Charlie Chan at the Olympics (1937)

User Rating:

7.7/10   

Director:

H. Bruce Humberstone

Writers:

Paul Burger (story) and
Earl Derr Biggers (characters)

Release Date:

21 May 1937 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Crime | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

DEATH FIRES THE STARTING GUN!...and you'll be breathless at the finish!

Plot:

When a strategically important new aerial guidance system is stolen, Charlie traces it to the Berlin Olympics, where he has to battle spies and enemy agents to retrieve it.

Plot Keywords:

Berlin | Olympic Games | Enemy Agent | Asian Stereotype | Father Son Relationship

Cast

Warner Oland	...	Charlie Chan
Katherine DeMille	...	Yvonne Roland
Pauline Moore	...	Betty Adams
Allan Lane	...	Richard Masters
Keye Luke	...	Lee Chan
C. Henry Gordon	...	Arthur Hughes
John Eldredge	...	Mr. Cartwright
Layne Tom Jr.	...	Charlie Chan Jr
Jonathan Hale	...	Mr. Hopkins
Morgan Wallace	...	Honorable Charles Zaraka
Frederick Vogeding	...	Inspector Strasser (as Fredrik Vogeding)
Andrew Tombes	...	Chief of Homicide E. R. Scott
Arno Frey	...	Carlos, Zaraka's Henchman
David Horsley	...	Test Pilot Edwards
Howard C. Hickman	...	Police Doctor (as Howard Hickman)

Runtime:

71 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Mirrophonic Sound System)

Certification:

Finland:K-16 | USA:Approved (PCA #3090) (original rating) | USA:G (re-rating) (1968)

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum - 3911 S. Figueroa Street, Exposition Park, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Trivia:

Stock footage of the dirigible Hindenburg was retouched, frame by frame, to blot out the swastikas emblazoned on the airship's tail.

Goofs:

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): When Charlie Chan, Jr. enters a room where his father and another officer are, Chan, Jr. says, "Pop, here are some cut-up tea and sandwiches," when what he really means is, "Pop, here are some cut-up sandwiches and tea."

Quotes:

Charlie Chan: Truth, like football, receive many kicks before reaching goal.

Movie Connections:

Follows Charlie Chan at Monte Carlo (1937)

Good To See This Gem Coming Out On DVD

Charlie has his youngest helper ever - or at least in any of the 20 Chan films I've seen - as 12-year-old Charlie Jr. joins Number One Son Lee as they both help dad solve a crime.

Lee (Keye Luke) plays a member of the United States Olympic swimming team in this adventure. The repartee between Chan (Warner Oland) and his two sons in here is terrific. Layne Tom Jr. plays Charlie Junior.

The Chan movie is more of an adventure than the normal whodunit as Charlie and the cops travel to the Olympics in Munich, Germany in search of a missing radar-plane "black box." Lee is kidnapped at the games and his dad does everything he can to get his kidnapped son back while not jeopardizing the United States in the process.

This is one of the better Chan films and will be available on DVD in December, 2006, as part of another Charlie Chan DVD package of four movies.