Moviecut—Charlie Chan at the Olympics

source: Charlie Chan at the Olympics

Charlie Chan at the Olympics

Warner Oland was always the best Chan aand Fox studios production makes this one an above average effort. Keye Luke is along as number 1 son, and the plot moves along quickly. The travel is interesting too. Chan goes over his travel plan from Hawaii to Berlin quite throoughly. Chan even rides on the Hidenburg blimp, this film before the blimp went up in flames. There is another number 2 son who is quite forgettable. It appears Fox uses some olympic footage of Jesse Owens, but to avoid getting Nazi symbols on screen uses another olympics footage too. The mystery is quite complex, but Chan is up to the challenge. Number 1 son Luke wins a gold medal in the 100 swimming. He also gets kidnapped by the bad guys trying to steal a vital automated pilot after he wins the medal. Chan has to do some pretty good manuevers with the German police to catch them. Even though this is 2 years before World War 2 would actually start, there are signs here about the propoganda to come.

This Chan film is of interest for its historical setting--the 1936 Berlin Olympic Games and the air ship Hindenburg. I find this to be below Warner Oland's usual standard. Not that he doesn't do his normal great job. For me, the setting just isn't mysterious enough. And, while it is fun to see Chan fly on the ill-fated dirigible, it is interesting to note that the film sidesteps the Nazi situation. Pauline Moore appears in this one. She later has a better role in "Charlie Chan in Treasure Island."

Not that much of a mystery. And very little time spent at the Olympics. Renown detective Charlie Chan(Warner Oland)has a fishing trip with young Charlie Jr.(Layne Tom Jr.)interrupted when a U.S. secret weapon that enables aircraft to be flown by remote control is stolen. A band of international spies transport the device to Germany. With vacation on hold Chan boards the dirigible Hindenburg to Berlin's 1936 Olympics; there Charlie is joined on the case by Number One Son Lee(Keye Luke),who happens to be competing in a swimming event at the games. Villains seem to be everywhere; but as usual no problem for Chan to handle theft and espionage. Charlie Jr. is a welcomed delight. A strong supporting cast includes: C. Henry Gordon, Pauline Moore, John Eldredge, Katherine DeMile and Allan Lane.

One of the best of the 1930s Chan films. It is remarkable how all reference to the Nazis was expunged from the scenes of the 1936 Olympics in Berlin. The Police are represented as Kaiser-style people rather than members of the Gestapo. I was more familiar with Sidney Toler, but I can see that Oland was a superior actor and much of the slapstick of the later Chans was omitted in the earlier versions. All in all, a well-done effort. The plot really doesn't concern the Olympics aside from being used as a backdrop for the action, but this isn't a problem. There is the usual complement of Chan aphorisms. The early Chan films are also interesting commentaries on the state of technology in the 1930s. Getting across the US by plane is said to take 13 hours, as Charlie races a boat from Honolulu to Germany.

excellent in all respects.Probably one of the finest in the entire series. The setting is unique and it's a well done mystery. Documentary footage of the '36 Olympics and the Hindenberg are well situated in this drama. The political atmosphere of Germany during the mid-late 30's is, however, overlooked. Warner Oland again is at his best.This is a must see for Chan fans

If you view the Chan films in order there is actually a weird around the world trip that happens. Its almost as if Chan is moving from place to place in one trip. Its clear from the internal details that time has passed between adventures, but at the same time its as if Chan is taking the long way home to Hawaii. This stop is in Germany where Chan is visiting his son who is on the US Olympic team during the infamous Berlin Games. Chan is sucked into the mystery as a favor to one police organization or another, since at this point in the series he was still a detective with the Honolulu police force. Amazingly watching the film one loses ones self in the mystery (which has to do with the theft of a military guidance system) and completely forgets the darkness that would devour the world. Here the Nazi's are the good guys, almost comedicly so. One of the better Chan films is most certainly worth a bag of popcorn and a glass of soda.

Of course, the 1936 Olympics is best known in American annals as the one where Jesse Owens (the non Aryan) embarrassed Hitler's boys by wiping the floor with them (of course, the racism in this country continued). An American inventor has developed a device for flying battle ready planes by remote control, allowing for fewer losses of life. This device is stolen and brought to Berlin. Through much intrigue, we find that there are a couple of entities that would like to get their hands on it. Charlie's number one son is a competitor in a freestyle swimming event and so is at the Olympic village. Soon, he is caught up in the case (as he always is), putting himself in grave danger. Charlie must work his magic to get things sorted out. It's hard not to have in the back of one's mind that the Nazis are moving through Europe. Good mystery with a patriotic twist.