Charlie Chan Collection 3 [Import USA Zone 1]

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."

-------------------------------------------
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)

On retrouve dans ce coffret de 4 films le mythique détective chinois d'Honolulu, Charlie Chan, interprété par l'acteur (d'origine suédoise) Warner Oland. Les quatre films sont les suivants: The Black Camel (1931), Charlie Chan's Secret (1936), Charlie Chan on Broadway (1937) et Charlie Chan at Monte Carlo (1937), qui est le dernier Charlie Chan interprété par Warner Oland, l'acteur décédant subitement peu après le tournage de ce film. Tous les films bénéficient d'une version originale sous-titrée français. Pas de version française. Les bonus, assez nombreux, sont en version originale et ne sont pas sous-titré. On retrouve les qualités et les défauts des autres films de cette série: une intrigue souvent peu intéressante, une mise en scène solide mais peu inspirée, un humour constant et un charme qui tient au personnage crée par Earl Derr Biggers, à sa douceur, à ses aphorismes...