The Black Camel (1931)

User Rating:

7.3/10   

Director:

Hamilton MacFadden

Writers:

Earl Derr Biggers (novel)
Barry Conners (writer)

Release Date:

21 June 1931 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Horror | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

CHARLIE CHAN'S Latest Thriller

Plot:

The unsolved murder of a Hollywood actor several years earlier and an enigmatic psychic are the keys to help Charlie solve the Honolulu stabbing death of a beautiful actress.

Plot Keywords:

Honolulu | Murder | Psychic | Charlie Chan | Movie Star

Cast

Warner Oland	...	Charlie Chan
Sally Eilers	...	Julie O'Neil
Bela Lugosi	...	Tarneverro
Dorothy Revier	...	Shelah Fane
Victor Varconi	...	Robert Fyfe
Murray Kinnell	...	Smith
William Post Jr.	...	Alan Jaynes
Robert Young	...	Jimmy
Violet Dunn	...	Anna the maid
J.M. Kerrigan	...	MacMaster
Mary Gordon	...	Mrs. MacMaster
Rita Rozelle	...	Luana
Otto Yamaoka	...	Kashimo

Runtime:

71 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono | Mono (Western Electric System)

Filming Locations:

Honolulu, O'ahu, Hawaii, USA

Company:

Fox Film Corporation

Trivia:

Of the five Warner Oland Charlie Chan films based on the original Earl Derr Biggers novels, only this one still survives. The other four are believed to have been lost in one of two fires, one in the thirties and the other in the sixties.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: The knife thrown at Chan when he discovers the scratches under the table couldn't possibly have come from the direction it is thrown from.

Quotes:

Charlie Chan: Alas, mouse cannot cast shadow like elephant.

Movie Connections:

Followed by Charlie Chan in the Secret Service (1944)

I loved 'The Black Camel'

I must forewarn, one and all, I love murder mysteries. I am also a huge fan of the Earl der Biggers character, Charlie Chan. They are rather formulaic with their always being a young lovebirds involved in each case. The handsome young man in this one...was Robert Young's first starring role. The cast included Bela Lugosi and Dwight Frye, apparently they had become a tagteam of sorts. Their movie Dracula had come out earlier that year. Bela played a famous mind reader that was in Hawaii on business. We meet Warner Oland, my personal favorite Charlie Chan, casing the mind reader, trying to disguise himself as a Chinese business man. Of course, Bela sees right through the charade and deduces that Charlie is really a policeman...Charlie warns Bela that they don't care for ripoff artists on the islands. Bela tells Charlie that they are both mystics...Chan investigates the past, while he investigates the future. The movie was full of plot twists and red herrings. The direction was crisp and the acting first rate. Though, in today's world of political correctness, the Asian stereotypes would be and are inappropriate...if one can overlook accepted bias' from eons ago...you can enjoy one of the first Charlie Chan's ever made. I believe Charlie Chan Carries On is the first episode of Charlie Chan, portrayed by Warner Oland...this is the second episode and one well worth your time to watch.