Charlie Chan in Egypt (1935)

While investigating the theft of antiquities from an ancient tomb excavation, Charlie discovers that the body of the expedition's leader concealed inside the mummy's wrappings.

Director:

Louis King (as Luis King)

Writers:

Robert Ellis (original screenplay), Helen Logan (original screenplay)

Stars:

Warner Oland, Pat Paterson, Thomas Beck

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Warner Oland	...	Charlie Chan
Pat Paterson	...	Carol Arnold
Thomas Beck	...	Tom Evans
Rita Hayworth	...	Nayda (as Rita Cansino)
Stepin Fetchit	...	Snowshoes
Jameson Thomas	...	Dr. Anton Racine
Frank Conroy	...	Prof. John Thurston
Nigel De Brulier	...	Edfu Ahmad
Paul Porcasi	...	Insp. Fouad Soueida
Arthur Stone	...	Dragoman
James Eagles	...	Barry Arnold
Frank Reicher	...	Dr. Jaipur
George Irving	...	Prof. Arnold
Anita Brown	...	Showshoes' Friend
John Davidson	...	Chemist Daoud Atrash

Storyline

An X-ray machine reveals the presence of a corpse in an Egyptian sarcophagus. It is not that of the ancient high priest. Instead the body is that of the archaeologist who was thought to be on a trip to the Upper Nile, but is now found murdered.

---

Plot Keywords:

cigar smoking | charlie chan character | four word title | 1930s | tomb | 

---

Taglines:

Once--Twice--Thrice THE KILLER STRIKES-Then CHAN Faces his WEIRDEST MYSTERY! (Print Ad- Buffalo Courier-Express, ((Buffalo, NY)) 27 June 1935)

---

Genres:

Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

---

Certificate:

Approved

Did You Know?

Trivia

Most of the music score was written for and used originally in Chandu the Magician (1932).

---

Goofs

Producer Louis King's name is misspelled Luis in the credits.

---

Quotes

Charlie Chan: Regret efforts have been unsuccessful. Admitting failure like drinking bitter tea.

---

Connections

Followed by Charlie Chan in Panama (1940)

User Reviews

Despite having Stepin Fetchit, this is still one of the better Charlie Chan films

Of the dozens of Charlie Chan films, this stands as one of the best--even though it sadly co-stars the biggest walking negative stereotype in movie history, Stepin Fetchit. Once again, Fetchit plays a rather sub-human part but at least he's a little less degrading than usual and the rest of the film is exceptional.

This film is very much like a combination of a Chan film and a mummy film--and because of the interesting backdrop the film seems far fresher and more interesting than most in the series. Charlie has been sent to an archaeological dig by a French museum. It seems the museum is justifiably angry because items from the tomb belong to them but someone has been selling them to collectors and other museums. Naturally, when Chan arrives people begin to die and it's up to Charlie to get to the bottom of it.

Despite not having any of the Chan children (particularly the ever enjoyable Keye Luke as "Lee"), this is a dandy film with some interesting twists and a mystery that is a tad over-complicated but fun to unravel. As far as my feelings about Fetchit, in this film he didn't act that much different than the Birmingham Brown character from the later Chan film, so perhaps I am just being a tad oversensitive. It's just that in so many prior films Fetchit was the living embodiment of all the negative Black stereotypes--so bad that seeing him once again kind of made me cringe.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

21 June 1935 (USA)

Also Known As:

Charlie Chan in Egypt

Company Credits

Production Co:

Fox Film Corporation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

73 min 72 min (FMC Library Print)

Sound Mix:

Mono Mono (Western Electric Noiseless Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1