Charlie Chan in Egypt

"Waiting for tomorrow, waste of today!" and other Chan aphorisms account for just a small portion of the delightful entertainment afforded by this eleventh offering in the 47-picture series. But for one distressing lapse, it might even rank as the best. That lapse is Mr Stepin Fetchit, about whom the less said, the better. Fortunately, his role is small, although, alas, it's considerably larger than that enjoyed by the lovely Rita Hayworth who seems to have spent most of her Fox sojourn posing for charming stills. Her role in the actual movie is inconsequential although she does manage to exchange a few lines with Warner Oland. Otherwise, all she does is to hover in the background of a few scenes.

Oland, of course, is in top form, but so are the other players, and even more importantly the Robert Ellis-Helen Logan script comes across as a real winner. Although the identity of the killer will fail to stump many viewers, the puzzle is admirably contrived and the plot worked out with commendable pace, precision and power.

This is no "B" picture. The sets are stunning. Daniel Clark's noirishly atmospheric photography also deserves special mention and even the normally humdrum director, Louis King (brother of Henry King) has risen to the occasion.

Despite the ridiculous presence of Stepin Fetchit, who really contributes nothing but the most egregious of stereotyping, this is a pretty good mystery. Oh, he is quite successful at mumbling incomprehensibly and bringing a flashlight when one is needed. He lives in perpetual fear. Anyway, something is going on with Egyptian treasures that British imperialists are stealing from Egypt to take back to museums. During a discovery, an archaeologist drops dead. This leads to infighting among groups who obviously have made a major discovery and would like it for there own. Charlie Chan has come on the scene and has no idea at the outset that there is so much going on. There is a romantic angle with the young male lead getting in over his head. One interesting thing is the appearance of the beautiful young Rita Hayworth who does little more that look attractive. What is interesting to me is that there is a point where they start to blame Charlie for all the ills they are facing. He takes this in stride because, after all, he is a lesser being in the pecking order. The method of murder and the wrapping up of the case is quite satisfying.

Warner Oland does it again with a great performance as Chan. This one also has a great setting and creepy atmosphere. It is set at a newly excavated Egyptian tomb with all the trappings. There are some genuinely scary sequences creeping around the tomb at night. A young Rita Hayworth (billed as Rita Cansino) has a small part. The only drawback for me is the stereotyped portrayal by Stephin Fechit. He is hard to understand and very annoying at times. The performances by Mantan Moreland and Willie Best in the much later Monogram Chans serve the same niche as Fechit's "Snowshoes" character, but come off much better and are funny in the same way Lou Costello or Curly Howard are funny. But this does not harm the picture. Another one to see over and over again just for the atmosphere if nothing else.

Charlie Chan in Egypt isn't my favorite Charlie Chan. For some reason, I'm more used to Sidney Toler in the role, I love Mantan Moreland, and it's always fun when one of Charlie's sons is on the scene.

What this 1935 film does have is an interesting story, footage of Egypt, which even in black and white is pretty impressive, and an appearance by a heavier, brunette, pre-electrolysis Rita Hayworth (using her original name Rita Cansino here). Pat Paterson (Mrs. Charles Boyer) is the lead woman.

Chan is in Egypt on behalf of a French museum to investigate tomb treasures that were to go to the museum but instead are in other European museums. He meets Carol Arnold (Patterson) whose father, on the dig, hasn't been heard from in some time. There's a good reason for that. He's mummified in a sarcophagus that's supposed to hold an ancient priest.

Well, there's another murder and an attempted murder as Charlie attempts to figure out who killed Professor Arnold and why.

Warner Oland is fine as Charlie, though some other performances are a little over the top/melodramatic. Mainly, James Eagles, as Professor Arnold's physically challenged son, sticks out with an absolutely maniacal performance.

I won't bother to go into the controversial Stepin Fetchit's presence in this film. His life story is an interesting one, however, and worth a look. The character he developed, which made him a millionaire, is cringe-worthy by today's standards.

All in all, an okay film.

Of the dozens of Charlie Chan films, this stands as one of the best--even though it sadly co-stars the biggest walking negative stereotype in movie history, Stepin Fetchit. Once again, Fetchit plays a rather sub-human part but at least he's a little less degrading than usual and the rest of the film is exceptional.

This film is very much like a combination of a Chan film and a mummy film--and because of the interesting backdrop the film seems far fresher and more interesting than most in the series. Charlie has been sent to an archaeological dig by a French museum. It seems the museum is justifiably angry because items from the tomb belong to them but someone has been selling them to collectors and other museums. Naturally, when Chan arrives people begin to die and it's up to Charlie to get to the bottom of it.

Despite not having any of the Chan children (particularly the ever enjoyable Keye Luke as "Lee"), this is a dandy film with some interesting twists and a mystery that is a tad over-complicated but fun to unravel. As far as my feelings about Fetchit, in this film he didn't act that much different than the Birmingham Brown character from the later Chan film, so perhaps I am just being a tad oversensitive. It's just that in so many prior films Fetchit was the living embodiment of all the negative Black stereotypes--so bad that seeing him once again kind of made me cringe.