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Charlie Chan Collection, Vol. 3 (Charlie Chan's Secret / Charlie Chan at Monte Carlo / Charlie Chan on Broadway / The Black Camel) 
Actors : Robert Young
Studio : 20th Century Fox
by 20th Century Fox
Brand : TWENTIETH CENTURY FOX HOME ENT
Release Date : 2007-08-14
Publisher : 20th Century Fox
Availability : Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Number of Items : 4
EAN : 0024543457640
UPC : 024543457640
Avg. Customer Rating: (based on 35 reviews)
List Price : $49.98
Our Price : $24.99
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Product Description |
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Volume three of the Charlie Chan Collection series includes three feature-length films as well as tons of bonus material including documentaries about the artist. The films include 1936's CHARLIE CHAN'S SECRET 1937's CHARLIE CHAN ON BROADWAY 1937's CHARLIE CHAN AT MONTE CARLO 1931's CHARLIE CHAN: THE BLACK CAMEL and much more.System Requirements:TRT: 238 Mins.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: MYSTERY/SUSPENSE Rating: NR UPC: 024543457640 Manufacturer No: 2245764 |
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Americancivilwar.com |
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"Hollywood is famous furnisher of mysteries," observes the honorable Honolulu detective, Charlie Chan, in The Black Camel. And few cinematic sleuths are as renowned or beloved as Chan. As the chief of police proclaims in Charlie Chan at Monte Carlo, "All the world knows of Charlie Chan." For devotees of Earl Derr Biggers' literary creation, this is an essential boxed set that marks the beginnings and the end of the franchise's Warner Oland golden era. In addition to vintage treats such as The Black Camel (1931), the earliest known-existing Chan film to star Oland as the iconic sleuth, it also contains intriguing extras, including the 1929 film Behind the Curtain, which features E.L. Park as Chan in this character's first (albeit fleeting) screen appearance in a Fox film (and, like butler Jeeves' mere one-sentence walk-on in the P.G. Wodehouse short story "Extricating Young Gussie," it is a most inauspicious beginning for such a towering figure in popular culture). The Swedish-born Oland portrayed Chan in 16 films. This set includes his last two as Chan before his untimely death in 1938, Monte Carlo and Charlie Chan on Broadway, both released in 1937. Give your regards to Broadway, in which a dame "still hot enough to blister" is murdered over an incriminating diary. This set also includes the eerie Charlie Chan's Secret (1936). The films are a bit creaky, but that's part of the fun. Each has its charms and delights, from the rat-a-tat New York slang that baffles Chan in Broadway to his signature aphorisms that range from the sage ("Though loved one seem to be taken away, remain always near") to the puzzling ("Sometimes very difficult to pick up pumpkin with one finger"). Keye Luke provides comic relief as enthusiastic No. 1 son in Monte Carlo and Broadway. Camel features Robert Young in his official screen debut and Bela Lugosi, fresh from Dracula, as a sinister mystic with too much influence on an actress with a skeleton in her closet. The audio commentaries on Camel and Secret are efficient and informative (did you know that Goldfinger villain Odd Job was styled on Chan's look?). Other entertaining segments unearth Oland's career, Chan's influence on detective fiction, and those "Chan-isms." Also fascinating is a re-creation of Charlie Chan's Chance, one of four lost Oland/Chan films. For those who have yet to make Charlie's acquaintance, this Chan-tastic collection is an excellent introduction. As one admiring cop states in Broadway, "You just think you have (met a detective). Now, go and meet Charlie Chan." --Donald Liebenson |
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defective recording |
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I own a high end Onkio DVD player. One of the 4 DVDs refuses to play on my player. |
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Dad loves these movies. |
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My father has been a fan of Charlie Chan since he was a boy. These movies have brought back fond memories of his childhood. I found it interesting to see the all star co-stars in these movies. For any Charlie fan, these are must have movies. |
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Charlie Chan Collection, Volume 3 |
Though Swedish, Warner Oland played Chinese detective Charlie Chan to perfection. As with the other volumes in this series, these films are fun to watch again and again.
I highly recommend this collection of films. |
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This is the third box set in the Charlie Chan series |
I'm not saying that I'm obsessed with Charlie Chan however I do have a copy that I got from eBay when Charlie Chan was not politically correct, a copy off of the television, a copy from England when they were not available in the United States, and now I am collecting the copies that are coming out available in the United States.
This box set contains:
"Charlie Chan's Secret" (1936) B/W 72 minutes
"Charlie Chan on Broadway" (1937) B/W 68 minutes
"Charlie Chan at Monte Carlo" (1937) B/W 72 minutes
"The Black Camel" (1931) B/W 71 Minutes
Some people nowadays are complacent and expect DVD features or extras. I personally just wanted a copy of Charlie Chan they would not fade away as it does on tape. I thought I was duplicating some of the individual movies that I already own. However it turns out I should have paid more attention to the features. It a delightful surprise to find that these have been digitally restored with HD in mind, and are a lot easier to watch. You notice details that you didn't notice before.
Of course restoration is not the only advantage of this box set. There are several featuretts, still photos, and other goodies. One feature that I was not too thrilled with was the commentary by film critic Ken Hanke and the film historian John Cork; they appear more to be trying to get "one up" on each other and don't appear to have a very in-depth history of film as they were describing the set of the Castle in Charlie Chan's secret and completely missed a lot of the points that you would've caught if you had watched old UFA films such as "The Cabinet of Caligari."
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What is Charlie Chan's Secret?
This film starts out with that familiar 30s mystery sounding music. Then we immediately cut into a diving scene where they used underwater type music. Here Charlie Chan (Warner Oland) is on a boat searching for the missing body of Allen Colby. Allen is the long missing heir to the family fortune and was on his way back to clean it when he met with an accident. Or was it an accident?
Even though the Ouija board said that Allen was dead, we make one last attempt to contact him through a séance. Will Allen show? If so can he point out his killer?
Only Charlie Chan with his unique perspective can make heads or tails of what the secret is all about. Even Charlie has to learn throughout the movie and we learn with him.
This is one of Warner Oland's best. We get a lesson in radio, and quinine that evidently was used at one time for colds.
So let's sit back and enjoy a spooky spirit house, a handful of spooky people, and a shot in the dark.
Charlie Chan Collection, Vol. 1 (Charlie Chan in London / Charlie Chan in Paris / Charlie Chan in Egypt / Charlie Chan in Shanghai / Eran Trece)
Charlie Chan Collection, Vol. 2 (Charlie Chan at the Circus / Charlie Chan at the Olympics / Charlie Chan at the Opera / Charlie Chan at the Race Track)
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Charlie Chan movies like hot chocolate on cold winters day-most welcome! |
After watching these movies,you will be coming up with alot of Chan aphorisms like that one...but probably much,much better!
This box set includes:
Charlie Chan's Secret,Charlie Chan on Broadway,Charlie Chan at Monte Carlo,Behind That Curtain(1929,the first appearance of the Chan character at Fox),The Black Camel and Charlie Chan's Chance(a recreation of what this lost film might have looked like).
I haven't seen any of these films in at least 50 years but they have lost none of their charm and heart and that is in BIG part to Warner Oland himself.I have seen Oland,Toler and Winters each playing the famous detective.In my oppinion the latter two just tried hard to imitate Oland but fell far short of the mark.They didn't have the dignity,heart,warmth nor comportment the way Oland did.In fact I have seen very few actors immerse themselves in their characters as much as he did.I would even dare say that after a time the two almost became inseperable.I know relatively little of Warner Oland's career except that I know he had played Oriental parts in previous years and that there was at one stage a walk off of a film set by the actor and then his eventual return to Sweden.He was having personal problems,alot of it brought on by alcohol.By today's standards one might say he was burned out.In the end he never returned and died in his homeland.Tragic,for his family and the public,as we lost a very talented man that day in 1938.
I recall reading but never finishing a Derr Biggers Charlie Chan novel.The reason? I had watched a couple of Oland Chan's before hand.Big mistake.I found the character in the books to be different than the on screen character fleshed out with such panache by Oland.It is one of the few times I have committed the literary sin of preferring the movie over the book.That is the impact Oland had on me and that impact has only been heightened considerably with the release of this and the other Oland Chan
films by Fox.
Each film has been transferred over to DVD using the best available source material on hand at Fox.There is a definite difference in the quality from one film to the next but the age of one particular film compared to another matters little.As I said it's the quality of the material on hand which makes it or breaks it.Some are very clean and crisp while others are quite grainy.However ALL are visually quite clear.
Fox seems to have done the best they can with what they have.When one considers that four versions are seemingly lost we should be thankful to at least have these films.
Finally all these sets come with many featurettes that are sure to delight even the most casual Chan fan.As is my practice I have not seen them yet but I am looking forward to viewing them all at a later time.
In conclusion I highly recommmend these Warner Oland Charlie Chan box sets to one and all.It is a must have for all Charlie Chan fans and for those who have never seen them I will tell you that you are in for a special treat.And for those curious enough to want to see the later Chan actors to compare I would advise you to rent if you can.If not possible just buy one or two and see how you like them.But I think it will become apparent very quickly that THESE Chans with the magnificent and talented Warner Oland will become,like me,your favourites too! |
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