The Return of Chandu

I enjoyed this serial. I got it in a set with two other chapter serials from the same era, Flash Gordon and Radar Men. Cheap sets, cheesy dialog and Bela's overacting surprisingly add up to an engrossing combination. It was strange to see him in the uncharacteristic role of good guy/hero, but he pulled it off with his usual exotic charm. While I watched I could imagine what it must have been like to see these one episode per week in the theater. The exotic natives must have really scared the pants off kids in the 30s, a time when there was much less sophistication and knowledge of the world. These episodes hold up much better than the Flash Gordon series from that time period.

This might have worked better as a silent feature as it mixes up it's mythologies to allow Bela Lugosi's eponymous character (aka. "Chandler") to race to the rescue of the imperilled Egyptian princess "Nadji"(Maria Alba). Why? Well it seems that some Pharaonic cult from ages past has decided that she's the reincarnation of a goddess. What's slightly confusing is that they seem to want to sacrifice her so the goddess ("Ossana") can, well, reincarnate! Anyway, never let the plot get in the way of a rather pointlessly abridged version of the serialisation as it takes us through approximately one third of the story before we run out of reels and must search for him on his "Magic Island" film which doesn't come along til next year. To be fair, I like the genre and they do try a little with the score to create some sense of mystical peril and hypnotics, but Lugosi is at his most wooden here as he fears "grave danger" for the princess as if he were buttering his toast and Alba goes into dramatic overdrive as the damsel in distress. The "Yogi" says have faith, but somehow I fear this ought to have just stayed as a weekly serial with the odd cliffhanger and the slightest sense of jeopardy which is distinctly lacking here.

Return of Chandu, The (1934)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

Chandu (Bela Lugosi) has to fight off black magic in order to save a Princess who has been chosen for a sacrifies. This is the second feature version of the 15-chapter serial, which also goes by this title. The first feature version, Chandu on Magic Island has a lot more action but this version here is the overall better movie because istead of going for the "cliffhanger" sequences, this one here goes for a more character driven tale. This creates some slowness but it's nice seeing Lugosi play the good guy even though he really doesn't pull it off too well.

Chandu on the Magic Island (1935)

** (out of 4)

Second feature film made from the serial The Return of Chandu. A woman is kidnapped by a jungle tribe in order to be sacrificed so it's up to Chandu (Bela Lugosi) to rescue her. The most interesting thing is seeing Lugosi play the good guy/hero but he doesn't do too much with the role. He's pretty flat throughout the film and some of his dialogue is quite laughable. The ending is quite nice and action packed and the thing is edited down quite nicely but it doesn't work most of the time.

Bela Lugosi gets to play one of his rare good guy roles in a serial based upon the long running radio hit (which was also the source of a feature film where Lugosi played the villain.) Lugosi cuts a fine dashing figure and its sad that he didn't get more roles where he could be the guy in command in a good way. Here Chandu returns from the East in order to help the Princess Nadji who is being hunted by the leaders of the cult of Ubasti who need her to bring back from the dead the high priestess of their cult. This is a good looking globe trotting serial that is a great deal of fun. To be certain the pacing is a bit slack, more akin to one of Principals (the producing studios) features then a rip roaring adventure, but it's still enjoyable. This plays better than the two feature films that were cut from it because it allows for things to happen at their own pace instead of feeling rushed or having a sense that "hey I missed something". One of the trilogy of three good serials Lugosi made, the others being SOS Coast Guard and Phantom Creeps

Bela Lugosi starred as Frank AKA Chandu Chandler in 1934 in a serial called The Return of Chandu. Chandu has been popularized greatly by the 1932 film starring Edmund Lowe as Chandu and Lugosi as the arch-enemy Roxor. Now, Lugosi gets to play an atypical role for him, the hero - and he does a rather nice job through most of it despite very, very cheap production values, inferior direction, gross editing mistakes, and abysmal special effects. This Return of Chandu is the 65 minute edit that came from the original 12 chapter serial of the same title. The first half was made into this film and the second half of the serial was edited into Chandu and the Magic Isle. When considering that this is a product of a much longer serial, you must understand that you are going to have continuity problems galore and other inherent ones as well. Notwithstanding all of that, this story about Chandu fighting a group of cat worshipers(?)wanting to abduct the princess Nadji and sacrifice her on the island of Lemuria is engaging and fun. It is a very pleasant surprise to see Bela play the good guy and the hero. His magical powers are pretty suspect as we see him "disappear" and look at people very relentlessly with his hypnotizing eyes ala Dracula. Maria Alba makes a beautiful princess if nothing else and the rest of the cast is adequate. Yes, production values are limited and, yes, the editing job here was a hatchet job of the first half of the serial. The second feature, Chandu and the Magic Island, fares better as it has many of the more "action-packed" scenes.