|
Post by Doghouse6 on Apr 19, 2017 21:22:50 GMT
Aha! No wonder my remarks today sounded so familiar when I was writing them. Thought I was having déjà vu, but it turned out to be nothing more than an attack of consistency. Now I have to decide which description thereof I'd prefer: Ralph Waldo Emerson's or Oscar Wilde's. This much is certain: your memory proved sharper than mine! No worries, Doghouse! I should emphasize that, as you probably know, Emerson's quotation goes "a foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds." That's a point that is often forgotten, because not every consistency is foolish! And, pace the great Mr. Wilde, not every one is unimaginative either. Far from it, old boy. I appreciate the reassurance. I did have Emerson's qualifier in mind; while it may not have been the consistency, per se, something was making me feel a bit foolish. But I've decided to forget both he and Wilde, and think of a cookbook instead. They're full of references to "desired consistency."
|
|
|
Post by Nalkarj on Apr 19, 2017 21:35:00 GMT
No worries, Doghouse! I should emphasize that, as you probably know, Emerson's quotation goes "a foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds." That's a point that is often forgotten, because not every consistency is foolish! And, pace the great Mr. Wilde, not every one is unimaginative either. Far from it, old boy. I appreciate the reassurance. I did have Emerson's qualifier in mind; while it may not have been the consistency, per se, something was making me feel a bit foolish. But I've decided to forget both he and Wilde, and think of a cookbook instead. They're full of references to "desired consistency." OK, OK, fine... ...as long as the cookbook doesn't happen to be titled To Serve Man! (Wow, how many references can we throw into this thing? From Laurel and Hardy to the Twilight Zone, on a Charlie Chan thread...)
|
|
|
Post by Nalkarj on Apr 27, 2017 19:12:51 GMT
I'm going to bump this thread in case anyone here wants to break the tie on the CC Poll Thread.
Remember, you can choose up to three!
|
|
|
Post by snsurone on Apr 27, 2017 21:35:50 GMT
Well, yes, of course; I like nearly all of the Chans too. But I'm sure you have favorites, which is the point of the poll. That doesn't mean you dislike any of them, just that you have certain favorites. Right, snsurone ? I suppose so, Sal. I sure wish that TCM would run a marathon of Chan movies. That would be fun to watch.
|
|
|
Post by Lebowskidoo 🦞 on May 9, 2017 12:54:55 GMT
Did some research and read that Behind That Curtain was the first sound version of a Charlie Chan movie, so I've made it my very first Chan movie to view, if one doesn't count Charlie Chan and the Curse of the Dragon Queen. So far it's not what I would have expected, but then, it doesn't follow the Chan formula, he's not even the star. Planning to watch them all chronologically if I can, but I did read that a few of the movies have been lost forever, which is really sad.
|
|
|
Post by Nalkarj on May 9, 2017 13:11:20 GMT
Did some research and read that Behind That Curtain was the first sound version of a Charlie Chan movie, so I've made it my very first Chan movie to view, if one doesn't count Charlie Chan and the Curse of the Dragon Queen. So far it's not what I would have expected, but then, it doesn't follow the Chan formula, he's not even the star. Planning to watch them all chronologically if I can, but I did read that a few of the movies have been lost forever, which is really sad. Yes, very true. I haven't actually seen Behind That Curtain, which is not in the Chan series proper, but I think I'd like to take a look at it, if only for director Irving Cummings (who did several interesting pictures in the '30s) and star Boris Karloff. Charlie Chan Carries On, Warner Oland's first Chan film, is sadly lost, but there is a Spanish-language version, Eran Trece, that still exists, with Manuel Arbo in the Chan role. The next film, The Black Camel, is the earliest extant Oland Chan, and it's quite good (the location scenery is particularly good), but others like it a bit more than I do. Then there are several that are lost again, and then the series proper really starts with Charlie Chan in London, which is not all that great of a film (far too slow and stately) but which sets up several factors that will be crucial in the series later on. After that comes Charlie Chan in Paris, one of my top-3 favorite Chans, and the series largely keeps up its high quality all the way to the end of the run at Fox, in spite of Oland's death and replacement with Sidney Toler.
|
|
|
Post by Lebowskidoo 🦞 on May 9, 2017 13:20:04 GMT
Did some research and read that Behind That Curtain was the first sound version of a Charlie Chan movie, so I've made it my very first Chan movie to view, if one doesn't count Charlie Chan and the Curse of the Dragon Queen. So far it's not what I would have expected, but then, it doesn't follow the Chan formula, he's not even the star. Planning to watch them all chronologically if I can, but I did read that a few of the movies have been lost forever, which is really sad. Yes, very true. I haven't actually seen Behind That Curtain, which is not in the Chan series proper, but I think I'd like to take a look at it, if only for director Irving Cummings (who did several interesting pictures in the '30s) and star Boris Karloff. Charlie Chan Carries On, Warner Oland's first Chan film, is sadly lost, but there is a Spanish-language version, Eran Trece, that still exists, with Manuel Arbo in the Chan role. The next film, The Black Camel, is the earliest extant Chan, and it's quite good (the location scenery is particularly good), but others like it a bit more than I do. Then there are several that are lost again, and then the series proper really starts with Charlie Chan in London, which is not all that great of a film (far too slow and stately) but which sets up several factors that will be crucial in the series later on. After that comes Charlie Chan in Paris, one of my top-3 favorite Chans, and the series largely keeps up its high quality all the way to the end of the run at Fox, in spite of Oland's death and replacement with Sidney Toler. From What I've read here in Leonard Maltin's movie guide, these are the lost Chans: Charlie Chan Carries On (the first "Carry On" movie???) Charlie Chan's Chance Charlie Chan's Courage Charlie Chan's Greatest Case
Apparently, Behind That Curtain was considered lost for awhile. It's not great, pretty "Chanless" really, could have stayed lost and then I wouldn't have to be watching it now! But, I like to watch an entire series, regardless of the lesser entries. It's gonna suck not seeing better entries like the ones listed above.
|
|
|
Post by Doghouse6 on May 9, 2017 13:45:08 GMT
Apparently, Behind That Curtain was considered lost for awhile. It's not great, pretty "Chanless" really, could have stayed lost and then I wouldn't have to be watching it now! But, I like to watch an entire series, regardless of the lesser entries. It's gonna suck not seeing better entries like the ones listed above. I watched Behind That Curtain once, more in the sense of a completionist approach to the surviving work of Boris Karloff, secondary to which was curiosity about Chan's portrayal in what I consider a pre-series film. I'd call it simply a film in which Chan happens to appear as a character, and no more a part of a subsequent series than Barry Nelson's 1954 appearance as James Bond in the "Casino Royale" episode of Climax! (the highlight of which is Peter Lorre as Le Chiffre). FYI: I happen to be among those "others" to whom Salzmank refers as liking The Black Camel a bit more than he does (which we've discussed on a couple of occasions).
|
|
|
Post by Lebowskidoo 🦞 on May 9, 2017 13:50:14 GMT
Apparently, Behind That Curtain was considered lost for awhile. It's not great, pretty "Chanless" really, could have stayed lost and then I wouldn't have to be watching it now! But, I like to watch an entire series, regardless of the lesser entries. It's gonna suck not seeing better entries like the ones listed above. I watched Behind That Curtain once, more in the sense of a completionist approach to the surviving work of Boris Karloff, secondary to which was curiosity about Chan's portrayal in what I consider a pre-series film. I'd call it simply a film in which Chan happens to appear as a character, and no more a part of a subsequent series than Barry Nelson's 1954 appearance as James Bond in the "Casino Royale" episode of Climax! (the highlight of which is Peter Lorre as Le Chiffre). FYI: I happen to be among those "others" to whom Salzmank refers as liking The Black Camel a bit more than he does (which we've discussed on a couple of occasions). Well said, Doghouse6. The real series that fans fondly remember follows later. This is nothing like those other entries, but I was curious and also being a bit completionistic! Hoping to have time to watch The Black Camel today too.
|
|
|
Post by Nalkarj on May 10, 2017 19:10:50 GMT
Lebowskidoo 🦞, as you plan to watch the Chans in order, would you mind giving brief capsule reviews of them as you see them? I know that's asking for a lot, but they can even be one or two sentences (e.g., "Very good. I like the spooky atmosphere"). I'm just interested in seeing what everyone else thinks of these. I wish I could leave my poll up longer, but I suppose you can vote in it if you really like a few of them.
|
|
|
Post by Nalkarj on May 10, 2017 19:37:00 GMT
Apparently, Behind That Curtain was considered lost for awhile. It's not great, pretty "Chanless" really, could have stayed lost and then I wouldn't have to be watching it now! But, I like to watch an entire series, regardless of the lesser entries. It's gonna suck not seeing better entries like the ones listed above. I watched Behind That Curtain once, more in the sense of a completionist approach to the surviving work of Boris Karloff, secondary to which was curiosity about Chan's portrayal in what I consider a pre-series film. I'd call it simply a film in which Chan happens to appear as a character, and no more a part of a subsequent series than Barry Nelson's 1954 appearance as James Bond in the "Casino Royale" episode of Climax! (the highlight of which is Peter Lorre as Le Chiffre). FYI: I happen to be among those "others" to whom Salzmank refers as liking The Black Camel a bit more than he does (which we've discussed on a couple of occasions). Doghouse, is the "Casino Royale" Climax! episode worth watching? I'm a Bond fan (books and movies), but I just never got around to watching it, though it's fairly easily available online.
|
|
|
Post by teleadm on May 10, 2017 19:58:12 GMT
In my opinion Charlie Chan and the Curse of the Dragon Queen doesn't even try to be a Charlie Chan movie, but tries to be a bumbling Inspector Clouseau/Pink Panther wannabe instead, with miserable result, a total miscalculated misfire.
The New Adventures of Charlie Chan 1957-1958 as a TV-series staring J. Carrol Naish.
The Return of Charlie Chan filmed in 1971 but not broadcast until 1979 TV-movie with Ross Martin. Could be an unsold TV-pilot.
|
|
|
Post by Doghouse6 on May 10, 2017 20:01:06 GMT
I watched Behind That Curtain once, more in the sense of a completionist approach to the surviving work of Boris Karloff, secondary to which was curiosity about Chan's portrayal in what I consider a pre-series film. I'd call it simply a film in which Chan happens to appear as a character, and no more a part of a subsequent series than Barry Nelson's 1954 appearance as James Bond in the "Casino Royale" episode of Climax! (the highlight of which is Peter Lorre as Le Chiffre). FYI: I happen to be among those "others" to whom Salzmank refers as liking The Black Camel a bit more than he does (which we've discussed on a couple of occasions). Doghouse, is the "Casino Royale" Climax! episode worth watching? I'm a Bond fan (books and movies), but I just never got around to watching it, though it's fairly easily available online. Oh, sure, if only for Lorre. It has its curiosity value as well (Nelson makes a decidedly un-Bond-ian, and rather emotional, Bond). And 52 minutes doesn't require much of an investment.
|
|
|
Post by Nalkarj on May 10, 2017 20:04:36 GMT
In my opinion Charlie Chan and the Curse of the Dragon Queen doesn't even try to be a Charlie Chan movie, but tries to be a bumbling Inspector Clouseau/Pink Panther wannabe instead, with miserable result, a total miscalculated misfire. Oh, that's very true. It was miscalculated from the start. To paraphrase the late film critic Ken Hanke in his Charlie Chan at the Movies, the filmmakers couldn't decide whether to make Charlie a detective or an old-time movie star.
With that said, as terrible as it is (and it is terrible), I think it's an interesting misfire, just because there's a lot to analyze. (Another failed film comedy like this is Mel Brooks's Dracula: Dead and Loving It, which is also a terrible movie.) Ustinov isn't much like Charlie, but then he wasn't much like Poirot either. Some scenes are interesting, and I appreciate the black-and-white opening (a gag also used in the superior Agatha Christie adaptation The Mirror Crack'd). It's a bad movie, but I'm happy that I gave it at least a watch to figure out why it's so bad. That's more than I can say for some stinkers.
In terms of CC parodies, though, and speaking of Insp. Clouseau, I think Peter Sellers's "Sidney Wang" in Murder by Death, while not really faithful to the character, is hilarious.
|
|
Lynx
Sophomore
@lynx0139
Posts: 345
Likes: 195
|
Post by Lynx on May 10, 2017 20:23:45 GMT
What a wonderful subject to talk about. I absolutely LOVE all of the Charlie Chan movies. They are so simple yet so entertaining. I watch all of them over every few years. I'm not sure I have a favorite one...but if I did, it would be Charlie Chan in London...I think. The reason I say that is I believe it's the episode where they show a Fax machine on the ship he's sailing on. So many young people don't realize that some modern technology was already invented back in the 30's and 40's...very interesting. A few years ago they were talking about "rebooting" Charlie Chan in the form of his granddaughter to be played by Lucy Lui...the one from the Charlies Angels movies. Apparently the talks fell apart and she went on to star in "Sherlock" I believe. Too bad because I think it could have been great....and would have generated more interest in Charlie Chan. Someone above also mentioned "The Thin Man" series...again, an awesome set, very entertaining. I too, will add another set for your interest..."Torchy Blane"....look it up, there were about 5 or 6 movies made, and again, very entertaining. Nothing compares to the simple old movies where the story was all you needed.
|
|
|
Post by Nalkarj on May 10, 2017 20:38:29 GMT
Wonderful to hear, Lynx ! Our interests seem to coalign on this. The original Thin Man is in fact one of my favorite pictures of them all--beautifully done. Have you seen my thread here? As for Charlie, my top three are ... at Treasure Island, ... in Egypt, and ... in Paris. I haven't yet seen the Torchy Blane series, but I have seen Glenda Farrell in a similar characterization in Mystery of the Wax Museum, not a favorite of mine but interesting on many levels, not the least of which is the two-color Technicolor, and far superior (IMO) to the more polished and more famous remake, House of Wax. As for CC in London... would you mind voting for it in my Charlie Chan poll, if you haven't already? You can choose up to 3 pictures, but it will be closing in 9 days.
|
|
|
Post by mikef6 on May 10, 2017 21:23:15 GMT
I just voted in your poll and picked "At The Opera." I have seen a lot of Chans - I keep a couple of lists of movies I've seen - and can look up the titles. I have always enjoyed the films and its many tropes but very few, individually, stick in my mind. "Opera" is one that definitely does. Maybe it is because I am an opera fan; maybe it is because of Boris Karloff guest starring. But mainly I believe it is because, along with all the other things we think of with a Chan movie, the clues are all there for everyone to see & Charlie solves the case by analysis or, to use a detective story word, ratiocination.
|
|
|
Post by Nalkarj on May 10, 2017 21:32:19 GMT
I just voted in your poll and picked "At The Opera." I have seen a lot of Chans - I keep a couple of lists of movies I've seen - and can look up the titles. I have always enjoyed the films and its many tropes but very few, individually, stick in my mind. "Opera" is one that definitely does. Maybe it is because I am an opera fan; maybe it is because of Boris Karloff guest starring. But mainly I believe it is because, along with all the other things we think of with a Chan movie, the clues are all there for everyone to see & Charlie solves the case by analysis or, to use a detective story word, ratiocination. Thanks for that, Mike. Opera is one of my favorites too--Karloff is particularly good in it. Paris only just beat it for the three I chose in that poll, and that mostly because Paris is less well-known.
|
|
|
Post by Lebowskidoo 🦞 on May 11, 2017 13:39:54 GMT
Lebowskidoo 🦞 , as you plan to watch the Chans in order, would you mind giving brief capsule reviews of them as you see them? I know that's asking for a lot, but they can even be one or two sentences (e.g., "Very good. I like the spooky atmosphere"). I'm just interested in seeing what everyone else thinks of these. I wish I could leave my poll up longer, but I suppose you can vote in it if you really like a few of them. I watched both Behind That Curtain and The Black Camel, the first two Chans with sound. BTC is practically Chanless, but he is played by an Asian actor. Not even sure why the film makers even bothered including Chan at all, if they hadn't, we probably wouldn't even be discussing it now. Warner Oland, who plays Chan in The Black Camel, does so with charm and respect. The movie was more what I expected from BTC, a fun whodunit. Bonus points for actually being filmed in Honolulu. Bela Lugosi and Robert Young were welcome familiar faces. This one even showed us the entire Chan clan. The atmosphere is not sinister even though someone gets murdered, just a fun whodunit. I have quite a few work days ahead, so it may not be until next week when I can get a chance to see Charlie Chan in London, but will happily post here about it.
|
|
|
Post by Lebowskidoo 🦞 on May 11, 2017 13:48:18 GMT
Wonderful to hear, Lynx ! Our interests seem to coalign on this. The original Thin Man is in fact one of my favorite pictures of them all--beautifully done. Have you seen my thread here? As for Charlie, my top three are ... at Treasure Island, ... in Egypt, and ... in Paris. I haven't yet seen the Torchy Blane series, but I have seen Glenda Farrell in a similar characterization in Mystery of the Wax Museum, not a favorite of mine but interesting on many levels, not the least of which is the two-color Technicolor, and far superior (IMO) to the more polished and more famous remake, House of Wax. As for CC in London... would you mind voting for it in my Charlie Chan poll, if you haven't already? You can choose up to 3 pictures, but it will be closing in 9 days. Glenda Farrell nearly steals Mystery of the Wax Museum from the rest of the cast, an actress I'd not been aware of before seeing that movie. I learned that she was in the Torchy Blane series, knowing it has good word of mouth here makes me want to see them even more.
|
|