This week's Monday Evening Chat/Film Viewing: "Charlie Chan in Egypt"
Egypt! Mysterious Land of the Pharaohs! This provides the backdrop for this week’s
Monday Evening Chat and Film Viewing as our yearlong tour of the entire Charlie Chan
film series proper moves along with “Charlie Chan in Egypt” starring Warner Oland and
featuring Stepin Fetchit. In this adventure, Charlie Chan faces the unknown and ancient
curses to solve mysterious deaths that have seemingly occult connections.
Please join us in our Chat Room which is located at our Charlie Chan Family Home: www.charliechan.info, and 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 film exactly 15 minutes later (8:15).
Even if you cannot access a copy of the above-noted film, 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, etc. HAPPY NEWS…this week’s film, “Charlie Chan in Egypt,” IS available at YouTube! Here is the address: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1E2zrjB03_E
FILM NOTES: Although the ‘American Film Institute Catalog’ lists the running time for “Charlie Chan in Egypt” as 72 minutes, most sources today state that it is actually 65 minutes in length. Perhaps the larger figure relates to the original running time, while, the smaller may indicate that surviving prints of this film have been shortened. This may suggest that “Charlie Chan in Egypt” suffered loss and then was reconstituted at some point. As can be seen and heard in the opening title and credits, the film seems to have something of an abrupt start. As well, the opening music score has a mysterious sound that can be heard 19 seconds in. As it turns out, the music, complete with the sound of a splash made by the injured Tom Evans, a sequence which can be heard beginning at the film’s 51:30 mark and running for about 30 seconds, is what was at some point “lifted” to provide the musical opening for “Charlie Chan in Egypt”! Similarly, the abrupt display of “The End” with a short bit of music was also certainly added at a later date.
NEXT WEEK (February 24) we will be sharing “Charlie Chan in Shanghai,” as Keye Luke returns as Number Two Son, Lee.
“THE RETURN OF CHARLIE CHAN” ON DVD: If you are interested in purchasing a clear, clean copy of “The Return of Charlie Chan” (Universal – 1971) a made-for-TV movie starring Ross Martin as Charlie Chan, I can recommend a version which you will find at: http://www.ioffer.com/i/the-return-of-charlie-chan-ross-martin-dvd-504052734. It lists for $14.99 which includes postage/handling. However, you may make a lower offer!
A NEW CHARLIE CHAN BOOK: “The Charlie Chan Mystery Movie Guide” by Luke Freemen, who attended last week’s Chat, is available at a list price of $16.99 (and less via Amazon.com). Please read our description of this new Chan entry at our Entrance page at www.charliechan.info.
AND… Please check out the new comic series, “Chinatown Cop,” based on the life of HPD Detective Chang Apana at: www.chinatowncop.com.
Please take care, have a pleasant Monday, and let’s all get together for another Chan-filled evening of fun and sharing as we watch “Charlie Chan in Egypt.”
