Tedfoldol everything you have heard about this movie is true.

Contentar Best movie of this year hands down!

Maleeha Vincent It's funny, it's tense, it features two great performances from two actors and the director expertly creates a web of odd tension where you actually don't know what is happening for the majority of the run time.

Caryl It is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties. It's a feast for the eyes. But what really makes this dramedy work is the acting.

Michael O'Keefe Earl Derr Biggers' super sleuth Charlie Chan(Warner Oland)takes his wife and 12 offspring to the circus for some fun and relaxation. Director Harry Lachman lets Chan loosen up a bit and slips in some softness with the detective and his kids enjoyment of the circus. Then of course there is the amusing dealings with Charlie and his over-zealous Number-One-Son Lee(Keye Luke). The mystery starts when a disliked co-owner of the circus is murdered and there are multiple possible suspects...the other co-owner, a snake charmer, a wardrobe seamstress and even a gorilla, yes gorilla. My favorite scene is the Chan brood passing by the ticket taker. Other players featured: Francis Ford, John McGuire, Shia Jung, Paul Stanton, George Brasno, Maxine Reiner and J. Carrol Naish.

r-c-s This is a very entertaining movie. The plot contrivances are well thought of and intermingle well; of course one has to love the basic format of these Chan movies. the 'son #1' comedy moment doesn't get in the way as it does in other movies and works well enough. Summoned to pay a visit to a circus with his family, Chan is asked advice about death threats that have targeted the recently appeared co-owner of the show. The man is killed later and another woman is seriously wounded in another attempt. Who may want to control the circus, whose business is shaky anyways? In the end we'll have not one culprit, but two parties guilty of two unrelated crimes. The midgets in the movie are very particular. Typically midgets are easily recognizable as such, but these two look just like miniature people. Entertaining 70 minutes.

JoeKarlosi 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

bkoganbing Even the most dedicated of sleuths likes an occasional day off and Warner Oland as Charlie Chan wanted just such a day to spend with his family at the circus. But it actually turns out that one of the partners who owned the circus had hired him to look into some veiled threats he'd been receiving from unknown sources. So the Chan family, all 14 of them, go to the circus and wouldn't you know it, the guy who hires Charlie winds up murdered. And Charlie's got a whole circus full of suspects. Oland enters the case at the behest of the performers, especially two midgets played by George and Olive Brasno. The police are holding the circus up until the murder is solved, but that in itself will bankrupt the show if they miss scheduled dates.It was nice to see Charlie on a family outing even if he couldn't escape the need for his services. As usual Keye Luke is the bumptious number one son who Charlie has to keep dispensing fortune cookie wisdom all the time to. This is a good, if average entry in the Charlie Chan series.