the audience applauded

Good movie, but best of all time? Hardly . . .

If you like to be scared, if you like to laugh, and if you like to learn a thing or two at the movies, this absolutely cannot be missed.

Blistering performances.

An experimental, top secret plane is hijacked and the pilot murdered. When the plane is found, someone has stolen the new remote control device the plane was carrying. Foreign powers would pay a fortune for such a device. Charlie Chan is on the case and tracks the crooks from Honolulu to a ship carrying Olympic athletes to the games in Berlin. Maybe not the absolute best, but Charlie Chan at the Olympics is a fun addition to the series. I'll keep this to a couple of things that stand out to me. First, the movie looks like a million bucks. The Fox B unit made some fine looking films. Cinematography, lighting, sets, and set design are all quite good. And here, they combined newsreel footage from the Berlin Olympics with scenes they shot in as seamless a way I've seen in a movie from the 30s. It's very well done. Next, The acting in Charlie Chan at the Olympics is fantastic. I really enjoy the all too brief scenes Warner Oland and Keye Luke have together in this movie. Just a pleasure to watch. And I get a kick out of the scenes with Johnathan Hale and John Eldridge. Surely, no on actually talks like that. They sound like they're in a race to see who can spit out lines the fastest. I love it.If I have one negative to say about Charlie Chan at the Olympics it's that the movie is more spy/adventure than murder/mystery. Whether it's Chan, Sherlock Holmes, or Hercules Poirot, I prefer the plots that revolve around a murder more than those that get all tied up in a wartime distractions. I love those scenes where the great detective gathers all the suspects together before making the final reveal. I know this is a matter of personal opinion and taste, but I do rate this movie lower because, for me, the entertainment value isn't as great.

"Charlie Chan at the Olympics" starring Warner Oland was made in 1937, with a backdrop of the 1937 Olympics which were held in Berlin, Germany.Charlie is going to see Lee Chan compete in swimming when a device for airplanes, that allow them to work without a pilot, is stolen during a test run and the pilot is killed. Obviously someone was hiding on the plane and stole the device. Charlie sets out to help recover the device for the U.S. Lee meanwhile is on a ship with other Olympic hopefuls and a couple of suspects in the robbery.Once in Germany, Charlie works with the Berlin police to help track down the thieves.Never in your life have you seen more helpful Nazis. There is not one mention of the German political climate - and the footage of the Hindenburg had every single swastika airbrushed out. What is also interesting is the footage of the Olympics, including some of Jesse Owens.I found this film somewhat distracting - a bunch of suspects, a bit confusing as to plot, probably because I was too busy looking at Olympic footage. However, I enjoyed it particularly because of Warner Oland and Charlie Jr., played by Layne Tom, Jr., who is delightful. Tom is still alive as of this writing, 85 years old, and became a prominent architect. This is one of his favorite films. I love Keye Luke but Lee here is a bit annoying as he kept misquoting his father and adding, "or something like that." Of course that was the script, but it was too much.America was really trying to stay out of any potential conflict in Europe, as you will be able to tell from this film.

The 1936 Olympics in Berlin provide a background for the theft of an aerial guidance system in Charlie Chan At The Olympics. Back in Honolulu the device is stolen from inventors John Eldredge and Jonathan Hale and two people are killed. Clues indicate that the device is on its way to Berlin, not for use by the Nazi government, but to be sold on the Berlin black market. As it turns out number 1 son Lee Chan played by Keye Luke is a member of the US swimming team and is in the relay events. So Warner Oland takes both the China Clipper across country and then the Hindenburg to beat Lee to Berlin. As it turns out such sinister types as C. Henry Gordon and Katharine DeMille are on the boat as well.Oland recovers the device, but then the bad guys kidnap Keye Luke and he has to think as a father as well as a detective to get his son back. During all this time he has the full cooperation of the German police.The German inspector is played by Fredrik Vodaging and while a bit authoritarian you would not believe that this is a totalitarian dictatorship. In fact the politics of Nazi Germany is completely erased from this film. The way Chan and Vodaging work together you would hardly believe that this is a place believing in Aryan supremacy.Newsreel footage of the 1936 Olympics including Jesse Owens broad jump is blended in with the film. But I have to say watching this film now it really threw me for a loop.

Another well-directed Warner Oland Chan filmmaking full use of stock footage from 1936 Berlin Olympics and the dirigible Hindenburg. Chan is on trail of stolen aircraft autopilot and killers who will make an attempt on his life and again kidnap No. 1 son Lee. Keye Luke is allowed to play his part without disguise and too much oriental racial humor. Good supporting cast and great shots of the game ceremonies and Jesse Owen in the relay race. For those who want to view more of these games, without Chan, see Leni Riefenstahl's Olympia 1. Teil - Fest der Völker and Olympia 2. Teil - Fest der Schönheit (1938). Continuity with other films suffers when Layne Tom, Jr. is introduced as #2 son Charlie. We have seen much older sons in his family at the circus and we will later see Victor Sen Yung as #2 son Jimmy and even later as Tommy Chan. This is a good mystery, but once again it is impossible to share in the clues that only Chan can see and from that catch the thief and murderer. `When all players possess suspicious cards, good idea to have joker up sleeve.' Story line is somewhat believable – enough for a good afternoon's watching. Concluding scenes have oriental detective admit he is willing to risk loss of son and self in order to maintain honor and loyalty to United States. One of the best in the series. Recommended.