The Mandarin Mystery (1936)

A nice performance by Eddie Quillan, 8 March 2008

Josephine Temple (Charlotte Henry) arrives in New York with a very valuable stamp known as the Chinese Mandarin. Her intention is to sell the stamp to Dr. Alexander Kirk (George Irving), a noted stamp collector. But before she can go through with the sale, the stamp is stolen and the thief is found dead in a locked room. The police, including Inspector Queen (Wade Boteler), naturally suspect Miss Temple of having committed the murder. Fortunately for Miss Temple, however, the Inspector's son, Ellery Queen (Eddie Quillan), has taken a liking to her and will prove she couldn't possibly be guilty.

I can think of far worse ways to spend an hour than watching The Mandarin Mystery. I'm sure that movie fans more accustomed to modern, thrill-a-minute movies would find it all so dull and boring (even I'll admit that at times it can be creaky), but it worked pretty well for me. The Mandarin Mystery is one of those mystery/comedies that seem to have been popular in the 30s. The mystery elements were interesting and even the comedy bits generally hit their mark. It wasn't uproariously funny or anything, but it was amusing. I've seen Eddie Quillan in a few other movies and he's honestly never impressed me much. He's seemed capable enough, but not really noteworthy. With The Mandarin Mystery, he makes the movie work. The on-screen relationship with Wade Boteler, who played his father, is very entertaining. Finally, I enjoyed the final reveal. I won't give it away other than to say it works.

6/10

Charlie Chan's Secret (1936)

"Necessity mother of invention, but sometimes step-mother of deception.", 18 August 2007

After many years' absence, Allen Colby is on his way home to reclaim his inheritance. But there seems to be someone who wants to make sure he doesn't make it. There are plenty of suspects – Aunt Henrietta Lowell and the rest of the extended family who have grown accustomed to living off the money, Professor Bowen and Carlotta the medium who stand to benefit greatly from the generosity of Henrietta Lowell, the caretaker Ulrich who blames Colby for his daughter's death, and the family's lawyer Warren Phelps who has enjoyed administering the family's estate. Any one of these people could have it in for Colby. When Colby's lifeless body turns up at a séance, its up to Charlie Chan to find the killer.

I'm not sure how other Chan fans feel about Charlie Chan's Secret, but for me, it's a real winner. It's got everything that I could ask for in one of these movies – Warner Oland at the top of his game, atmosphere, a house full of suspects, mediums and séances, an old house with secret passages, and on and on it goes. What fun! Sure, if you sit and think about the plot too hard, it starts to fall apart. But that's not the way to watch a movie like Charlie Chan's Secret. Just turn your mind off and let it entertain. For me, it's one of the better films in the series.

There are a number of special things or moments or people in Charlie Chan's Secret that I could discuss, but I'll limit this to mentioning Herbert Mundin who plays Baxter, the butler. With no Number 1 son in sight, Mundin essentially plays the role usually reserved for Keye Luke in these early Chan films. And he does so masterfully. His comic bumbling is the perfect counter to the straight-laced Oland. One scene I especially enjoy is when Mundin must cross in front of a window through which a bullet has just passed. It's a small moment, but it's played to perfection. It's a nice performance from a talented actor.

8/10

Charlie Chan at the Opera (1936)

"Small things sometimes tell large story.", 18 July 2007

Gravelle (Boris Karloff), a former opera singer who is accused of killing his wife and her lover, is an amnesia victim living in a sanitarium. A newspaper story on the opera sparks some memory in his brain and he escapes to get his revenge on those who did him wrong. A murder at the opera house appears to be the handiwork of Gravelle. But Charlie Chan (Warner Oland) is not so sure. Can Chan put a stop to the murders and find Gravelle before anyone else dies?

Charlie Chan at the Opera is a very nice installment in the Chan series. And by all rights it should considering it's probably the "biggest" Chan film that Fox made. The movie is entertaining from beginning to end with very few dull moments. Even the opera scenes, which have importance to the plot, don't put a drag on the movie like they could have. Oland is in fine form as Chan and never played the character any better. And it's an incredible joy for me to see two of my favorites, Oland and Karloff, on the screen at the same time. It's heady stuff! The supporting cast is strong with William Demarest making the perfect foil for Oland. Also, the sets go a long way to making this one a winner. The backstage of an opera house has always been a good setting for a mystery.

Until I did some reading recently on the internet, I honestly had no idea that so many people considered Charlie Chan at the Opera to be one of the best of the series. While it's got a lot going for it, I can't rank it quite that highly. My biggest problem (and I'm sure I'll get killed for this) with the movie is the plot. I find the mystery elements of Charlie Chan at the Opera to be lacking. The resolution to the mystery seems to rely as much on "dumb luck" (for the lack of a better phrase) and other strange circumstances than it does on actual detection. But this is really all so insignificant when your having this much fun with a movie!

7/10

Sabotage (1936)

An interesting, early effort from Hitchcock, 1 June 2006

Although it's probably evident if you've read some of the other things I've written, I'm not a writer. I sometimes have difficulty putting my thoughts on a given movie into words. For whatever reason, I'm having more problems writing about Sabotage than I usually do with a movie. There are a lot of things I enjoyed about the movie. The plot, the acting (especially Sylvia Sidney), and Hitchcock's ability to create tension worked for me. Like a lot of others, the "bomb on the bus" scene is the highlight of the movie. Hitchcock's genius at creating tension is as evident in this scene as any I've run across.

Even though I've rated the film a 7/10, there are problems I have with Sabotage that bothered me. I usually hate the term "dated" when discussing movies, but it's the best term I can come up with to describe my feeling toward Sabotage. It might be that I haven't seen enough British films from the 30s or maybe it was the poor transfer on the DVD I watched, but I couldn't shake the feeling. It's really a minor point and it won't deter me from my mission of watching and discovering more of Hitchcock's older, pre-Hollywood films.

7/10

After the Thin Man (1936)

"Come on, let's get something to eat. I'm thirsty.", 23 December 2005

Nora's cousin Selma asks Nick to help her find her missing husband, Robert Landis. In short order, Nick and Nora spot the husband in a nightclub with another woman. Before you can say Asta, Robert is dead. Instead of a missing husband, Nick's got a murder case to solve. And there are plenty of suspects, each with a motive and ample opportunity. Naturally, the police turn their attention to Selma and arrest her in short order. Now Nick's the task of saving his wife's cousin.

This may be my favorite movie in the series. By the time After the Thin Man was made, William Powell and Myrna Loy had really grown into their characters. Powell and Loy exhibit undeniably natural charisma and charm. Their back and forth dialogue is as good as it gets in one of these movies. The supporting cast in After the Thin Man is also especially strong. While most fans would point to Jimmy Stewart in an early role, other members of the cast who shine include Jesse Ralph as the overly domineering Aunt Katherine and George Zucco as the mysterious Dr. Adolph Kammer. The mystery in After the Thin Man may be the most complete and thought out of the series. Being one of the first three movies Thin Man movies, After the Thin Man benefits from a story written by Dashiell Hammett. It's an ingenious story with plenty of suspense and a few nice twists.

If I have one complaint with After the Thin Man it's the "cheat" that Nick uses at the end of the movie to solve the mystery. It's a "cheat" because the audience has no way of knowing the vital piece of information introduced at the last possible moment that's necessary to identify the killer. It may seem like a small point, but for those playing along with the characters, it hurts what is an otherwise very enjoyable film.

9/10

Dracula's Daughter (1936)

I'll take the Daughter over the Daddy, 4 February 2005

To be honest, I've never been the biggest fan of the original Dracula. To me, Dracula never held the excitement of some of the other Universal classics. It always seemed too "stagey" for my liking.

That's not the case with Dracula's Daughter. Gloria Holden is mesmerizing as Dracula's daughter, Countess Marya Zaleska. Her attitude, look, and performance are what one would expect from a vampire. She plays a vampire in a similar manner to the way Lon Chaney, Jr. played a wolf man - as a tormented soul, longing to be free from a curse. You can almost hear Larry Talbot asking to be released from his nightmare.

The rest of the cast is also quite good. Edward Van Sloan is back as Von Helsing. Irving Pichel is especially creepy as the Countess' henchman Sandor. Marguerite Churchill is a real cutey playing the female in trouble. The weakest cast member is the hero played by Otto Kruger. His character is too unsympathetic to be effective.

The atmosphere is just right. From the fog shrouded London streets to the castle in Transylvania, the perfect horror atmosphere is achieved. The story is simple and straight forward. I would, perhaps, have preferred a few more twists along the way.

I'll take Dracula's offspring (either son or daughter) any day to the original.

7/10

Revolt of the Zombies (1936)

Painfully BAD, 4 February 2005

Revolt of the Zombies is BAD. There is nothing remotely entertaining about the movie. It is dull, lifeless, poorly acted, and poorly scripted. I've often complained that the original Dracula is a little slow for my taste, well this movie makes Dracula look like a roller coaster ride. The 65 minute running time seemed like 165 minutes.

The story: An expedition is sent to Cambodia to find the secrets of mind control through "zombification". One man finds the secret and uses it to make the woman he loves marry him. Once this happens, he releases the zombies under his control to horrific consequences. That's it. That's the whole story.

For most of the movie, I was trying to figure out where I had seen the male lead. He looked so familiar. I had plenty of time to think this over. Nothing was happening in the movie. Just before the "zombies revolted", it hit me. It was Dean Jagger. I had seen him recently as the General in White Christmas. This is how I "entertained" myself throughout most of the movie.

I'm just glad I didn't buy the DVD for this movie. King of the Zombies is on the other side and it's a masterpiece of film making compared with this movie. For what it's worth, I'll give it a 2/10. (I won't go to 1/10 because, believe it or not, I've seen worse.)

2/10