Fantasy

Chandu the Magician (W C Menzies M Varnel, 1932) [RePoPo]

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Chandu the Magician (William Cameron Menzies, Marcel Varnel, 1932)
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To watch this movie you need to have installed H.264 and AC3 codecs. You can
also use VLC Player, without installing any extra codecs.

Also, enclosed in this release is the 15-minute documentary Masters of Magic:
The World of "Chandu".

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Technical Information
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Type..................: Movie
Container file........: AVI
Video Format..........: H.264
Total Bitrate.........: 2739kbps
Audio format..........: AC3 192kb/s (untouched DVD audio)
Audio Languages.......: English 1.0
Subtitles Ripped......: English, Spanish
Subtitles in Subpack..: English HoH, Spanish, French
Resolution............: 640x464
Aspect Ratio..........: 1.37:1
Original Aspect Ratio.: 1.37:1
Color.................: Black & White
FPS...................: 25.000
Source................: DVD Pal
Duration..............: 01:11:23
Genre.................: Fantasy, Adventure
IMDb Rating...........: 6.1
Movie Information.....: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0022753/
Allmovie..............: http://www.allmovie.com/cg/avg.dll


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General Information
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CAST:
Edmund Lowe - Chandu, Frank Chandle
Irene Ware - Princess Nadji
Bela Lugosi - Roxor
Herbert Mundin - Albert Miggles
Henry B. Walthall - Robert Regent
Weldon Heyburn - Abdullah
Virginia Hammond - Dorothy Regent
Nestor Aber - Bobby Regent
June Lang - Betty Lou
June Viasek - Betty Lou

CREW:
William Cameron Menzies - Director
Marcel Varnel - Director
Barry Connors - Screenwriter
Philip Klein - Screenwriter
James Wong Howe - Cinematographer
Harold D. Schuster - Editor
Max Parker - Art Director

SYNOPSIS:
Based on the radio serial of the same name, Chandu the Magician is a veritable
rollercoaster ride of thrills and terror, boasting some of the best special
effects of its period. Edmund Lowe stars as suave Frank Chandler, better known
to his enemies as Chandu the Magician. Though he tries to keep his supernatural
powers a secret from his beloved sister Dorothy (Virginia Hammond), niece Betty
Lou (June Vlasek, aka June Lang) and nephew Bobby (Nestor Aber), Chandu's hand
is forced by megalomaniacal villain Roxor (Bela Lugosi at his ripest). Holding
Dorothy's scientist husband Robert Regent (H. B. Walthall) captive, Roxor hopes
to force Regent to reveal the secret of his death ray (created, of course, "for
the good of mankind") by kidnapping the scientist's wife and kids. Chandu
manages to remain one step ahead of Roxor, performing all manner of miraculous
magical feats to confound his enemy, but even our hero temporarily falls victim
to the villain's machinations when Roxor abducts Chandu's sweetheart, Princess
Nadji (Irene Ware). The production-design expertise of co-director William
Cameron Menzies is never so obvious than when Chandu and his friends are
subjected to the various serial-like perils imposed upon them by Roxor; some of
these cliffhangers would seem to have been the inspiration for similar
situations in Steven Spielberg's Raiders of the Lost Ark. Counterpointing the
excitement is the comedy relief of Herbert Mundin, cast as a bibulous valet who
is bedeviled by a remonstrative, pint-sized "alter ego." Two years after Chandu
the Magician, the film's villain, Bela Lugosi, was offered the rare opportunity
to play the heroic Frank Chandler himself in the exhilarating 12-part serial The
Return of Chandu.

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TRIVIA:

* This movie was based on "Chandu the Magician," a radio show that was
airing at the time. Chandu was the basis for many of the later magician
characters, including DC's Sandor the Mystic and Marvel Comics's Dr. Strange.
* Nigel De Brulier's yogi was the model for the sorcerer in Disney's "The
Sorcerer's Apprentice."
* In the subsequent Chandu serial, producers promoted Lugosi to the role of
the magician-yogi.
* Henry B. Walthall replaced Ralph Morgan as Regent.
* Cost-conscious Fox studios paid $40,000 for the rights to Chandu. Lugosi
received $2500, Ware $1250, Hammond $100, Walthall $1000, and Suart $300.

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SOME REVIEWS:

A.D.S, New York Times, October 1, 1932

This is hocus-pocus week at the Roxy, where most of the photographic tricks
known to Hollywood have been assembled to startle and confound the enemies of
Chandu. Under the persuasive eyes of the quondam magician of the radio, good
English rifles crumple and turn into snapping vipers, ropes up-end themselves in
the air, souls rise out of bodies and bodies absent themselves out of their
clothes. For Chandu—Edmund Lowe in Oriental dress—is an adept in the mystic arts
of the Yogi, and not all the powers of darkness, abetted by tear gas, poison,
trapdoors, collapsible dungeon floors and the great mad Roxor himself, can
prevail against those eyes.

On the radio the nightly recital of Chandu's adventures contrived, in the
well-remembered manner of Pauline and Elmo the Mighty, to open with an escape
from an impossible dilemma and to close with a plunge into a more impossible
one. Not unexpectedly, this screen version has the same clutter of climaxes from
which the great Chandu emerges every five minutes with the same facility. The
result is whooping entertainment for the children and a series of naïvely
juvenile escapades for the grown-ups.

Roxor, a baleful character whose behavior may be described with the simple
information that Bela Lugosi plays the part, is a madman who wants to possess
himself of a death ray and destroy the world. The ray is the invention of a
certain Robert Regent, traveling in Egypt with his family. Chandu, an adventurer
turned Yogi, shows up in time to prevent the annihilation of the entire family
and to battle Roxor all over Egypt in the process of saving the world from
extinction. Although Chandu, like a good Yogi, is indifferent to all earthly
things, his indifference does not keep him from loving and ultimately wedding
the Princess Nadji, another imperiled damsel.

In one episode Chandu is manacled, bundled into a weighted coffin and dropped to
the bottom of the Nile, whence he rises safely after a sufficiently harrowing
struggle. Herbert Mundin, as the drunken and gullible orderly of the mystic,
provides some badly needed humor. Mr. Lugosi's familiar tactics of terrorization
seem overstated. Irene Ware, a newcomer, makes a charming juvenile as the
Princess.

A feature of the stage show is an effective arrangement of Kol Nidre, rendered
by William Robyn and a large chorus. "Box o' Tricks" and "Dance Away the Night"
are the other stage pageants.

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Raymond Valinoti, Jr. IMDB, May 27th 2000

If you like old-fashioned cliffhanger thrills, you'll enjoy CHANDU THE MAGICIAN.
It has everything you could want in a serial adventure- a dashing hero, a
megalomaniacal villain, an exotic setting, and a series of hair-raising perils
that keeps the scenario rolling until the end. CHANDU's plot which concerns the
title character's supernatural efforts to prevent the fiendish Roxor from taking
over the world is trite and simplistic. However, the story's very triteness and
simplicity is part of CHANDU's corny charm.

CHANDU boasts dazzling set design and fluid cinematography that create a
fascinating, mysterious Egyptian milieu with majestic temple sets and an
atmospheric desert locale. CHANDU's sense of adventure and mystique is further
enhanced by special effects illustrating the powers of both Chandu and a death
ray Roxor plans to employ in his world-domination plot. Even by today's
Industrial Light and Magic standards, these effects look impressive.

Edmund Lowe is acceptable in the title role of Chandu but Bela Lugosi in the
role of Roxor steals the film. Lugosi tackles his part with a demonic zeal,
displaying odious glee over his scheme in both his facial expressions and line
deliveries. There is little restraint or subtlety in his performance, but Lugosi
projects such persuasive charisma that one can forgive his indulgences. Overall,
CHANDU is no classic, but it's fun escapist entertainment.

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