Undescribable Perfection

everything you have heard about this movie is true.

There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

Whenever I see an old film and wish to review it, I try to place myself as if I saw it in the theater when it was first released. The Black Camel came out in 1931. Talking motion pictures were common by then, but almost every movie- goer had spent most of their time reading subtitles on their movies. The lack of background music didn't seem odd as it does to us today.What would have jumped out at me 86 years ago was the wonderful scenery of Hawaii that opened the film. We saw beaches and other views of the city. We saw surfers from an angle that made it look like we were in the water very close to them. Now to almost anyone at that time, these scenes were probably our first ever look at such activity in any film.We are taken to a movie scene--that is, our movie shows actors on a beach filming a movie. The lead actress begs off work for the day, and we learn it has to do with the guy she met on the ship coming to Hawaii to make this movie. I later learned that the man playing the director of the film within the film was actually the director of this film. Neat.Charlie Chan appears shortly and Warner Oland is just like the Charlie Chan we know from many other movies. The biggest difference is that he is "assisted" (and I use the term loosely) by another policeman who bumbles around more than any of his sons did in later movies, comically running onto the set calling out, "Clue!" He had a way of sliding to a stop when running up to Charlie that made me chuckle. Our actress friend has sent for her psychic, played by Bela Lugosi, to advise her on the notion of marrying her new lover. Before long we are involved with a murder that seems to be related to a murder in Hollywood that took place 3 years ago. It seems everyone connected with this actress was also on the scene at that time, and is thus a suspect in that murder as well.There are plenty of clues for the detectives to find. On the way we get a neat scene at the Chan household, where Charlie learns that one of his offspring is at the bottom of his class, because, "all the other places were taken." He happily leaves his beloved family to go back to the pleasures of detective work.Before he wraps things up, he has a thrown knife narrowly miss him, and confronts someone who falsely confesses to the main murder. This film had all the elements the later ones did--including Charlie's proverbs, the mix of humor and suspense, even the oft-used clue-stolen-while-the-lights-went-out-trick. It was the only film in the long run of the series that actually had parts of it filmed in Hawaii. Another famous face is Robert Young, best known as Jim Anderson and Marcus Welby. To me, this film ranks among the better of the Chan films, with all the likable elements in place. Too bad we don't have copies available of the other Oland films before 1934s Charlie Chan in London, which is normally the earliest one ever shown on TV.

The first Charlie Chan movie that still exists is this offering. The title is based on a saying about a black camel kneeling at a doorstep as a sign of death. No camels in the movie which takes place in Honolulu. An actress has been murdered. She has been weighing the possibility of marrying a man and has been dissuaded by a mystic, played by the great Bela Lugosi. This film is filled with wonderful character actors. One of them, Dwight Frye, played Renfield, the madman, who is Dracula's henchman in the most famous of the films. Chan faces racism and avoidance. He must suffer respect from the rich populace. He is a master of precision, despite having an idiot partner who just gets in the way. One great line I loved has to do with his son, who is failing at school. When asked why he is last in his class, he replies that all the other positions were already taken. This is an entertaining, multi-layered whodunnit. There are some rather suspect events. For example a man is shot and lies dying in his bed. The law goes to extract information from him, but no-one makes the slightest effort to get a doctor. Off to a good start.

It's rare that films from the early 1930's show us actual location films shot in Hawaii, and this fascinating early Chan mystery is loaded with glimpses of the local beaches as well as the lobby and veranda of the Royal Hawaiian hotel--in addition to a print that leaps off the screen in dynamic black and white seldom seen in such clarity.Technique and location aside, this is also a baffling mystery--sometimes slow-paced, to be sure, in comparison with the later "cheapie Chans," but jammed with appearances by some memorable character actors--Bela Lugosi in a turban, for instance, a year after he made Dracula his signature role, or an impossibly juvenile Robert Young in his first film appearance--dig that striped bathing costume! In so many ways, this is one of the very best Chan films, a treat for both fans of early talkie cinema, and certainly for followers of the intrepid Chinese detective as his character was beginning to jell.

As with whodunits in general, the single most important element in this film is the story puzzle. Who killed the victim, and why? A sigh of relief as I watched the ending of "The Black Camel" and found the murderer was not who I was afraid it would be. In fact, I was way off in my guess.Although the story's premise is somewhat lame, "The Black Camel" is a whodunit film worth watching. It has all the classic whodunit elements: a camouflaged story puzzle, an adequate number of suspects, spine-tingling suspense, and of course a surprise ending. The two key scenes that reveal the killer's motive are pleasantly subtle.As a character, Charlie Chan (Warner Oland) is more direct and feisty, more angry, determined, and sharp edged than he is in later films. One of the weak elements here is the presence of Chan's sidekick, Kashimo (Otto Yamaoka), a manic and stupid character inserted in the script apparently for comic relief. But he isn't funny. He's just annoying.Another problem is that the plot does not provide enough background clues to point to the identity of the killer. Some additional back story could have helped to fill in missing pieces and added more red herrings.The script has some sharp dialogue, like when one suspect, trying to be helpful, tells Charlie: "You need a lie detector ... it's an invention that detects instantly when anyone is telling a lie". To which Charlie responds: "Oh I see, you mean a wife; I have one".The best element of "The Black Camel" is the cinematography. Shot in B&W, side lighting creates ghostly shadows that amplify suspense. Outdoor scenes were filmed in Hawaii, where the story takes place. A lot of care seems to have been taken in the framing of outdoor shots, giving the outdoor visuals a rich, sumptuous look. Indoor sets are okay, but driving scenes use rear screen projection, which creates a hokey look, but understandable given the era in which the film was made."The Black Camel" is an early talkie. As such, the sound effects are a tad impaired. But overall, this is a whodunit worthy of at least a one-time viewing, owing to a whodunit puzzle that is pleasantly obscure, a surprise ending, and stunning visuals. To quote Charlie Chan: "Thank you so much."