Olympic Chan

 CHARLIE CHAN AT THE OLYMPICS-1937- While Charlie Chan (Warner Oland) and little son Charlie Jr. (Layne Tom Jr.) get ready for a fishing trip someone steals an experimental robot plane the US government was testing. As luck would have it both Chans discover the plane on the beach where they were going to fish. Inventor Hopkins (Jonathan Hale) thinks former employee Arthur Hughes (C. Henry Gordon) stole it. Hopkins and his assistant Cartwright (John Eldredge) accompany Chan on a steamer to Berlin. Meanwhile Chan’s son Lee (Keye Luke), on his way to The Olympics as a swimmer, investigates the link between his friend Dick (Allan Lane) and a mysterious woman Miss Roland (Katherine DeMille) who seems to have a connection to the missing device. Captain Strasser (Frederick Vogeding; pompously self assured German stereotype) helps out. They find the missing device in the luggage of Olympian Betty Adams (Pauline Moore), also a friend of Lee’s and Dick’s girlfriend, but it's obvious Betty wasn't in on it. Later Lee is kidnapped. Chan figures it all out in the end (and so will you) and Lee wins a gold medal! 

Although it takes place in Nazi Germany (a film of Jesse Owens winning his gold metal race is shown) there's really no reference to it. This was the third in a row CC feature H. Bruce Humberstone directed. The next year he'd direct CHARLIE CHAN IN HONOLULU and go on to make I WAKE UP SCREAMING and some Tarzan films before going into TV. The next Chan installment would be CHARLIE CHAN ON BROADWAY.

Useless Note: Frederick Vogeding's character's last name is Strasser. The same name Conrad Veidt's character had in CASABLANCA (1942).

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No Holds Barred

NO HOLDS BARRED-1952-In this Bowery Boys outing Sach (Huntz Hall) somehow gets a special power from time to time. At first his head becomes very hard so Slip (Leo Gorcey) gets him into professional wrestling. He beats (real wrestler) Hombre Montana for the championship and runs afoul of his crooked manager (Leonard Penn). Henry Kulky (another real wrestler who later became a movie and TV character actor) is Mike the Mauler, Sach's trainer. When Sach loses his hard head he gets a powerful index finger and then a strong leg. Marjorie Reynolds is dispatched by the the manager to find out more about Sach's power. 

David Gorcey and Bennie Bartlett are Chuck and Butch again but they could have used little Louie (Bernard Gorcey) more. 

Some other real wrestlers appear: Brother Frank Jares, Ted Christy, and John Smith as well as (non-wrestlers) John Eldredge, Sandra Gould and Tim Ryan (who co-wrote the script). 

It was one of 10 movies William Beaudine directed in 1953 (including BELA LUGOSI MEETS A BROOKLYN GORILLA)!

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What A Bunch of Characters!

When i watch a lot of old movies I love spotting certain actors. When I see them I usually yell out their names even if I'm alone. Here's a few of my favorites:



BYRON FOULGER-He is without a doubt my favorite chacter actor! He most often pops up as a neighbor lingering around after a murder has been committed. He might have some comment like "How shocking. She was such a quiet girl", usually giving the impression that he had something to hide that had nothing to do with the plot! He also played clerks, pharmacists, train conductors and was the mad scientist "Dr. Bluzak" in an episode of "The Abbott & Costello Show". In the '60's he showed up in a lot of sit-coms. To read his bio and see his picture go here: http://www.dougmacaulay.com/kingspu...or_last=Foulger



GENE ROTH-If you like AIP productions from the '50's you've probably seen this guy in a dozen of them. He was the cynical but tough sheriff in EARTH VS, THE SPIDER and was the second in command Nazi in SHE DEMONS (oops, sorry..that's not AIP!). He had un-billed roles in many films (a cook, a cab driver) was even in some late period 3 Stooges shorts including OUTER SPACE JITTERS (the one with Dan Blocker as the monster). Here's a picture of him:

TRIS COFFIN-Great name! This guy showed up in many movies billed and un-billed, sometimes as a bad guy or red herring crooked banker. He also played army officers and doomed business associates. He was the star of the Republic serial THE LOST PLANET AIRMEN. Some times billed as Tristram Coffin which is cooler.

Here he is:



Recognize him?



MORRIS ANKRUM-This actor was all over the map in the fifties. He usually played a father or army captain or some kind of scientist. He also was the judge on many episodes of TV's PERRY MASON. Here's his picture:




JOHN ELDREDGE-This actor made many un-billed movie appearances too. He also had a kind of recognizable voice. He played a villain on THE ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN several times. As movies coincidences would have it, he and George Reeves co-starred in a silly Rosemary Lane romantic comedy in 1940 called ALWAYS A BRIDE!

Hope you recognize some of these gentlemen!