Charlie Chan at the Race Track (1936)

So much average

Save your money for something good and enjoyable

Good story, Not enough for a whole film

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

The story begins with Charlie Chan giving a lesson is blood stain pattern to the Honolulu police, but that is interrupted by news of a horse race which excites everybody, and the policemen all place their bets. Unfortunately the favored horse loses. But that horse, along with their fellow racehorses, are taken aboard a ship from Australia to Honolulu, and en route the favored horse's owner is murdered, supposedly by being kicked by a horse. Chan is called in and quickly proves otherwise, but this is only the beginning.The ship goes to the U. S. mainland where the horses are to race, but there are some gambling racketeers behind the scenes-what do they plan to do, and can Chan foil them? Again the story keeps you guessing, and comic relief aplenty is provided by Number One Son and his antics. There is another stereotypical high-strung black person who plays a minor role in this movie. (The problem is less that such characters exist than the fact that black people never seem to be cast in any other roles in that era.)

This 'Charlie Chan' movie, like so many others, picks a background for its 'usual' complicated murder mystery that's very attractive and familiar for a lot of people: horse racing. The scent of the stables, the sight of the 'noble animals', as Charlie calls them, the excitement of the race itself - that alone must be enormously stimulating for a big part of the audience.But, unfortunately, just like with prizefighting and so many other sports, along with horse racing many times comes - the gambling racket. Because there are millions at stake just for that great little moment when the first horse crosses the finishing line... And the great favorite of the season is 'Avalanche', who belongs to Charlie's old friend Major Kent. But, at the big Australian racing event, although he wins he is disqualified for a foul - which obviously was caused intentionally by his jockey. That makes Major Kent suspicious - and a few days later, during the sea voyage to the USA for the next big race, Kent is found dead, allegedly killed by his own horse's kicks; but Charlie Chan has got a different theory: murder! Of course, there are lots of suspects and strange events that make the plot twist more and more; and besides, a whole gambling ring is a VERY powerful enemy... Will Charlie, with the help of 'number one son' Lee (who provides us with some magnificently comical scenes here, first as a ship's steward and then as a laundry boy!), be able to track down the racketeers AND to find his friend's murderer? A great, suspenseful, intricate mystery, with NO lack of entertainment whatsoever!

Charlie Chan's old friend is murdered after he threatens to break up a racehorse gambling ring. Charlie investigates and finds lots of suspicious characters involved. Seems like every one of the popular movie detectives from the '30s and '40s eventually had a case involving horse racing. This one mixes the horse racing backdrop with that of an ocean liner mystery. This is a lesser but still enjoyable entry in the series. Possibly the "worst" of the Oland Chan movies, which says a lot about how good the series was. Keye Luke is still great fun as "Number One Son" Lee. Unfortunately there is also a cowardly stablehand character named Streamline that will be pretty offensive to modern audiences. Thankfully, he's not in the movie a lot. All of the suspects in this one are slimy. It was hard guessing who the killer was because they all seemed capable of it.

When favored race horse Avalanche loses a race due to his rider's foul, his owner Major Gordon Kent becomes suspicious, believing that a gambling syndicate may have been behind the rider's actions. Kent calls upon famed detective Charlie Chan (Warner Oland) for his involvement, and it's off to the races so to speak. Unfortunately Kent, who has come too close to identifying the conspiracy, winds up dead in Avalanche's stable aboard ship heading for Los Angeles.Number #1 Son Lee Chan (Keye Luke) signs on as a cabin boy for the cruise ship to legitimize his presence, and quickly joins his "Pop" in the investigation. Charlie relies on Lee a bit more than we've seen in prior films, trusting him to drop phony threatening letters to the principals introduced in the film, which include Kent's son in law George Chester, now Avalanche's owner; Warren Fenton, owner of rival horse Gallant Lad; and gambler Denny Barton.When a fire in the hold of the ship is deliberately set to cause confusion, horse trainer Bagley switches the two horses. The tip off comes from an unlikely source - stable boy Streamline Jones has a pet monkey that favors Gallant Lad, but causes Avalanche to react violently. The ever observant Oriental Detective picks up on this immediately, and schemes to reverse the animals to their rightful identities before the day of the Santa Juanita Handicap, their next scheduled race. With Avalance the faster horse, and Gallant Lad a 20 to 1 underdog, the brains behind the gambling syndicate hope to cash in big when their ringer winds up in the winner's circle.Adding to the intrigue, the race timekeeper who's part of the syndicate has a back up plan to insure Gallant Lad's victory. He rigs one of the timing devices at the three quarter mile mark with a dart which will be used on any lead horse ahead of Gallant Lad. The dart does in fact disrupt Avalanche's timing, but he goes on to win the race anyway. With the syndicate foiled, the only thing left to do is for Chan to expose the mastermind. This he does with his usual cool demeanor, even though it means exposing Major Kent's son in law - "Truth sometimes like stab of cruel knife." Currently, "Charlie Chan at the Racetrack" appears to be the most highly regarded Chan film on the IMDb website. Allowing for personal preferences, I found it to be one of the better Chan entries, although I feel Warner Oland's adventures in London and Shanghai are more intriguing, along with Sidney Toler's portrayal in "Murder Cruise".As for Number #1 Son Lee, he breathlessly bursts onto the final scene with news for Charlie (after the case has been solved) - "Hey Pop, I have another clue!" Charlie wisely advises: "Save for next case, please."