The Black Camel | |
---|---|
Directed by | Hamilton MacFadden |
Written by | Hugh Stanislaus Stange (adaptation) |
Screenplay by | Barry Conners Philip Klein Dudley Nichols (uncredited) |
Based on | The Black Camel by Earl Derr Biggers |
Produced by | Hamilton MacFadden |
Starring | Warner Oland Sally Eilers Bela Lugosi Dorothy Revier |
Cinematography | Joseph August Daniel B. Clark |
Edited by | Alfred DeGaetano |
Production companies | Fox Film Corporation Hamilton MacFadden |
Distributed by | Fox Film Corporation |
Release date |
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Running time | 67 or 71 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
The Black Camel is a 1931 American pre-Code mystery film directed by Hamilton MacFadden and starring Warner Oland, Sally Eilers, Bela Lugosi, and Dorothy Revier. It is based on the 1929 novel of the same name by Earl Derr Biggers. [1] It is the second film to star Oland as detective Charlie Chan, and the sole surviving title of the first five Chan films starring Oland. The Black Camel marked the film debut of Robert Young.
Movie star Shelah Fayne is making a picture on location in Honolulu, Hawaii. She summons mystic adviser Tarneverro from Hollywood to help her decide whether to marry wealthy Alan Jaynes, a man she has known for only a week. Her friend Julie O'Neil worries, however, that the famous psychic has too much influence over Fayne. Meanwhile, Julie has fallen in love herself with local publicity director Jimmy Bradshaw.
Honolulu Police Inspector Chan pretends to be a humble merchant, but Tarneverro sees through his impersonation. Chan mentions to him the yet unsolved murder of film star Denny Mayo, committed years before.
Then Jimmy finds Shelah's body; she has been murdered. Julie makes him remove Shelah's ring before calling for the police.
Chan investigates. He invites Tarneverro to assist him. Tarneverro reveals that Shelah told him she was in love with Denny and was responsible for his death, but kept quiet to protect her career.
The suspects are many, but after various startling revelations, Chan eventually identifies the killer and the connection to Danny Mayo's death.
The film further reunited Lugosi with Dwight Frye (playing Jessop, the butler), who had appeared with him in Dracula in the same year. C. Henry Gordon, who had been in Warner Oland's first (lost) Chan film and would show up in three more Chan films with both Oland and the later Chan Sidney Toler, appears uncredited as Huntley Van Horn.[ citation needed ]
The small but crucial role of Anna the housekeeper was played by stage actress Violet Dunn, the wife of director Hamilton MacFadden. [2]
Much of the picture was shot on location in Honolulu, with several scenes filmed at the renowned Royal Hawaiian Hotel. The opening beach scene was filmed at Kailua Beach.
Charlie Chan is a fictional Honolulu police detective created by author Earl Derr Biggers for a series of mystery novels. Biggers loosely based Chan on Hawaiian detective Chang Apana. The benevolent and heroic Chan was conceived as an alternative to Yellow Peril stereotypes and villains like Fu Manchu. Many stories feature Chan traveling the world beyond Hawaii as he investigates mysteries and solves crimes.
The Black Camel (1929) is the fourth of the Charlie Chan novels by Earl Derr Biggers.
Charlie Chan Carries On (1930) is the fifth novel in the Charlie Chan series by Earl Derr Biggers.
Warner Oland was a Swedish-American actor. His career included time on Broadway and numerous film appearances. He is most remembered for playing several Chinese and Chinese-American characters: Dr. Fu Manchu, Henry Chang in Shanghai Express, and, most notably, Honolulu Police detective Lieutenant Charlie Chan in 16 films.
Victor Sen Young was an American character actor, best known for playing Jimmy Chan in the Charlie Chan films and Hop Sing in the western series Bonanza. He was born in San Francisco, California to Gum Yung Sen and his first wife, both immigrants from China.
Sidney Toler was an American actor, playwright, and theatre director. The second European-American actor to play the role of Charlie Chan on screen, he is best remembered for his portrayal of the Chinese-American detective in 22 films made between 1938 and 1946. Before becoming Chan, Toler played supporting roles in 50 motion pictures, and was a highly regarded comic actor on the Broadway stage.
Charlie Chan at Monte Carlo is a 1937 American mystery film directed by Eugene Forde and starring Warner Oland, Keye Luke and Virginia Field. The main character is Charlie Chan, a Chinese-Hawaiian detective. This was the sixteenth and final Charlie Chan film with Oland portraying Chan. The film features Keye Luke as Charlie's son Lee and character actor Harold Huber as a French police inspector. It was produced and distributed by 20th Century-Fox.
The Mysterious Dr. Fu Manchu is a 1929 American pre-Code drama film directed by Rowland V. Lee and starring Warner Oland as Dr. Fu Manchu. It was the first Fu Manchu film of the talkie era. Since this was during the transition period to sound, a silent version was also released in the United States, although only the sound version exists today. The film's copyright was renewed.
Mr. Moto's Gamble is the third film in the Mr. Moto series starring Peter Lorre as the title character. It is best remembered for originating as a movie in the Charlie Chan series and being changed to a Mr. Moto entry at the last minute.
Marjorie White was a Canadian-born actress of stage and film.
Charlie Chan in London is a 1934 American mystery film directed by Eugene Forde. The film stars Warner Oland as Charlie Chan. This is the sixth film produced by Fox with Warner Oland as the detective, and the second not to be lost, after The Black Camel (1931).
Charlie Chan in Paris is the seventh film produced by Fox with Warner Oland as Charlie Chan. Long thought lost, it is available on DVD as part of Twentieth Century Fox Home Video's Charlie Chan Collection, Vol. 1. Hamilton MacFadden directed some early scenes before Lewis Seiler took over. It is the first entry in the series to feature actor Keye Luke, who would become a mainstay in his role as Chan's "Number One Son" Lee.
Charlie Chan's Secret is a 1936 American mystery film directed by Gordon Wiles and starring Warner Oland, Henrietta Crosman and Rosina Lawrence. It is the tenth film in Fox's Charlie Chan series featuring Oland as the detective.
Charlie Chan at the Opera is considered by many to be the best Warner Oland Charlie Chan film, probably due to the presence of Boris Karloff as the principal suspect, as well as faux operatic music composed by Oscar Levant. This is the 13th film starring Oland as Chan; it was directed by H. Bruce Humberstone for 20th Century-Fox in 1936.
Charlie Chan in Rio is a 1941 American mystery film directed by Harry Lachman and featuring the Asian detective Charlie Chan. It was the tenth film to feature Sidney Toler as the title character, who is called upon to investigate the death of a suspected murderer in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Charlie Chan's Greatest Case (1933) is an American pre-Code murder mystery film starring Warner Oland as the Oriental detective Charlie Chan. It was based on the Earl Derr Biggers novel The House Without a Key (1925).
Charlie Chan's Chance is a 1932 American pre-Code murder mystery film, the third to star Warner Oland as detective Charlie Chan. It is based on the 1928 novel Behind That Curtain by Earl Derr Biggers, who also contributed to the film. The film is considered to be lost.
Charlie Chan at the Olympics is a 1937 American mystery film directed by H. Bruce Humberstone and starring Warner Oland, Katherine DeMille and Pauline Moore. It is possibly the most topical Charlie Chan film, as it features actual footage from the 1936 Berlin Olympics. There is also a scene where Charlie crosses the Atlantic in the Hindenburg. This is the 14th film starring Warner Oland as Chan and produced by Fox.
Charlie Chan Carries On is a 1931 American pre-Code mystery film directed by Hamilton MacFadden and starring Warner Oland, John Garrick and Marguerite Churchill. It is the first appearance of Warner Oland as Charlie Chan. Part of the long-running Charlie Chan series, it was based on the 1930 novel of the same title by Earl Derr Biggers. It is now considered a lost film; however, Fox simultaneously filmed a Spanish-language version which was released under the title Eran Trece—There Were Thirteen—and this version survives.
Hamilton MacFadden was an American actor, screenwriter and film director.