Charlie Chan at the Circus

1936 1h 12m EN

😐

6.4

MID

⭐

6.8

IMDB

★6.4TMDB · 29★6.8IMDB · 1,847

CrimeMysteryComedyThriller

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

While visiting the circus with his family, Charlie is recruited by the big top's co-owner to investigate threatening letters that he's received.

“Some stories are better left unspoiled.”

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Cast

Warner Oland
Charlie Chan
Keye Luke
Lee Chan
John McGuire
Hal Blake
Shirley Deane
Louise Norman
Francis Ford
John Gaines
J. Carrol Naish
Tom Holt
Paul Stanton
Joe Kinney
Boothe Howard
Dan Farrell

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Harry Lachman
Writers: Robert Ellis, Helen Logan
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

Tight 72-minute runtime — shorter than most television pilots.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

90 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

CINEMA

Did you know

Part of the "Charlie Chan (Warner Oland) Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Lean credit list — fewer than 30 people officially credited.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Harry Lachman, shot by Daniel B. Clark. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Alex Troffey shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Warner Oland and Keye Luke and John McGuire carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0027439 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Harry Lachman directs. Daniel B. Clark behind the camera. Alex Troffey cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Tight 72-minute runtime — shorter than most television pilots.
290 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
3Part of the "Charlie Chan (Warner Oland) Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
4Lean credit list — fewer than 30 people officially credited.
5Directed by Harry Lachman, shot by Daniel B. Clark. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
6Editor Alex Troffey shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7Warner Oland and Keye Luke and John McGuire carry the top of the cast.
8IMDB entry: tt0027439 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
9Only 29 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

The technical file

Cinematography: Daniel B. Clark
Editing: Alex Troffey
Runtime: 72 min · 1h 12m
Status: Released
Original language: EN
IMDB: Charlie Chan at the Circus (1936)
IMDB rating: 6.8/10 · 1,847 votes
MPAA: Approved

Part of

Charlie Chan (Warner Oland) Collection

Charlie Chan Chanthology

Also by

Harry Lachman

Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2022-06-19
★ 7/10
"Charlie Chan" (Warner Oland) is about to take his extended family to the circus when he is co-opted into an investigation into some threatening letters being received by the owner. Before he can get his feet under the desk, though, his client is bumped off and he must now find a murderer amongst the company (and their beasties). It's a better story, this one - plenty going on; some interesting characters and quite a bit of pace to aid the manhunt. Son "Lee" (Keye Luke) features too, rather amusingly fascinated by the glamorous contortionist and the cigar smoking miniature couple of George Brasno ("Tim") and his wife Olive ("Tiny") add some lively charm to the thing too. The conclusion is oddly unsurprising, but still quite clever. It is also quite interesting to reflect , as we watch this, that there was a time when the visiting circus was must-see family entertainment with a whole, and curious, gamut of acts and animals that survived hand-to-mouth whilst enthralling large crowds with their lion taming and high acrobatics.

Production companies