I had watched CHARLIE CHAN AT THE OPERA (1936), considered the best of the series, sometime ago on Italian TV - mainly due to the involvement of Boris Karloff, but which I enjoyed a great deal. Last year I managed to get 5 other titles in the long-running series and did get to watch BEHIND THAT CURTAIN (1929) which, incidentally, also featured Karloff in a minor role. I next tried THE BLACK CAMEL (1931) - co-starring another great horror star, Bela Lugosi - but, unfortunately, the disc froze permanently around the 50-minute mark and, consequently, I never bothered with the rest of the films on the disc! However, my interest rose again after the upcoming Fox DVD (containing some of these very titles) was announced...
This is a very enjoyable entry in the series with Warner Oland the quintessential Charlie Chan, delivering a plethora of his trademark witticisms. Though we've seen many a murder mystery with this setting, the plot twists still come off as fresh and quite unpredictable - and the limited time-frame in which it all happens (and around which hangs, no pun intended, the life of Douglas Walton, a convict awaiting execution) makes for a genuinely suspenseful little thriller. The film also features a vivid - and thankfully not too stereotyped - recreation of the aristocratic British way of life, a surprising villain, and an early role for Ray Milland (whose character functions more or less as a red herring).
This is a very enjoyable entry in the series with Warner Oland the quintessential Charlie Chan, delivering a plethora of his trademark witticisms. Though we've seen many a murder mystery with this setting, the plot twists still come off as fresh and quite unpredictable - and the limited time-frame in which it all happens (and around which hangs, no pun intended, the life of Douglas Walton, a convict awaiting execution) makes for a genuinely suspenseful little thriller. The film also features a vivid - and thankfully not too stereotyped - recreation of the aristocratic British way of life, a surprising villain, and an early role for Ray Milland (whose character functions more or less as a red herring).