Chandu the Magician

Willian Cameron Menzies does a more than adequate job creating suspense in this early serial-style thriller about a yogi mystic named Chandu protecting the world, his sister and her family, and his Egyptian princess love from the evil megalomaniacal ways of Roxor. Roxor has built a death ray to make himself master of the world. Only trouble is that the inventor will not give him the secret of the ray and Chandu is on to his dastardly scheme. Edmund Lowe makes a dashing, affable hero with his ready wit and his theatrical gestures conjuring magic. Roxor is played with aplomb by heavy Bela Lugosi. Lugosi steals all of his scenes and gives a first-rate performance. Irene Ware as the Princess Nadja makes an attractive, bright leading lady, and the rest of the cast fares well too. A thoroughly nice comedic turn is performed by Herbert Mundin as Mr. Miggles. He is a drunken friend/servant of Chandu and sees himself in miniature every time he takes a drink. The film boasts what must have been relatively high production values for the day. It plays well considering it was made in 1932. There are some great scenes in the film. Menzies, best known for directing Invaders From Mars, uses a very fluid camera. A scene where Chandu looks into a crystal is most impressive as the camera zigs and zags through a Egyptian tomb. Another memorable scene depicts the scientist's daughter, clad only in a tight slip, offered on the slave trading block. The scene was risque for its time to be sure. While Chandu is certainly not a great film, it is definitely a cut above many films made in its time.

Chandu the Magician (1932)

* 1/2 (out of 4)

Chandu (Edmund Lowe) must stop a madman (Bela Lugosi) from blowing up the world with his death ray. Action, horror and fantasy elements are scattered throughout this film but none of those elements ever come together to make a very interesting movie. There's non-stop action but it's all rather boring, although a few of the magic tricks are nice. Lugosi is good in his role but the character never really gets to do too much. Lowe is downright boring as Chandu and this hurts the film a lot. The serial/sequel The Return of Chandu has Lugosi playing Chandu and is a lot more entertaining.

Okay, I'll admit that technically speaking, this film isn't what you'd expect for a score of 8. After all, this was a very low-budget production and occasionally it really shows it--though most of the time, they do make the most of their limited resources. The film does earn super-high marks, though, for its ability to entertain, as there is one thrill after another after another--just like a Saturday morning movie serial condensed into one great package. In fact, it isn't all that surprising that just two years later they DID make a serial version of the Chandu character and a couple more movies--though oddly, he was played by Bela Lugosi in them, while in CHANDU THE MAGICIAN, he actually played the evil villain!!

Edmund Lowe stars here as Chandu--a Westerner who has "learned the psychic powers of the East". In other words, he spent years with gifted Hindu holy men and learned to use their great powers to control mens' minds. Using hypnosis, Chandu can make just about anyone do or see anything!! This makes him one heck of an amazing super-hero. Some of his tricks involved making men think their guns had turned to snakes, the ability to make doubles of himself to lure away the bad guys and his funny ability to mess with his man servant whenever he tries to take a drink!! Aside from comic heroes such as Mandrake, this is a truly unique character--and a very, very unique one for film. The closest I can think of are films such as THE COBRA WOMAN and ALI BABA, but they really aren't the same. Considering how exciting and fun this film was, I really wished they had made more of them--especially since the writing was so "seat of your pants" good.

In addition to these cool psychic powers, the film features a death ray, kidnappings and an evil cult of followers for Lugosi--what more could you possibly want in an old-time action-suspense film?! This is really great and exciting stuff--much better than the usual film for Lugosi or Lowe--who both do an exceptional job in this film. Too bad they just don't make 'em like they used to.

What fun! This is a dandy film of its type.......so corny and the typical early 30s serial type cliffhanger with lots of dashing around, ridiculous plot and narrow escapes. The settings with the Egyptian flavor are simply silly and fake but the special effects are not as bad as you might expect for an early film.

Edmund Lowe doesn't seem quite right for the part of Chandu.....I would have pictured someone with a little more exotic look to add just a hint of mystery. Ricardo Cortez or Nils Asther, although supporting players, may have been able to pull it off; however, Lowe does a serviceable job. Of course Lugosi went on to play the part later but appears here as the arch-villain who is bent on conquering the world with a death ray stolen from Chandu's brother-in-law. As usual he is over the top which is just what the film needs....a maniacal bad guy with visions of grandeur. He is all ham but of course this was his stock in trade and he pulls out all the stops.

Herbert Mundin is on hand for a little humor which probably wasn't necessary but he is such a great character actor that you aren't too put off by it. If you like Mundin, see "Cavalcade", in which he really gets a chance to show his acting ability which is not all comedic.

If you like films that are camp, don't require you to think too much or try to figure out character's motivations, this is the one for you. Its fast, fun and so dumb that you love it. Great for a rainy Saturday afternoon at the matinée.

... I almost expect somebody in this film to say those tired old lines. This is one of the few precode Fox films that has managed to survive. So many were lost to vault fires or just nitrate deterioration from neglect. Odd how this obscurity survived and is on DVD even!

Chandu (Edmund Lowe) is a magician who seems to just be "graduating" as the film begins with a ceremony full of mumbo jumbo that I cannot make sense of even when I rewind and replay it several times. Chandu finds out that his brother-in-law, who was working on a death ray invention, has been kidnapped by Roxor (Bela Lugosi), and so he rushes to his sister's side to protect her and her daughter and try to save his brother-in-law before Roxor can learn the secret of the death ray. And what does Roxor want? Power? RIches? Fame? no he wants to destroy society so mankind will revert to beasts and he can be the smartest guy in the world. Weird. I guess this is what happens when a sociopath is forced to wear a dunce cap as a kid.

If this sounds like something out of silent film, that is how it plays out too. The romance scenes, the action scenes, everything plays out with silent film technique in direction and acting. I generally really like Edmund Lowe and his roles, so I have to lay this at the feet of the director. I could take this in stride in 1929 and 1930 during the transition to sound, but that time is long over.

Probably the most tiresome character, though, is Albert, Chandu's loyal companion. He is cowardly, a drunk, and always having to be rescued by Chandu even though saving Albert from himself is NOT his primary mission. Prohibition was still in force, so maybe all of these unfunny drunks I encounter in these Prohibition era films are supposed to be knocks at an unpopular law. But today, it's just not funny.

Mildly recommended for fans of Edmund Lowe and Bela Lugosi.