Charlie Chan (
Warner Oland) and his huge family take centre stage for a change as they all visit a circus while on holiday and Chan gets approached by the circus co-owner Kinney (
Paul Stanton) who has been receiving threatening letters. Before Chan can do anything though Kinney is found murdered, suspicion immediately falls on an escaped gorilla. However, Kinney had many enemies and the police (
Wade Boteler) suspects everyone including the trapeze artist (
Maxine Reiner) and two midgets (
George Brasno and
Olive Brasno), Can Chan and Number One Son (
Keye Luke) find the real culprit?
The crime is a complicated one, which would appear to require circus skills to carry out. Chan devises a complicated scheme to draw the real murderer out into the open and there is a genuine surprise when it is completed. Number One Son genuinely proves his worth (even saving his father's life) for a change and not just provides the comic relief. Not quite the best Charlie Chan film but certainly a very good entry in the series.
