Charlie Chan at the circus

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Movie
German title Charlie Chan at the circus
Original title Charlie Chan at the Circus
Country of production United States
original language English
Publishing year 1936
length 72 minutes
Rod
Director Harry Lachman
script Robert Ellis ,
Helen Logan
production John Stone
music Samuel Kaylin ,
David Buttolph ,
Alfred Newman
camera Daniel B. Clark
cut Alex Troffey
occupation

Charlie Chan in the Circus (Original title: Charlie Chan at the Circus ) is a 1936 crime film directed by Harry Lachman , which is about a case of the Chinese-born police officer Charlie Chan invented by Earl Derr Biggers . The film was produced by 20th Century Fox with Warner Oland in the title role and the midget siblings George Brasno and Olive Brasno in other leading roles.

action

Charlie Chan is on vacation with his wife and twelve children on the US mainland and visits a circus owned by the friendly John Gaines and his unscrupulous partner Joe Kinney. Kinney, who gave Chan free tickets to the circus, tells him that he received threatening letters. Kinney then asks Chan to meet him at the circus office at 9 p.m. so that he can explain his full concern to him.

After Chan returns to the performance, Kinney and Gaines argue over money issues. Kinney then tries to tame the circus monkey Caesar with a whip, whereupon the animal trainer Hal Blake warns him that he is punishing Caesar too brutally. Kinney tells Blake he's been fired, and the two of them get into a fight. Kinney loses a key that is picked up by an unknown hand. Blake seeks solace in his girlfriend Louise Norman, whose sister, the trapeze artist Marie Norman, is Kinney's fiancée.

Meanwhile, Chan leaves his family during the performance to meet with Kinney at the appointed time. On arriving at the office car, Chan runs into Gaines. The dancing midget couple Colonel Tim and Lady Tiny discover, together with the circus giant, that Kinney was murdered. Since the car was locked from the inside and the animals found on the window sill, it is assumed that the monkey Caesar, who was mysteriously released from its cage, climbed through the window and killed Kinney. Chan refrains from drawing conclusions, turns the case over to the local police officer, Lieutenant Macy, and returns to his family to continue their vacation together.

Later that evening, when the extended Chan family was packing their bags for the next stage of their journey, Lady Tiny appeared at the hotel and asked the detective to continue the investigation, as Colonel Tim and Gaines were being held for interrogation. She tells Chan that the circus cannot make the money to survive if the circus is not allowed to travel on. The family also tries to convince the detective to continue working on the case. Chan explains:

“The jury seems to have made its decision without going back to deliberation. The final judgment is in the hands of the judge ”('Jury seem to render judgment without retiring. Final decision in hands of judge.'),

whereupon his wife makes the decision to further investigate the case with the words

“The judge also says 'Yes'!” ('Judge say' yes, 'too!').

At the local police station, Chan successfully persuades Lieutenant Macy to release Colonel Tim and Gaines and allow the circus to travel to their next destination in the hope that the perpetrator would give himself away.

Charlie Chan travels on the circus train with his first son, Lee Chan, and Lieutenant Macy. Despite a murder attempt on Charlie Chan using a poisonous cobra, they reach their destination the next day. It is found that the office car was broken into and there was an unsuccessful attempt to open the safe by force. Upon opening the safe, Charlie Chan, Lieutenant Macy and Lee Chan find Joe Kinney's insurance policy, which identifies Marie Norman as the beneficiary. Next to them you will find a marriage certificate that certifies that Kinney married the costume designer Nellie Ferrell on May 30, 1935 in Juarez, Mexico.

The three later meet with Nellie Ferrell and her brother Dan. Nellie claims that as Kinney's widow, she is entitled to his half of the circus. Marie Norman replies that Nellie Ferrell's claim was false, since Kinney could not have been in Juarez at the time. Before she can prove it, however, she is called to her trapeze appearance. However, during the performance, her rope is shot, causing her to fall from a great height. She survived the fall, seriously injured, but according to the doctor who was called, she had to undergo an operation immediately.

While the doctor examines Marie Norman, Charlie Chan flips through her scrapbook and finds that Kinney had been interrogated as a witness in a murder in El Paso on May 30, 1935. Lee Chan calls the El Paso police for more information. During this time, the monkey Caesar was released from his cage again and throws a hammer at Marie, who is being operated on in a circus tent. A nurse present recognizes the danger and screams, whereupon the hammer misses its target and the monkey is shot.

Outside the tent, Charlie Chan discovers that it was not Caesar who was shot, but the snake charmer Tom Holt, who had dressed up in a monkey costume. Police confirm that Holt was the killer in El Paso, and Chan concludes that Kinney covered Holt but was later murdered by Holt over the money dispute. Holt had then also attempted the murder of Marie Norman. She is recovering and is in a local hospital as she is able to uncover the truth about the crime in El Paso. Nellie Ferrell and her brother Dan Ferrell had forged their marriage certificate after Kinney's death and are now being arrested by the police.

Finally, Chan explains to Gaines that he now wants to go to the circus as a normal spectator. Gaines says that Chan and his family have free admission to the performances for life, and asks the detective how many free tickets they have. Chan replies that fourteen cards are enough, but corrects himself when he sees his son Lee Chan in a romantic situation with the snake woman Su Toy, with the words: "... maybe more, later" ('... maybe more, later') .

background

The film is being directed for the first time by Harry Lachman, who later directed several films in the series with Sidney Toler in the role of Charlie Chan. As in the two films Charlie Chan in Paris and Charlie Chan in Shanghai , made in 1935, Keye Luke plays here as son No. 1, Lee Chan, his father's assistant and remains in this role in subsequent productions for 20th Century Fox , before a new assistant was introduced alongside the “new” Charlie Chan Sidney Toler in Charlie Chan in Honolulu in 1938 with Victor Sen Yung as son No. 2, Jimmy Chan. In addition to the already known Lee Chan and the whole family of the detective, as played by Annie Mar wife and twelve children, such as the later appears as a film director working Han Hsiang Li , who staged 1956-1994 over eighty films and the 1997 the Lifetime Achievement Award was posthumously honored at the Golden Horse Film Festival .

The midget siblings George and Olive Brasno, who also appeared together in other Hollywood films of the 1930s, as well as Francis Ford , an older brother of the well-known film director John Ford , mainly known from western films, played other leading roles . In the supporting role of Nellie Ferrell is Drue Leyton, who played the leading female role of Pamela Gray in Charlie Chan in London (1935).

As in numerous other films in the series, the script was written by Robert Ellis and Helen Logan. Duncan Cramer , who was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for the best art direction in the series Four Star Playhouse in 1955 and 1956 and had already worked in previous films in the series, also worked as a set designer in the production of the film . For the sound equipment was Arthur von Kirbach jurisdiction of at Oscar ceremony in 1949 with an Oscar for Best Sound award.

Quotes

As in the other films in the series, Charlie Chan emphasizes his work with quotes that are reminiscent of Chinese proverbs . The always polite and calm-looking Chan thanks him as usual with a “Thank you so much” ('Thank you so much'). In addition, his “contradiction, please!” ('Contradiction, please!') Often appears when he wants to express his differing views.

Chan's sayings in this film include:

  • "The mind is like a parachute - it only works when open" ('Mind like parachute - only function when open')
  • "Free tickets for the circus are like a gold ring on a carousel - they double the fun" ('Free ticket to circus like gold ring on merry-go-round - make enjoyment double.')
  • "Curiosity is responsible for the fact that a cat needs nine lives" ('Curiosity responsible for cat needing nine lives')
  • "A man who seeks quarrels will not find him too far off" ('Man who seek trouble never find it far off')
  • "You cannot tell where the path leads until you have reached the end of the road" ('Cannot tell where path lead until reach end of road')
  • "A question without an answer is like water in the distance - not suitable for putting out a fire" ('Question without answer like faraway water - no good for nearby fire')
  • "One grain of luck sometimes worth more than whole rice field of wisdom" is sometimes worth more than a whole rice field full of wisdom.
  • “A silent witness sometimes speaks loudest”
  • “It is very wise to know the exit before going in” ('Very wise to know way out before going in')

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