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Re: The Black Camel Novel

Chris,

To be honest I have never liked the Biggers stories as much as the films, but I reread CAMEL a couple of months ago. It definitely fleshes out some of the characters as featured in the movie and adds to the overall enjoyment of the story.

It is impossible for me to read these stories without having a mental picture of Warner Oland as Chan which is ironic considering that Toler was the one who tried to model his Chan after the novels.

Steve

Re: Re: The Black Camel Novel

Dear Chris,

I, too, picture Warner Oland in the role of Charlie chan when I read the Biggers novels. It makes sense, actually, I feel, as Biggers, himself, was as pleased as could be with Oland's personification. Also, except for "Keeper of the Keys," all of the stories were originally made into Oland Chan films. (The "proto-Chan" silent movies as well as the talking "Behind That Curtain" were, in my opinion, Charlie Chan pictures in little more than name. Biggers' stories were changed drastically, especially in the silents, and Chan was little more than an afterthought.)

Sincerely,
Rush