Charlie Chan at the Race Track

1936 "THE DEADLY PHANTOM HORSESHOE STRIKES! AN OCEAN LINER BLAZES ...TO COVER CRIME! THE INFRA-RAY HURLS UNSEEN DEATH! THE POISON FOAM BUBBLES VENOMOUSLY!"
7| 1h10m| NR| en| More Info
Released: 07 August 1936 Released
Producted By: 20th Century Fox
Country: United States of America
Budget: 0
Revenue: 0
Official Website:
Synopsis

When a friend of Charlie's is found kicked to death by his own race horse on board a Honolulu-bound liner, the detective discovers foul play and uncovers an international gambling ring.

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Reviews

VeteranLight I don't have all the words right now but this film is a work of art.
AshUnow This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.
Deanna There are moments in this movie where the great movie it could've been peek out... They're fleeting, here, but they're worth savoring, and they happen often enough to make it worth your while.
Guillelmina The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.
MartinHafer This film begins with Chan in Honolulu giving a forensics lecture to policemen. However, Lee Chan (Charlie's "Number One Son") interrupts to announce that "the big race is about to begin and I've got a hot tip"--at which point all the cops turn on the radio and begin cheering. Oddly, the race is being held in Australia and I find it hard to believe the people in Hawaii would care THAT much! Later, when the horse is on its way to the West Coast of the US, the ship with the horse is met by Charlie Chan since the man who raised the horse has been killed and he was a friend of Chan. Although it appears that he was kicked to death by his prize horse, Charlie quickly deduces that it was murder! It seems that a gambling syndicate is heavily involved in murder and mayhem in an attempt to make a huge haul at an upcoming race and it's up to Charlie to unravel it all and make sure the guilty pay.Compared to other Chan films, this one has a much better plot, though the plot has been used, in part, before. While complex, the plot is quite thrilling and does a lot to help the film. Additionally, the best of the Chan sidekicks, Number One Son ('Lee') is on hand to provide some comic relief and occasional assistance.Excellent acting, pacing and plot--this one is a triple crown winner of a B-movie.
tedg I spend a lot of time working with old detective films because I believe them to have contributed to, indeed profoundly changed, how we manage narrative. Some detective films (and those that reference them) are clever or important, fossils that indicate how our imagination evolved. Others are some other agenda wrapped in the detective label. The Chan series started out, I think as a genuinely interesting detective. The idea here was that some "otherness" was in our designated observer on screen. The fellow who unraveled reality for us was something like us, but wiser in an inscrutable way.But the movies quickly became a lowbrow entertainment, which meant jokes at someone's expense. And because of the era, that means a main thread is jokes about race. Its inevitable, since the main device is racial: a white actor playing a superwise Chinese man. There are two secondary devices you will find in most Chan films:— the son (usually a son) is played by a real Chinese man, and lest we forget that the detective is an icon, this Chinese fellow is a buffoon. He sometimes gets things right, but never by intent.— the black man. Often this is the "driver." Here it is a stablehand. His job in the story is always the same, to indicate another fold in the reality of the characters. His demeaned demeanor is bug-eyed, retarded, subservient. He plays someone as iconic as Chan, but at the bottom of the stack, with the otherwise 100% white folks in the "real" story.Oh. The story? Adapted from the Sherlock Holmes tale "Silver Blaze." Swapped racehorses with a "gambling ring" thrown in. I'm curious. Where there ever famous gambling rings like this in real life, or are they just movieland confabulations?Ted's Evaluation -- 1 of 3: You can find something better to do with this part of your life.
ccthemovieman-1 I always enjoy the byplay between Charlie Chan and his kids. Warner Oland was more loving to them in the early Chans while Sidney Toler was more insulting (but not in a mean-spirited way.)In this episode, Oland lets Keye Luke get very involved in the case and Luke provides a number of laughs along the way.This was an interesting script and had a decent number of action scenes along with it during the 70 minutes. There are some inventive twists to the story, regarding the crooks, too. This is another Charlie Chan winner, and I am pleased to see it will be out on DVD in December.
putnam7 This is one of my favorites of the Chan series! Keye Luke as Lee Chan gave his funniest performance, in my opinion. His blabbering in Chinese when being led out of Charlie's stateroom; his antics while the fireworks are going off; notice how hard he hits one of the bad guys over the head with the bottle prop - really whacks him! Although I didn't care for the way the "Streamline" character was treated by some of the other cast members, this entry is entertaining! One of Charlie's great quotes - "Frequent spanking when young make rear view very familiar!"