OUR CCF MONDAY EVENING CHAT FOR February 12, 2024: “Charlie Chan in Egypt”
CHAT NUMBER: 1,242
FROM CHARLIE CHAN: “Waiting for tomorrow waste of today.”
THIS WEEK: We continue along our group journey, this year’s Charlie Chan Film Tour, with “Charlie Chan in Paris,” the second stop on Charlie Chan’s “connected” travel adventures…and, we meet Number One Son, Lee!
OUR CHAT ROOM: Go to our “Chat Room” page, and, at the bottom of that page, click on the “Charlie Chan Family Chat Room ENTRANCE” link. You may then enter as a “Guest,” choosing the name you wish to use.
OUR FEATURE PRESENTATION: “Charlie Chan in Egypt” (1935; 72 minutes) Happily, this film IS available online for those who lack a personal copy:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WWBBMCbwEmk
FEATURE SUMMARY: Charlie Chan travels to Egypt on behalf of the French Archeological Society to investigate Professor Arnold’s excavation of Ahmeti’s tomb, as artifacts from the tomb have been found in other museums, contrary to the agreement that Arnold had made with the Society. When the archaeologist disappears during the excavation of other ancient art treasures, Chan must sort out the stories of the archaeological team to find out why priceless treasures are ending up in the hands of private collectors, while confronting a series of seemingly supernatural events.
FEATURE NOTES: The American Film Institute Catalog correctly lists the running time for “Charlie Chan in Egypt” as 72 minutes. However, recent sources have stated that it is actually 65 minutes in length. The larger figure certainly relates to the original running time, while the smaller running time may indicate that some surviving prints of this film have been shortened. The music and the appearance of the opening title and credits lend further credence to this probability, as the music and accompanying sound of water splashing can be traced to a scene that occurs 51 minutes into the film. It is likely that the original opening title sequence has been lost and the current version was a reconstruction, possibly owing to the film having been shortened in length at some point in its existence. The present title card credits only Warner Oland, Pat Patterson, Thomas Beck, Rita Cansino, and Stepin Fetchit, and there are no closing credits. It is unlikely that this was originally the case. It is interesting to note, however, that publicity stills for Charlie Chan in Egypt also credit only these same five actors. “Charlie Chan in Egypt” features an early film appearance by Rita Hayworth, who was at that stage of her career still using her birth name, Rita Cansino.
THIS WEEK’S EXTRAS:
EXTRA #1: Tut-ankh Amen's Tomb (1923)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NIop9OwRaQA
Running time: 4:14
EXTRA #2: The Comedian Who Lost His Fortune, Stepin Fetchit - Story You Should Know
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8dbBaRDBUEE
Running time: 15:45
OUR MESSAGE BOARD: Please consider visiting our Message Board. Feel free to add a message to a post or begin a conversation…or state a thought! Our Message Board has been there for YOU since 2004!
AS ALWAYS, WE BEGIN OUR EVENING at 7:30 Eastern Time with a 45-minute block of time for arrivals and greetings, and the sharing of an extra…or two...or even three! (please see above). Then, at precisely 8:15 ET, we begin running our feature film simultaneously starting our personal or online copies of this week’s feature!
AT OUR BULLETIN BOARD: THE CHARLIE CHAN FAMILY HOME 2023 NEWSLETTER is available for your enjoyment at our “Bulletin Board” and “Study” (under the “Charlie Chan” category) at our Charlie Chan Family Home!
OUR FEBRUARY POLL is available on our Bulletin Board or directly at: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/X2BNWWF
NEXT WEEK: “Charlie Chan in Shanghai”
SO… Please join us as we share “Charlie Chan in Egypt” as well as two related "extras"!
