I got my copy of Volume 3 of the Chan set in last week from Amazon, on Wednesday to be exact. I'll tell you: I was so impressed with what they did.
First off, I finally got to see some of these great movies. Black Camel was really good, CC's Secret was darn near perfect, I enjoyed CC on Broadway... especially at the end of the movie where Keye Luke looked like a raccoon, and CC at Monte Carlo was a lot of fun, although it was kind of goofy to see the killer hit by a speeding car after escaping.
And for the first time ever, I can honestly say I did not like a Chan film... I tried to get into "Behind That Curtain", but I can clearly see why when I asked about this movie, I mostly heard negative reviews of it. It definitely was not in the spirit of the '31-'45 Chans, but it was important to have because from a historical perspective, I knew the movie was necessary for the movies of the '30s to come out.
Last but not least, I was quite a bit impressed with what they did with Charlie Chan's Chance. That could not have been an easy feat and I had to laugh at some of Chan's wonderful aphorisms that always work well for me. It was spectacular that this was even possible, and truly a shame that this movie is missing, possibly forever, as it would be a fun movie to watch.
My personal opinion is that BEHIND THAT CURTAIN is not a Chan film. Not now and not in 1929. It is based on a Chan novel, but the character was virtually written out of the screenplay. I agree that it is historically important to have, but the film itself is virtually unwatchable and doesn't have the polish of an Edward D. Wood production for example.
I've been a visitor to your message board many times, but this is my first post. I was delighted when Fox began to issues the films on DVD and I have all three sets, but the latest one is especially nice. Charlie Chan on Broadway has always been one of my favorites and The Black Camel is great, too; but I want to put a word in defense of Behind That Curtain. It's true that Charlie puts in a limited appearance, but E. L. Park is commanding is his scene and Chan does figure in the final action, but beyond that, the film is a very interesting melodrama. Like most 1929 films, it's a little creaky but some of the desert scenery is beautiful and it benefits from the good performances of Warner Baxter and Boris Karloff. The culture and music critic Gary Giddins reviewed the set in the New York Sun last week. Here is a link to his review:
http://www.nysun.com/article/60452?access=302790.
