CHANDU THE MAGICIAN (1932) in Golden Age Horror Forum

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CHANDU THE MAGICIAN (1932)

Author	Comment
zogstar67	CHANDU THE MAGICIAN (1932)	Lead	[-]
Jul 23 08 10:08 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	If anyone can find an earlier topic on this wonderful picture, please bump it. I know the upcoming DVD release has been touched on in the appropriate folder, but this film definitely deserves its own topic. I'd never really seen this until last night and enjoyed it immensely. Solid pulp adventure with tinges of horror and scifi. Some of the things I liked: Convincing use of miniatures and special effects. A running comic relief gag where Herbert Mundin is followed around by a miniature doppleganger is especially well done. Lugosi has some snap and fire as the arch-villain Roxor. He plays it particularly mean and and arrogant, important character traits to the development of the story. There's a GREAT mad-scientist-at-work set piece near the beginning that rivals FRANKENSTEIN and BRIDE, imho. And I really like it when the scary Thuggee-like assassins lure June Lang outside her house by putting a pathetic, mewing kitten on the front porch during a rainstorm and then lurking in the shadows. Brrrr. Overall, this played like a great adventure serial with all the repetitive B.S. removed. I can't wait for the official release and Mank's commentary.
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Resurrection Joe II		#1	[-]
Jul 23 08 11:53 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	It's a fun film to watch. Much of the plot and Lugosi's villain are like something out of James Bond, but preceding the Bond films by decades. Interestingly, Roxor's arranging of one of the leading ladies to be sold at a slave auction was a plot point re-used more than fifty years later in the Bond film NEVER SAY NEVER AGAIN! Bela steals the show and is used to much better advantage than he was as Chandu himself in the serial follow-up. And most any film where diretor/set designer William Cameron Menzies is involved has a nifty look to it. The Fox Movie Channel upgrade from the old gray market prints was an improvement, but the DVD treatment should prove even more special.
dr gogol	Re: CHANDU THE MAGICIAN (1932)	#2	[-]
Feb 5 09 1:38 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	I agree about that lab set is awesome. Probably because it used the same Kenneth Strickfaden equipment from Frankenstein! The same pieces turn up in "Mask of Fu Manchu" and dozens of other films up until "Young Frankenstein". I guess Universal did not have any rights to the equipment, I believe the props were the property of Ken Strickfaden.
Buzz Dixon		#3	[-]
Feb 5 09 5:56 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	This is a movie that I can't believe isn't considered an equal to GUNGA DIN or KING KONG for sheer spectacle and adventure. It's a shame so few people know about it (other than film buffs, natch). www.SnokieStories.com www.BuzzDixon.com http://twitter.com/snokiestories
PhantomXCI		#4	[-]
Feb 5 09 10:11 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Ralph Hammeras and the Special Effects department at Fox did a lot of really interesting and inventive work in the early thirties: JUST IMAGINE, CHANDU THE MAGICIAN, SIX HOURS TO LIVE and TRICK FOR TRICK really give John P. Fulton and Willis O'Brien a run for their money. Sadly, nobody remembers those films anymore.
satchmodog		#5	[-]
May 24 09 11:32 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	One of my all-time favorites. Very well done F/X, sets and acting. Irene Ware and June Lang add icing to the cake. Also, it was nice to see the female lead (Ware) take some action during a fight scene. When Lowe is battling one of Roxxor's thugs, Ware jumps in several times to add a few shots to the bad guy. It was nice to see the female lead do something other than scream or cower in a corner while her male partner gets the life pummeled out of him. Last Edited By: satchmodog May 25 09 12:32 AM. Edited 1 times.
zogstar67		#6	[-]
May 26 09 10:20 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Exactly. How many movie fights could have been quickly resolved if the lady-in-distress just stepped in with some well-timed whacks to the bad guy's skull instead of just standing there shrieking. Chris Herzog "THE WORLD'S QUAINTEST CLOWN" VISIT ME AT MY SPACE: http://www.myspace.com/39159010
TomWeaver999		#7	[-]
May 26 09 10:57 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Mega-dittoes to the posters in this thread. I've never been able to figure out what fandom's problem with CHANDU is. The Lugosi nuts say Edmund Lowe stinks up the movie and Bela shoulda been Chandu, ignoring the lousy job Bela did as Chandu later; who'd want Bela as anything but Roxor in this flick? Yeah, Herbert Mundin's a drag, but there's so much else to like. Even MALTIN gives it one-and-a-half or calls it a BOMB, I forget which. What did this fun, imaginative, well-made movie do to deserve all this?
Rakshasa		#8	[-]
May 26 09 11:24 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Big love for Chandu! The Greg Mank commentary on the DVD is fantastic. Highly recommended for increasing Chandu appreciation. Links To All The Classic Monster Stills I've Posted: http://monsterkidclassichorrorforum.yuku.com/topic/30758
Buzz Dixon		#9	[-]
May 26 09 11:55 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	zogstar67 wrote: Exactly. How many movie fights could have been quickly resolved if the lady-in-distress just stepped in with some well-timed whacks to the bad guy's skull instead of just standing there shrieking. That's what I love about the serial, KING OF THE ROCKET MEN. Mae Clark looks more like somebody's mom than a standard serial heroine, but when the goin' gets tough, she jumps in and throws punches with the best of 'em! www.SnokieStories.com www.BuzzDixon.com http://twitter.com/snokiestories
HerbertFlay		#10	[-]
May 28 09 4:29 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	I'm a Lugosi 'nut' and I don't mind what's his name or the comedy fat guy. I was surprised when I saw this for the first time on the Fox collection as I thought it was going to be mediocre - it doesn't seem to have any reputation at all - just a forgotten movie. It's actually a lot better than a similar adventure movie - Mask of FuManchu. The sets, fx and acting are excellent and Lugosi's Roxor must be one of his top 10 roles. Haven't seen Lugosi as Chandu in the serial but then cheap, draggy, cardboard set serials aren't really my thing - and I prefer Lugosi as the villain or at least a red-herring!
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Wich2		#11	[-]
May 28 09 9:29 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Herbert, if you're a belanut, give the other Chandu a chance - for Lugosi's sake! Though his accent is ridiculous for the role, he hated being typed, and you can tell that he appreciated being the Good Guy once in a while.
JimPV		#12	[-]
May 29 09 7:49 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	HerbertFlay wrote: it doesn't seem to have any reputation at all - just a forgotten movie. It's actually a lot better than a similar adventure movie - Mask of FuManchu. Oh, I much prefer Fu Manchu to Chandu. In fact, I was going to answer Tom's point by saying with Chandu I was expecting something on the level of Mask of Fu Manchu, but got a film not as good and more juvenile. That's why I was disappointed. I'll give it another chance with adjusted expectations, though... eventually. Last Edited By: JimPV May 29 09 8:00 PM. Edited 1 times.
Scoundrel		#13	[-]
Dec 16 10 10:43 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Saw this last night with Mank's commentary. Greg Mank is a treasure when it comes to this stuff. His enthusiasm for his subject is such that he tries to cram as much as possible into his time slot and sometimes seems to run away with it. I've always felt that Bela would have been the ultimate Bond villain. To see him in his glory, giving his all at full power, ranks this one with WHITE ZOMBIE and MURDER IN THE RUE MORGUE . The combined forces of William Cameron Menzies and James Wong Howe make this a highly polished, wonderful little gem. For those who don't have this, you are really missing something special.
dcwillis9		#14	[-]
Dec 21 10 1:23 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Scoundrel wrote: Saw this last night with Mank's commentary. Greg Mank is a treasure when it comes to this stuff. His enthusiasm for his subject is such that he tries to cram as much as possible into his time slot and sometimes seems to run away with it. I've always felt that Bela would have been the ultimate Bond villain. To see him in his glory, giving his all at full power, ranks this one with WHITE ZOMBIE and MURDER IN THE RUE MORGUE . The combined forces of William Cameron Menzies and James Wong Howe make this a highly polished, wonderful little gem. For those who don't have this, you are really missing something special. I've always considered 1932 to be THE Lugosi year, mainly because of the three above-mentioned films. Altho I guess that 1939 is also a contender, if only for Son of F....
LCranston		#15	[-]
Dec 23 10 6:32 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	I've only seen this once, earlier this year. I liked it for the most part but it wasn't quite the revelation I hoped. Wanted much more Bela, and a lot less comedy relief (I feel the actor was much better utilized in TARZAN ESCAPES). Edmund Lowe was a bit bland to me and just didn't make me want to see another film with him in the role. And what happened to the poor villager who was sent up the rope and disappeared? "I live the unknown, I love the unknown... I AM the unknown."
Robert Troch		#16	[-]
Dec 27 10 1:42 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Yeah as enjoyable as this is Lowe does make it a tough slog sometimes. Robert T.
MYST0		#17	[-]
Dec 27 10 7:27 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	I love Lowe in this. I have always thought the role shoud be underplayed as Lowe performs it. He is not bland so much as low key in order to boost the Lugosi dominating performance I feel it plays so well aginst the Lugosi full-tilt Roxor portrayal. I can't explain it either, but I also love Lugosi in the Serial as a hero. Can anyone tell me why that is so??? He just seems kinda macho as a hero. I can't think of another time this ever happenedl Maybe I am just imagining this?
LCranston		#18	[-]
Dec 28 10 11:13 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	MYSTO, I'd almost agree with your first point, except that Lowe and Lugosi (sounds like a comedy team) rarely get to act against one another. Lowe's performance has to be seen in all the scenes with his family/followers that he doesn't come across as anything inspiring on his own. I just started downloading the Chandu Serial from archive.org, and I'll be watching that pretty soon, so hopefully I can enjoy him in the hero role! "I live the unknown, I love the unknown... I AM the unknown."
Monsterpal		#19	[-]
Dec 29 10 2:56 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	LCranston wrote: a lot less comedy relief (I feel the actor was much better utilized in TARZAN ESCAPES). Herbert Mundin gave a good comic performance in THE ADVENTURES OF ROBIN HOOD, romancing Una O'Connor and saving the day in one memorable sequence.
mikal		#20	[-]
Jan 6 11 1:24 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	hi happy new year
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