Charlie Chan en Égypte

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.

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.

Charlie Chan in Egypt (1935)

*** 1/2 (out of 4)

An archaeologist makes a major discovery when he finds a mummy's tomb but he hasn't much time to celebrate his finding because he's shortly after found dead. The locals believe that it's the curse of opening up the tomb but Charlie Chan (Warner Oland) believes something human was behind the murder.

CHARLIE CHAN IN Egypt is without question the highlight of the series as it contains the perfect mix of mystery and some pretty dark horror elements. It's funny to think that the mummy only appears in a couple scenes here yet you could make a strong argument that this here was much better than Universal's 1932 film as well as any of its sequels that would follow. Of course, this isn't a mummy movie per say because it's a mystery but there's no doubt that the horror elements here are used to perfection and in the end we're left with a very good and highly entertaining gem.

I think the strongest thing going for the film is its atmosphere created by director Louis King. The director had specialized in "B" and "C" movies throughout the silent era but this here was clearly the job of someone with talent who could show it when given the right material. The screenplay itself contains a very good story, some memorable characters and there's no question that it leaves you guessing as to who is doing the killings all the way to the end. Take the screenplay and mix it in with the atmosphere and you've got something quite special. Just take a look at how dark the entire movie is and how the director makes perfect use of the trapped doors and those glowing eyes from the mummy's tomb.

Another major plus are the performances with Oland once again delivering a great one in the role of Chan. By this time he obviously had the role down perfectly but it's worth praising him for not just sleep-walking through the film or phoning in the performance. Pat Paterson, Thomas Beck and James Eagles are all extremely good as well. A young Rita Hayworth adds some sexiness to the picture and Stepin Fetchit is here with his typical scared cat role.

CHARLIE CHAN IN Egypt is one of the better mysteries from the decade but you can also strongly argue that it contains some of the best horror elements as well. It's funny to think that Fox really wasn't all that impressive when it came to their horror films from this decade yet, in a mystery of all things, they deliver something this good.

"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.

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.