CHARLIE CHAN IN EGYPT (1935)

At an archeological dig in Egypt, Prof. Arnold pounds away at a wall in the ancient tomb of the high priest Ameti. The moment he breaks through, an Arab worker drops dead. Is there a curse on the tomb? A month later, detective Charlie Chan arrives by biplane, called in by the French Archeological Society to find out why some relics from the tomb have been showing up in other museums when they were all promised to the Society. Chan finds out from Arnold's daughter Carol that Arnold left the site a month ago and is considered missing. Carol and her brother Barry are concerned, though Arnold's associate Prof. Thurston and young assistant Tom Evans (also Carol's boyfriend) think Arnold has deliberately isolated himself. When the mummy case of Ameti is examined, it's discovered to contain the dead body of Arnold. Chan finds out that a man named Racine has been providing money to finish the dig, and Thurston is the one behind the leak of relics, trying to raise money to pay Racine back. Strange incidents begin happening: people have glittering visions of the Egyptian goddess Sekhmet, Carol has spells of confusion, cigarettes are drugged, poison gas is unleashed, and Barry drops dead while playing his violin. A secret passage is found in the tomb leading to a hidden treasure, and there is gunplay before Chan unmasks the villain who wants to keep the treasure for himself. 

The first few minutes here seem to promise a different kind of Chan movie than usual. Though King Tut is never mentioned, he is obviously the inspiration for the possibly cursed tomb of Ameti, and the mysterious Egyptian atmosphere is effective, but this settles into the usual Chan template, which is not necessarily a bad thing. Warner Oland is still at the top of his game as Chan, and the supporting players are fine, including Thomas Beck (pictured) as Tom and Rita Hayworth, billed early in her career as Rita Cansino, as a servant. Pat Paterson is good as Carol, though she had a short film career—she married Charles Boyer and retired from the screen in 1939. James Eagles, who mostly did uncredited roles, has, as the son Barry, a bit of the look and carriage of John Carradine. No Chan children appear, though son Lee is mentioned. What might make this movie uncomfortable viewing for some is the appearance of Black actor Stepin Fetchit as the servant Snowshoes. Fetchit made a good living playing shuffling, dim-witted, and slow talking servants which is largely what Hollywood wanted out of Black actors back then. The character was won in a card game by Tom and is tricked by a local into thinking that his "great-great grandpappy" might be found in an Egyptian tomb. As comic relief, he's just not that funny these days; in the 1940s, Mantan Moreland was able to take a similar role, as Chan’s valet Birmingham Brown, and make him a full-blooded character, something that Fetchit wasn't allowed to do in his era. His performance in the first ten minutes literally made me cringe and he pops up a few more times. I realize it's what directors wanted out of him, but that doesn't make it any easier to watch him. [DVD]