Charlie Chan at the Olympics

An experimental plane's guidance system is stolen and Charlie Chan's on the case. He follows the clues to Berlin, where the 1936 Olympic Games are being held. Amusingly, "Number One Son" Lee Chan is a member of the U.S. Olympic Swim Team. He even wins! As usual, Warner Oland is a perfect Charlie Chan. In addition to Keye Luke's Lee, this time we get Charlie Chan, Jr. He's played by Layne Tom, Jr. and is all kinds of adorable. I wonder why he wasn't made a permanent part of the series because he's a lot of fun. Also includes one of the loveliest actresses to appear in the entire Chan series, Katherine DeMille. Hubba-hubba! She was the adopted daughter of Cecil B. DeMille and future wife of Anthony Quinn. There's also some nice support from reliable character actors C. Henry Gordon, John Eldredge, and Jonathan Hale. Good cast in this one.

This entry in the series is most notable for it taking place during the 1936 Olympics, with footage from the games including Jesse Owens. Plus Charlie travels to Berlin on the Hindenburg. It also features pre-WWII German police portrayed in a much more sympathetic light than they would be just a few years later. Although, it should be noted Inspector Strasser (Frederik Vogeding) of the German police is kind of a boob ("Things like this cannot happen in Berlin!"). An excellent entry in the Charlie Chan series with high entertainment value and some added historical curiosity. Fans should love it.