I agree. Tom seemed like a pretty nice guy but I didn't like the way he talked to Snowshoes. Dudley Dickerson played similar roles in the Three Stooges films and he was hilarious.
I enjoyed reading both of your assessments of "Charlie Chan in Egypt," including the thoughts on the character Snowshoes. I agree that Tom Evans treated him in a demeaning way, ant this is not often noted. But, Lin, you bring up a point that is more often mentioned that Mr. Chan treats him with much respect, referring to him as both "Mr. Snowshoes" and Efendi Snowshoes." "Effendi" is a very polite term of address of Turkish origin which means something akin to "Sir." Thank you for bringing this up.
Also, I, too, feel that the opening title card for the film has a abrupt, out-of-place look and feel. It seems that it indeed was added later.
Thank you both, again, for sharing your thoughts...
I have no proof, but have always felt that the credits on this film were produced for a later re-issue. If memory serves, the original of this film was lost in the first Fox fire in the late 30s and it is quite possible that the only other copy Fox had of this film were sans original title.
Rita Cansino's high billing is suspicious since she really does not have a major role. One wonders if the order of actors was altered when this film was eventually reissued to take adavantage of her subsquent fame.
Good points. It does seem that the opening title card/credits were created to fill missing components to the film. It might be possible that Rita Cansino (Hayworth) was billed higher than one would think appropriate because they were trying to build her up a bit. Watching "Charlie Chan in Egypt," it seems that her main role in the film is that of "eye candy." She appears often throughout the movie in ways that have little to offer to the plot!
In my many years of researching Charlie Chan films in Hawaii, I have not located any reissue playdates for the films. I have located all the first-run exhibitions in Honolulu from the 1920s to the 1940s. I have located second-run exhibitions of Chan films from 1942 to 1950. But I have not seen any ad listings for reissues of Chan films in Hawaii.
Furthermore, neither Howard Berlin or Ken Hanke, authors of the films of Charlie Chan, do not mention any reissue release dates for any Chan film.
If Fox changed the opening titles of the Chan films, this was done when the films were released to television in the 1950s.
For example, in my collection, I own three different film/video versions of "The Black Camel" (1931). One version has the original 1931 theatrical release titles. Another version has the TV titles from a 1953 film print. The third version has something completely different.
The titles of Charlie Chan in Egypt (DVD release) appear to be video-generated titles superimposed over a stock shot of an Egyptian tomb. The stock film footage jumps a bit, but the titles do not. Look closely at the closing "THE END" title. It is the same stock footage as the opening. As a former videotape operator, I did this 'trick' on several film-to-tape transfers.
During the opening credits, there is a direct cut from the last title to the first establishing shot of first scene. This coincides with a jump in the music track. There are no fades or dissolves.
No reissues of Charlie Chan films in my book. Sorry Charlie.
