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Author Topic: Charlie Chan and Mr. Moto  (Read 4898 times)

1SO

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Charlie Chan and Mr. Moto
« on: July 27, 2014, 10:57:39 PM »
Mrs. 1SO loves a good old-fashioned style murder mystery. We've been dancing around these films for quite a while and after last year's Mr. Moto investigation, it feels like the time to get into this massive catalog of films.

Because the films don't have a set chronology and some of the early titles are lost, we will be skipping around, but we plan to start with the 16 Chan films starring Warner Oland.

Like with Mr. Moto, this Marathon could end at any time if the films prove bad enough, but I will keep a chronological Index of what we watch in this first post.

The Black Camel (1931) * * 1/2
Charlie Chan in London (1934) * * *
Charlie Chan in Paris (1935) * * 1/2
Charlie Chan in Egypt (1935) * * 1/2
Charlie Chan in Shanghai (1935) * *
Charlie Chan's Secret (1936) * * *
Charlie Chan at the Race Track (1936) * * *
Charlie Chan at the Opera (1936) * * *
Charlie Chan at the Olympics (1937) * * *
Charlie Chan on Broadway (1937) * * *
Charlie Chan at Monte Carlo (1937) * *
Think Fast, Mr. Moto (1937) * * *
Thank You, Mr. Moto (1937) * * *
Mr. Moto's Gamble (1938) * * 1/2
Mr. Moto Takes a Chance (1938) * 1/2
Mysterious Mr. Moto (1938) * *
Mr. Moto's Last Warning (1939) * 1/2
Mr. Moto on Danger Island (1939) * * 1/2
Mr. Moto Takes a Vacation (1939) * * 1/2
« Last Edit: August 29, 2014, 12:44:10 PM by 1SO »

1SO

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Re: Charlie Chan
« Reply #1 on: July 27, 2014, 11:13:17 PM »

Warner Oland

I wanted to address up front the controversy regarding the character of Charlie Chan and the way he was portrayed in films. Chan has been called a positive role model, depicting a Chinese man who is heroic, honorable and the smartest person in the room. He has also been called an offensive stereotype. Always portrayed by a non-asian, Chan often speaks in incomplete sentences and fortune cookie proverbs.

This is something I am taking for granted going in. I am not watching the films to explore how offensive they are or criticize them repeatedly on that basis. I'm accepting it as part of the deal, and will only comment if it comes up in a particularly strong or harsh way within the film. Basically, I'm just looking to enjoy a bunch of whodunits. I've already watched one film, and I think Chan's subservient nature feeds into his method, much like the arrogance of Sherlock Holmes. As for the way he talks, it's a quick learning curve, but I quickly came to enjoy the way his fortune cookie wisdom lets you in on his deductive reasoning. Here are some examples from Charlie Chan in London.

"It is unasked question which prevent sleep."
"Front seldom tell truth. To know occupants of house, always look in backyard."
"Regret do not understand English - only American."

1SO

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Re: Charlie Chan
« Reply #2 on: July 27, 2014, 11:23:26 PM »
Charlie Chan in London (1934)
* * *
This seemed like a good place to start. English estates always make a nice location for a murder mystery and I could focus on how Inspector Chan works his method among the posh set. There are a couple of clues that drop in from off camera, but I never thought the script was giving Chan an unfair advantage over Mrs. 1SO and I for solving the mystery. In fact, we usually figured things out about the same time, except for the killer's identity. The wife and I both got that one wrong.

Warner Oland is quite likable as Chan, though he lacks the presence that Peter Lorre gave Mr. Moto. That puts him far behind stars like William Powell or Humphrey Bogart. Chan tends to stay on one note, much like an Agatha Christie lead, but there are a couple of nice instances of Chan having to get verbally tough. Unfortunately, Oland tends to lose his Chinese accent during those exchanges. But I'm rooting for him to impress me in at least one of these films.

1SO

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Re: Charlie Chan
« Reply #3 on: July 28, 2014, 11:19:22 PM »
Charlie Chan in Paris (1935)
* * 1/2
For something unusual, this mystery gives the killer a lot of screen time. Granted they are wearing a phony disguise, but they're in the film as much as Chan. The hook seems to be how can anybody we know be the killer since all possible suspects are with Chan when the murders happen? The solution isn't very clever, especially if you narrow it down to somebody with both motive and a similar body type. A nice try, but not an interesting way to go about a mystery story.

I didn't know this was going to be a regular occurrence, but so far there have been some interesting appearances by more well-known actors. Ray Milland and Alan Mowbray were suspects in London and Paris has Erik Rhodes (the international idiot in Astaire/Rogers films) and a small part for Norwegian character actor John Qualen. I hear Rita Hayworth is in the next one.

1SO

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Re: Charlie Chan
« Reply #4 on: July 29, 2014, 10:51:47 AM »
Charlie Chan in Egypt (1935)
* * 1/2
There's a pretty good mystery to this one, with a solid batch of possible suspects. (I was wrong about both of my picks. Mrs. 1SO got it fairly quickly.) This biggest problem with this outing is the number of racial stereotypes. Never mind Charlie Chan, there are buck-toothed Egyptian swindlers and Stepin Fetchit doing his thing, which always bothers me. Compared to them, Rita Hayworth is actually credible as a dark-haired Egyptian maid. Heck, even the rest of the cast who are white and playing British are a cartoonish, pith helmet wearing, stiff upper lip, cuppa tea types.

Jared

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Re: Charlie Chan
« Reply #5 on: July 29, 2014, 11:23:39 AM »
I've always been hesitant to start these movies because I'm just too much of a completist and I couldnt get over not being able to start at the beginning, given that 4 of the first 5 films are considered lost.

I'm sure they are perfectly disconnected, but it still kind of annoying.

Reading these eagerly. If you latch on to enough good stuff as you go on maybe I'll start watching and adding a few reviews of my own.

1SO

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Re: Charlie Chan
« Reply #6 on: July 29, 2014, 12:31:01 PM »
Nice. I honestly had no thought of anyone following along. I just created this because I hate having to wade through the main review thread for my Sherlock Holmes and Mr. Moto reviews. Because of the lost films I'm good with jumping around. Also, if the series is starting to come off as too weak, I can go to one of the higher rated adventures. As for continuity, each film has a couple of people mention that they heard of Chan from "that nasty business over in...", referring to the last film. Also, Paris introduces a character who becomes a regular through the rest of the series.

1SO

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Re: Charlie Chan
« Reply #7 on: July 30, 2014, 12:11:40 AM »
The Black Camel (1931)
* * 1/2

Wilkie Ballou: Your theory's full of holes. It won't hold water!
Charlie Chan: Sponge is full of holes. Sponge holds water.

Going back to pick up an earlier Charlie Chan adventure, the earliest Chan film starring Oland that still exists, is like watching the Pilot of a show after you've already seen the series find its footing. Chan has a family, a very large family. He also loses his cool humility with people at times. The comedy mostly fails miserably, but there are a handful of great lines and while the production value is very low, the mystery is one of the more complex that I've seen so far. Three mixed reviews, but while the other two were consistently middle of the road, this one has greater peaks and valleys.

Bela Lugosi guest stars.

Mrs. 1SO is fond of Chan's putdown, "You are a zerbra. Do you know what this means? You are a sports model jackass."

Junior

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Re: Charlie Chan
« Reply #8 on: July 30, 2014, 12:16:00 AM »
I mean, that's a pretty fantastic insult.
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Dave the Necrobumper

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Re: Charlie Chan
« Reply #9 on: July 30, 2014, 04:55:20 AM »
Awesome insult