harry Lachman takes full advantage of it, creating a fun atmosphere in which our favorite detective from Hawaii can solve the good mystery concocted by screenwriters Robert Ellis and Helen Logan. Charlie brings the wife and kids to the Kinney and Gaines Circus with free tickets. Soon, one of the disliked partners is found dead, murdered by an ape someone had intentionally let loose. Son Lee keeps busy chasing pretty contortionist Su Toy (Shia Jung) while helping Pop and studying methods of the police. George and Olive Brasno are nice as the circus couple who convince Charlie to stick around with the circus till the next town and investigate.

Things heat up when Nellie Farrell (Drue Layton) makes claim to half the circus by virtue of being the murdered man's wife. Marie Norman (Maxine Reiner), who loved him, isn't convinced, nor is her sweet sister Louise, whose boyfriend is one of the many suspects. Marie's knowledge leads to near tragedy and Chan sets a trap for the killer before anyone else can be harmed. An old news clipping regarding a shooting in El Paso, Texas, will prove the key to solving the case, but not before the ape is on the loose again, and Su catches Lee in drag, with little George disguised as his baby!

Fun, mystery, romance, and Charlie's many children make this entry one of the best. Real circus performers blend seamlessly with a seasoned cast, and this one will become a favorite once you see it.


CHARLIE CHAN AT THE OPERA


Charlie Chan vs. Boris Karloff is how this one is billed in the opening credits, but it is actually a tight little mystery with an opera setting that most Chan fans consider one of the best in the franchise. H. Bruce Humberstone returned as director while Scott Darling and Charles S. Belden adapted Fox's followup to Charlie Chan at the Race Track from a Bess Meredyth story. Thomas Beck made his final appearance in a Chan film here, having had parts in three of the Warner Oland films at Fox. He would be among the cast in two Mr. Moto entries as well. Those who remember William Demarest from My Three Sons on television will have a good time watching him here as a none too bright copper who can't keep up with the sharp mind of our most honorable Chinese detective from Hawaii.

A dark and rainy night at Rockland Sanitarium finds Boris Karloff playing the piano as he has every night for the past seven years. He has been unable to remember his name or past and is believed mad. Upon seeing a newspaper with a picture of Lilli Rochelle (Margaret Irving) this stormy night, however, he remembers being Gravelle, a great opera singer who supposedly burned up in a fire. He also remembers it was no accident, and the manhunt begins. Charlie is asked to assist in the hunt by the police, and son Lee (Keye Luke) forgets his romantic plans to help pop. As usual, Lee's help provides some humor, but also some clues. Lee dresses as a knight with his college pals and prowls the dark passageways beneath the opera house for clues at one point.

Gravelle wants revenge and soon the two leads are murdered, while the manhunt continues. Chan discovers marital jealousy present at the opera also, however, which points to other possible motives, and suspects other than Gravelle. Kitty (Charlotte Henry) and Phil (Thomas Beck) are a nice young couple seeking to meet with Rochelle on opening night and she proves to have a connection with the madman. Karloff is quite good here, never seeming over the top. A good cast and fun setting for Oland and Luke make this one a topflight entry in the Charlie Chan series.


This is a marvelous boxed set for Charlie Chan fans, and perhaps my favorite set overall from the Oland era. A marvelous blend of mystery and humor, and likable lead characters made for a pleasant time at the movies back then, and it still does today. This one comes highly recommended!

Charlie Chan Collection, Vol. 2 (Charlie Chan at the Circus / Charlie Chan at the Olympics / Charlie Chan at the Opera / Charlie Chan at the Race Track) Overview

Disc 1: CHARLIE CHAN AT THE OPERA Full Screen Feature (Black & White) Charlie Chan's Lucky Director: H. Bruce Humberstone Restoration Comparison Trailer

Disc 2: CHARLIE CHAN AT THE OLYMPICS Full Screen Feature (Black & White) Layne Tom,Jr: The Adventures of Charlie Chan, Jr. Restoration Comparison Trailer

Disc 3: CHARLIE CHAN AT THE RACE TRACK Full Screen Feature (Black & White) Number One Son: The Life of Keye Luke Restoration Comparison Trailer

Disc 4: CHARLIE CHAN AT THE CIRCUS Full Screen Feature (Black & White) Charlie Chan At The Movies Restoration Comparison Trailer

Charlie Chan Collection, Vol. 2 (Charlie Chan at the Circus / Charlie Chan at the Olympics / Charlie Chan at the Opera / Charlie Chan at the Race Track) Specifications

"Size of package does not indicate quality within," Honolulu's finest, Charlie Chan sagely observes in Charlie Chan at the Circus, and while this boxed set contains only four films, it does this venerable franchise justice, with some of Chan's most arresting cinematic outings. All four films star Swedish-born Warner Oland, who is to Charlie Chan what Sean Connery is to James Bond. The high note of this set is Charlie Chan at the Opera, in which the curtain comes down on two opera singers during a performance. Boris Karloff (whose frightening presence accounts for a very funny reference to Frankenstein) costars as an amnesiac who escapes from a sanitarium to haunt the theatre like some phantom of the... well, you know. William Demarest steals his scenes as a cop in dire need of sensitivity training. He refers to Chan as "Chop Suey" and "Egg Fu Young," and when No. 1 son (Keye Luke) gives his dad a note, he asks if it's a laundry ticket. In Charlie Chan at the Circus, a Chan family excursion (with all 12 children!) to the Big Top is interrupted when the nasty circus owner is murdered.

Charlie Chan at the Olympics is another gold-medal outing that finds Chan embroiled in international espionage when an experimental automatic pilot device is stolen. His investigation leads him to the Berlin Olympics (via the Hindenburg), where his son is on the track team. Newsreel footage of the games integrated into the film features Jesse Owens running the 400-meter relay. Less of a sure bet but still an efficient mystery is Charlie Chan at the Race Track. Each restored film looks great, and each is enhanced with featurettes that illuminate interesting aspects of the series. One profiles prolific Chan director H. Bruce "Lucky" Humberstone (who, we learn, fortified his star with drink), and another Keye Luke. "Charlie Chan at the Movies" examines these films' places in the Chan canon. There are certainly enough 1930s cultural and racial stereotypes (John Allen as stableboy "Streamline" Jones in Race Track) here to keep the PC police working overtime, but for Charlie Chan buffs and B-movie fans, this is an essential collection that is, to quote Chan, a "chip off ancient block." --Donald Liebenson

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