The Black Camel

I'd seen this film before on a private-edition videotape and have now watched it again on the version in the Fox Charlie Chan, vol. 3 DVD boxed set. This is one of the greatest films in the Charlie Chan series with Warner Oland — of the later films that exist only "Charlie Chan at the Opera" (ironically with another horror icon, Boris Karloff, in its cast) matches it — thanks to Hamilton MacFadden's dark, atmospheric direction; a script that sticks closely to Earl Derr Biggers' source novel (except for omitting the long prologue on the ship that takes the principal characters to Hawai'i); superb art direction by Ben Carré and a marvelous cast, including Bela Lugosi playing an unusual range of emotions for him (the scene in which he confronts Dorothy Revier early on is especially impressive and not at all what we think of as Lugosi's usual acting style); a welcome reunion between him and his "Dracula" cast-mate Dwight Frye; Robert Young looking like he just graduated from high school as the suitor of Shelah Fane's personal assistant (Sally Eilers); and excellent cinematography by Joseph August and Daniel Clark, more prestigious cameramen than usually worked on the Chan films. It's nice to see Chan's family used the way they were in the Biggers novels (Biggers frequently wrote scenes in which the Chans sit down to dinner and Charlie brings them — and us — up to speed on the latest developments in his case), and another welcome touch in this film is the artful use of "source" Hawai'ian music in lieu of orchestral underscoring. While it's likely the Hawai'ian location trip only involved a second unit shooting backgrounds (there are some pretty obvious process shots here) and the Hawai'ian music could have just as easily been recorded in L.A. (where there was a large community of Hawai'ian musicians at the time), nonetheless "The Black Camel" is vividly atmospheric. Why Hamilton MacFadden didn't have much of a directorial career after the mid-1930's — and none at all after 1945 — is a mystery; judging by this film he would have been a "natural" for the noir genre.

This was the second Chan film to star Warner Oland in the role. It is also the earliest film of the series proper to survive. (1929's Fox film "Behind That Curtain" is still extant, but has Chan in a very minor part and isn't a true Chan film). It was actually filmed in Honolulu and captures that city as it was in the early 30's. Two "Dracula" alumni appear: the great Bela Lugosi, and Dwight Frye who played Renfield in the horror classic and is a butler here. Based on the Earl Derr Bigger's novel, this was later remade as "Charlie Chan in Rio" with Sidney Toler in the lead. This one is better. Sadly, it appears available only on the collectors' film market. It is worth the search and the viewing. Beware of copies with scenes missing!

For his second appearance as Charlie Chan, Warner Oland is actually working and solving a case as a member of the Honolulu PD homicide squad and not retained as a private detective. The victim here is Dorothy Revier, movie star.

Back on the mainland Revier was involved with an actor who was killed in a still unsolved homicide. And as it usually does in these cases a whole load of people that had previous connections with the late actor just happen to be on the scene.

Bela Lugosi is in the film as well as a spiritualist who has somehow insinuated himself with Revier. He's got a score to settle with whomever killed the actor. Lugosi is his usual sinister self.

Besides the mainland murder before the action and that of Revier there is a third of an itinerant beachcomber artist played by Murray Kinnell.

I will say that Charlie Chan has to solve all three cases and does. But the murders are committed by three different people. And in one case an old murder mystery truism proves valid.

The title The Black Camel has nothing really to do with plot itself. It is a piece of an old Chinese proverb that Charlie Chan quotes, but not fortune cookie aphorisms.

You'll not figure out the three murders, they won't be people you might originally suspect.

The 2nd real Charlie Chan film, the earliest to survive of the 38 that Warner Oland and then Sidney Toler churned out over the next 16 years for Fox and Monogram. Pretty faithful to Earl Derr Bigger's book, this only suffers mildly from the echoey staginess associated with early talkies, with some erratic acting but also some lovely smoky visuals of "Honolulu".

A woman with a dark past is stabbed to death at a hotel - of course all of the guests along with the butler and maid are involved for Charlie to sort through and mull over. Unravelling the threads of the mystery Charlie proved his eyes had microscopic capabilities (wonder how much DNA fingerprinting would've slowed him down?) - and that he was one of those "very clever men able to bite pie without breaking crust". There's a beautiful scene with the entire Chan Clan at the breakfast table that's worth a look on it's own. It all runs delightfully true to form, the excellent polished cast playing up well, especially young Robert Young and Bela Lugosi.

I can't speak for everyone else of course but I still cherish the hope films 1/3/4/5 will one day be found for the additional 5 hours pleasure.

This is the earliest surviving Charlie Chan film to star Warner Oland as the detective (not counting 1929's BEHIND THAT CURTAIN, which only briefly featured Chan), an entertaining mystery nicely directed with stylish shooting and locations for such an early talkie. Chan is in Honolulu investigating the murder of a young movie actress and tries to untangle the relation between her death and a prior killing of another actor she used to know. Bela Lugosi, fresh after "Dracula" and riding its successes for a brief time in his career, is very good as a mystic involved in the mystery. A real treat of the picture comes whenever watching Lugosi and Oland interacting together. Dwight Frye, Bela's sidekick "Renfield" from "Dracula", also has a part as a butler. A very young Robert Young (of FATHER KNOWS BEST fame) is also on hand albeit in a rather insignificant part. This was the only time Chan was assisted by his bumbling sidekick Kashimo, and it's for the best, as this character is extremely irritating. *** out of ****