Our Monday evening Chat/Film Viewing: "The Black Camel"
As we reach the end of the first month of our journey through the entire Charlie Chan film series we have reached the oldest existing example from the Charlie Chan film series proper, "The Black Camel." Starring Warner Oland in just his second appearance as Charlie Chan, we see the portrayal of the character still in the early stages of development. Compare Oland's Chan in this film to the one we will be seeing next in "Charlie Chan in London" which followed the three "lost" films that followed "The Black Camel."
"The Black camel" also has the distinction of having been the only picture filmed on location in Charlie Chan's Honolulu back yard! We see some veery nice shots of the Royal Hawaiian Hotel which had opened just four years earlier. The film opens with an outdoor sequence of scenes shot at Kailua Beach which is over the Pali from Honolulu, on the other side of the island of Oahu. Another nice tidbit is a driving sequence seen where the background, seen in rear projection, was actually filmed along Prospect street on Punchbowl Hill, very accurately showing the area where the Chan family would have lived!
But, most importantly, in this adventure, Charlie Chan seeks to find the answer to the question: "Who killed Shelah Fane?" Who was it that killed the renowned film actress who was currently working in Honolulu on her latest picture?
So, please join us in our Chat Room which is located HERE at our Charlie Chan Family Home. Please use any of the “Chat Room” links to join us. We begin with arrivals and greetings at 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time, and we roll our personal copies of our features exactly 30 minutes later.
Even if you cannot access a copy of the above-noted adventures, please do join us anyway, as you will NOT be left out of our ongoing chat and festivities. Also, as is our custom, newcomers are offered the seat of honor at our humble table. (Many of our films, such as this week’s entry, may be found available for viewing online through such outlets as YouTube. Happily, at last check, "The Black Camel" IS available at YouTube!
Thank you so much, and let’s meet for yet another fun Monday evening as we gather to watch “The Black Camel.”
(PLEASE NOTE: If you would like to receive weekly email announcements regarding our Monday Evening Chats, as well as receive high-quality scanned movie still images (one per week) from our films of the week, please email us at: charliechanfamily@yahoo.com.)
