Charlie Chan at the Circus (1936)

Charlie Chan and family are invited to attend a circus performance by one of the owners, Joe Kinney. Kinney wants some help from Chan on some threatening letters he's been receiving. However, when Chan pays Kinney a visit in his trailer, he discovers Kinney's dead body. The killer appears to be a gorilla that briefly escaped from its cage. Chan, however, is not so sure and starts to investigate.Despite what I'm about to write, I do not dislike Charlie Chan at the Circus. The 6/10 rating means that I consider it a better than average film – not great, but not horrible either. There are several issues I have with this one that that keep me from rating it higher. 1. As I've written before (most recently in a "review" of a Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries episode), I'm not a fan of the circus or movies/TV set in a circus. It doesn't work for me. 2. While I appreciate the use of real circus-type performers, Colonel Tim and Lady Tiny get old real quick. George and Olive Brasno might not be the best actors, but that's not my problem. It's the constant jokes about little people smoking cigars or cooking breakfast that I can't stomach. Once or twice might have been okay, but we see Colonel Tim with and/or offering up cigars in just about every scene he appears. Not funny. 3. BIG SPOILER – The way the film handles the fact that the killer is a man in a gorilla suit and not a real gorilla is ridiculous. The "gorilla" is shot dead, but no one but Chan notices it's not a real gorilla. These people are standing literally inches away from the dead body. Impossible. END BIG SPOILER 4. When watching a mystery, I really enjoy playing along with Chan or whoever the detective might be. But Charlie Chan at the Circus has so many clues that the viewer would have no way of knowing, there's no way you can figure out "who done it". It's cheating. Normally, I give Chan films a pass on this, but with everything else that bothered me, I thought I'd mention it. 5. Lee Chan's hijinks are especially annoying in parts of the film. Going undercover as a woman pushing a stroller with Colonel Tim posing as a baby (complete with cigar, naturally) is plain old stupid. I realize that everything I've written is negative, but this is still Charlie Chan and I find the series highly entertaining. Despite the numerous issues I have with the movie, I've rated it a respectable 6/10. The movie doesn't work as well for me as some of the others in the series.

I found all of these early Charlie Chan's on Youtube and have been watching them in order. I am a huge mystery fan who watches Sherlock Holmes, Murder She Wrote, Hercule Poirot, etc. This one has some very entertaining features.There is the authentic 1930s era circus to start with. A real trapeze artist Maxine Reiner plays the girl on the daring trapeze. Also there are the Brasnos, brother and sister midget team, who play Colonel Tim and Lady Tiny. They do a wonderful authentic Latin ballroom dance which we get to see all of. Scenes of the circus train are there with the elephants helping to push the wagons when they unload. All the tiny details are a wonderful history lesson.I know some find the actors portrayal racist but I tend to disagree. First of all he is clearly smarter than everyone else since he is the only one who solves the mystery in the end. I find it somewhat similar to Hercule Poirot....a Belgian detective played by a British actor on PBS. He has his little mannerisms also and faces much prejudice from people calling him a French frog and foreigner. Yet he triumphs over all solving the riddles using only his little gray cells.There is a scene in this film where the others want Charlie Chan's autograph and he signs it using what I assume to be Chinese symbols. Many times the characters break into the Chinese language. I think the writers honored his heritage in some of those small details.I watch movies to escape reality and be entertained. I like to just go along for the ride. All and all I have been delighted with Warner Oland's portrayal and can't wait to watch the rest of them.

Even the most dedicated of sleuths likes an occasional day off and Warner Oland as Charlie Chan wanted just such a day to spend with his family at the circus. But it actually turns out that one of the partners who owned the circus had hired him to look into some veiled threats he'd been receiving from unknown sources. So the Chan family, all 14 of them, go to the circus and wouldn't you know it, the guy who hires Charlie winds up murdered. And Charlie's got a whole circus full of suspects. Oland enters the case at the behest of the performers, especially two midgets played by George and Olive Brasno. The police are holding the circus up until the murder is solved, but that in itself will bankrupt the show if they miss scheduled dates.It was nice to see Charlie on a family outing even if he couldn't escape the need for his services. As usual Keye Luke is the bumptious number one son who Charlie has to keep dispensing fortune cookie wisdom all the time to. This is a good, if average entry in the Charlie Chan series.

This was a fun movie. It was like most of Charlie Chan movies. I wish I could buy it. On VHS or DVD. It doesn't matter. Charlie takes the whole family to the circus and as usual there is a murder and Charlie & at least one of his children get involved. His children look like steps starting from the oldest to the youngest. They are all there. Even his wife is with them. It is a fun movie to watch like all of the Charlie Chan movies are. It is fun seeing all of the animals. and the acts. Charlie and Mrs. Chan have to try & keep all of the children in sight & safe. They are a hand full. Charlie has to figure out who the killer is while he is keeping his family safe. It's been a while since I have seen this movie. I wish TCM would have a Charlie Chan movie day.