Watch Charlie Chan at the Circus For Free

You won't be disappointed!

Best movie ever!

A lot more amusing than I thought it would be.

Very interesting film. Was caught on the premise when seeing the trailer but unsure as to what the outcome would be for the showing. As it turns out, it was a very good film.

CC at the Circus is an introduction of a slightly new direction in the series. Instead of the Chinese sleuth solving mysteries in a specific city or country (as in London, Paris, Shanghai, etc) he began to diversify into piquant locations: the circus, wax work museum's, race track's etc. The tourist locations were not dropped, of course, but the new angle managed to keep the series from becoming tired.This one is one of the best of the Chan films from 1931-36, with a locked room circus wagon murder giving us an enjoyable mystery, which unfortunately doesn't give the audience much chance to guess the killer's identity. How are we supposed to know the gorilla hair is from a dead animal? The casino angle in the tale is introduced pretty late, too.However it's the entertainment value that's important this time out, and this is splendid fare. In Warner Oland we trust! He's always great in the Chan movies, and he's ably supported by the delightful Keye Luke as his no.1 son, Lee. And unlike Mrs Columbo we actually get to see Charlie's family several times in the series. Utterly delightful. And interesting to see J. Carroll Naish in an early role.Well, bring on the next Chan....

Warner Oland is Charlie Chan in "Charlie Chan at the Circus," a 1936 entry into the series. This time Charlie brings his wife and 12 kids to the circus and runs into murder.While Lee Chan (Keye Luke) is off trying to romance the pretty contortionist, the co-owner of the circus asks Charlie to look into some threatening letters he's gotten. Then the man is murdered, and it turns out that even though he gave Charlie 14 free passes to the circus, he's not beloved. The man had enemies including his own partner, a snake charmer, and a gorilla! Very entertaining, and one of the things neat about the film is the presence of the Brasnos, a brother and sister midget team, who play Colonel Tim and Lady Tiny. The Brasnos were vaudevillians and successful enough that Olive Brasno could turn down the role of a munchkin in The Wizard of Oz because she was too busy with their act. They bring a lot of charm to the film. As a bit of trivia, Olive lived to age 80 and died within two days of her husband of 38 years.Warner Oland is a terrific Chan, much livelier and more cheerful than Sidney Toler and less sarcastic (though I like Toler's characterization and lots of those episodes). Keye Luke as Lee is always delightful. The circus atmosphere made for a fun atmosphere. This is one of the better films in the series.

With possibly the best sense of place in the entire series this is another one of the films that is near the top of the entire run of Chan films.The plot has Chan and some of his sons getting involved in the dark happenings in and a round a circus. The film manages to walk the fine line between being both light and dark. You have the humor of Number One Son's attempts to help, but you also have the seriousness of the main mystery. sometimes the two tones don't work together, but here they do and the result is truly satisfying.I really like this film a great deal and in a twisted sort of way think that this would be nicely paired with Todd Brownings Freaks, with which it shares a setting and some of the same actors.

CHARLIE CHAN AT THE CIRCUS (1936)A good offering in the Fox series providing an interesting change of locale, with Charlie Chan enjoying a day at the circus with his rather extensive family, only to stay behind with son and partner Lee when some foul play erupts. A circus gorilla kills the owner, who happened to be a boss whom nobody liked. It's interesting to see substantial roles for George and Olive Brasno, who play the "little people" of the circus, who also were prominent in one of the old "Our Gang" shorts ("Shrimps For a Day"). Also welcome among the cast is J. Carrol Naish.*** out of four