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Friday, July 12, 2019

Charlie Chan in Egypt ( 1935 )

In this eighth installment of the 20th Century Fox Charlie Chan series, the famous Hawaiian detective sets off for Egypt to investigate the theft of archeological treasures....and unwraps a case of murder instead!

 Detective Chan ( Warner Oland ) dons his sun hat and journeys to Egypt on behalf of the French Archeological Society to investigate the whereabouts of errant artifacts purloined from Professor Arnold's recent excavation of Ameti's tomb. Once he arrives, he discovers that Professor Arnold has left on an archeological dig weeks ago and sent only one mysterious letter in his absence. His son ( James Eagles ) and daughter ( Pat Paterson ) are both worried about him and for good reason... the following evening Charlie, along with Professor Thurston ( Frank Conroy ) and Arnold's young assistant Tom ( Thomas Beck ), discover his body concealed within the sarcophagus from Ameti's tomb!

 "Varnish on 3000-year-old mummy case not completely dry." - Chan 

Screenwriters Robert Ellis and Helen Logan were making their series debut ( they would go on to pen nine Chan films ) and weaved an exotic mystery that combined all the elements audiences would hope to see in a Chan film set in Egypt: hot desert sands, an ancient Egyptian curse, a secret chamber in a tomb, and of course, mummies. 
Warner Oland is always delightful to watch as the honorable Charlie, but he seems lonesome here without the presence of his Number One son Lee to distract him in his investigation. Instead, to add humor, there is Snowshoes ( Stepin Fetchit ), a hired hand at the dig site who hopes to find his ancestors among the mummies. Also in the cast is a young Rita Hayworth ( billed Rita Cansino ) who has a small part as a maid at the Arnold residence. 

 While Charlie Chan in Egypt boasts a great setting and is an entertaining entry in the series, it lacks the zip of some of the other Chan films. Most of the picture is set within the Arnold estate and grounds which gives it the confined feeling of a stage play and the suspects are not plentiful. The presence of Lionel Atwill or George Zucco as a shady antiquities dealer would have given the film the boost of an additional sinister suspect. But as Chan would say, "It takes very rainy day to drown duck". 
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5 comments:

  1. AnonymousJuly 13, 2019 at 10:41 PM

    The movie was directed by LOUIS KING who directed some TV WESTERNS including GUNSMOKE and TALES OF WELLS FARGO. Louis was the younger brother of HENRY KING who was also a director. Two of his movies are THE GUNFIGHTER with GREGORY PECK and THIS EARTH IS MINE with ROCK HUDSON and JEAN SIMMONS. Classic TV Fan

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  2. Rick29July 13, 2019 at 11:20 PM

    All of the Oland and Toler pictures are enjoyable mysteries, though I appreciate the better production values in Oland's films. As you noted, the exotic locale elevates this one even more. I have to agree, though, about Atwill and Zucco....seems like they should be part of the proceedings!

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  3. Caftan WomanJuly 15, 2019 at 12:02 PM

    This movie has a terrific and uniquely spooky atmosphere that makes it a pleasure to watch. I think the powers that be were toying with the idea of Stepin Fetchit becoming a permanent sidekick/assistant - from the ending. Thank goodness cooler heads prevailed. Keye Luke helped kick the series into a golden age.

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  4. rahul kumarJuly 18, 2019 at 10:53 PM



    Thanks for writing this useful article
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    ReplyDelete
  5. UnknownApril 12, 2020 at 9:02 AM

    Thirteen years after Howard Carter discovered the tomb of King Tut Fox Films released this entertaining entry in the Charlie Chan series. Its not too hard to id the murderer and the Stepn Fetchit scenes are hard to watch, but Inspector Chan is in fine form and the Egypt of the early 20th century makes a fine setting for mystery and intrigue.

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