When it comes to the subject of the film 'Eran Trece'
my knowledge of this film is only basic. I understand that it was you, Rush (along with the help of a Spanish-speaking friend) who decided to undertake the huge task of translating the Spanish-language film Eran Trece into English.
I guess my questions are these... Since the script to the missing Chan: 'Charlie Chan Carries On' does exist, and is printed out in full on your website, and Eran Trece is supposed to be a facsimile of 'Carries On', why was it necessary to translate ET? Shouldn't they be exactly the same? Was the English script different from the Spanish? Kashimo appears in the original Biggers novel of CC Carries On, does he appear in Eran Trece? I believe that in Ken Hanke's book of Chan Films he states that the original script to ET does exist. Can you clarify this?
A number of years ago, when I was in the process of transcribing the scripts for the four "lost" Charlie Chan films, a task that required a dozen trips up to Los Angeles, I had the good fortune to be able to take a pretty good look at the script for "Eran Trece." The script was bilingual, and, sadly, I didn't have the necessary time needed to copy the English translation. There was no Kashimo in this script, and, interestingly, the breakfast scene with the Chan family that we see in "The Black Camel" was supposed to have appeared in "Eran Trece."
"Eran Trece" is sufficiently different from "Charlie Chan Carries on" to require a separate treatment with regard to the dialog. When I worked with my good friend Adrian Jimenez to make the translation into English (at this time, there was none available, and it was made available to a gentleman in England who produced a nice quality subtitled DVD), I did make use of the "Carries On" script, as there are a goodly number of parallel passages. It was also very useful in clarifying some questions that we had.
All in all, "Eran Trece" is probably very close to the final version of "Charlie Chan Carries On." Over all, I would estimate that the script for "Charlie Chan Carries On" follows that of "Eran Trece" by about 75 to 80 percent. It should be noted that the former is considerably longer than the later in running time, and this can probably be tied to the long party scene aboard ship in "Eran Trece."
It is my opinion that the translation used for the subtitles for the recent Fox release of "Eran Trece" was based on the script mentioned above. Also, the Fox translation is more accurate than that made by my friend and me, mainly in the more subtle meanings.
I hope that these answers have been of some help to you.
Thank you for your detailed reply. I was under the false impression that both scripts were identical. I can only imagine the hours of work and dedication that this project and transcribing the scripts for the four "lost" Chan films undertook. Thanks again for taking the time to answer my questions.
