Mystery movies, much like mystery novels, present themselves as intricate puzzles, designed to lead you on a journey toward their ultimate solution. However, many of these mysteries, due to their formulaic nature, often fade quickly from memory.
Charlie Chan in Egypt, the eighth of sixteen 20th Century Fox Charlie Chan films starring Warner Oland in the title role, stands out as one of the better films involving a detective investigating a death supposedly caused by a curse.
Plot Overview
The French Archaeology Society hires Charlie Chan to investigate why treasures from the tomb of an ancient monarch are winding up in the wrong hands. Chan arrives in Egypt to investigate the activities of a group of archaeologists sponsored by the French Archeological Society. He aims to uncover why ancient artifacts from the dig at the tomb of the High Priest Ameti are being trafficked in the black market of the art world.
Chan (Warner Oland) arrives in Luxor to investigate the activities of a group of archeologists sponsored by the French Archeological Society. Travelling by biplane, with some pretty amazing overflight footage of Cairo, Chan intends to research why ancient artifacts from the dig at the tomb of the High Priest Ameti are being trafficked in the black market of the art world. After arriving, he soon finds that the leader of the project has been missing for nearly a month.
Chan's initial journey begins with a rickety biplane ride and then a desert trip by pack mule. After some conjecture work from talking to the many people in the area, Chan locates the missing man, except now the man is dead and mummified, hidden inside an ancient casket and for the last month he was mistaken for just another ancient corpse until, using an X-ray machine, a very modern metal bullet is detected in his heart.
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When pieces of the excavated treasure begin to turn up on the antiquities black market, Charlie Chan is brought in by the expedition's underwriters, the French Archeaological Society, to investigate.
The Discovery
While examining the inventory, Chan discovers that the mummy wrappings of the ancient priest contain the murdered body of the missing archaeologist. An X-ray machine reveals the presence of a corpse in an Egyptian sarcophagus. It is not that of the ancient high priest.
The archeologist's son puts it down to the fact that Egypt is a land of "decay and death," but Chan naturally ferrets out a very human murderer.
The Suspects
Among the suspects are Professor Thurston, who admits to surreptitiously selling the artifacts to pay for the expeditions continued support, Dr. Racine, who believes his financial contribution to the enterprise entitles him to a share of the treasure, Tom Evans, an archaeologist fired by Arnold, Snowshoes, a servant claiming to be descended from Ameti, and Edfu Ahmed, who still believes in the ancient deities and objects to the plunder of the tomb.
- Professor Thurston: Admits to selling artifacts to fund the expedition.
- Dr. Racine: Believes his financial contribution entitles him to a share of the treasure.
- Tom Evans: An archaeologist fired by Arnold.
- Snowshoes: A servant claiming to be descended from Ameti.
- Edfu Ahmed: Believes in the ancient deities and objects to the plunder of the tomb.
New Titles for CHARLIE CHAN IN EGYPT
Key Events and Discoveries
Professor Arnold, head of the expedition, vanishes mysteriously on a trip to the Upper Nile. Once there, however, Chan finds out from the professor's daughter Carol, his son Barry, his brother-in-law, Professor Thurston, and Tom Evans, who is Arnold's young assistant and Carol's boyfriend, that Arnold has been missing for a month.
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When Carol is overcome by worry for her father, Tom sends for Dr. Anton Racine, who arrives shortly after Carol hallucinates that she is being menaced by Sekhmet, the goddess of vengeance whose statue was guarding Ameti's tomb.
Barry Arnold) of the man are in a panic about the death, and worry about who might be next. Rita Cansino, better known as Rita Hayworth, appears in the tale as an Egyptian servant girl who seems to always be eves-dropping on conversations around the large home and workspace of the dead archeologist, and a whole cast of other characters are interacting and mentioning bits of clues to Chan as he tries to get a clear picture of what happened, how it happened, and why new bodies are starting to turn up.
Exploring the tomb at night with an eager Tom Evans, they discover a secret room that can be reached only while swimming underwater. The contents are many looted treasures and some elaborate "ghost" disguises. It also contains the murderer, who shoots Tom point blank. Chan and Snowshoes manage to get Tom back to the mansion, where he hovers between life and death.
The actual murders here are so involved and confusing as to aid in their forgetting. The business with the violin was “ingenious” indeed, though I might have called it ridiculous. Hats off though to making the native Egyptians, despite their suspicious behaviour, into people just wanting to hold on to their cultural patrimony from looting European museums.
Interestingly, though Stepin Fetchit appears in his usual role of comedy relief, the script establishes that he came to Egypt because a fortuneteller told him that his ancestor came from Egypt-- a concept which a later generation of African-Americans would pursue in more earnest.
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Unraveling the Mystery
Chan deduces that Barry was killed by a tiny vial of the deadly drug. He demonstrates to Thurston and Racine how the violin's vibrations shattered the glass, releasing the drug in gaseous form. He then tells them it was the hidden treasure room which was the motive for the two murders and the attempt on Tom's life. Upstairs, Racine examines Tom, after which Thurston sends Carol to rest. Alone with Tom, Thurston prepares to stab him in his wounds with Racine's lancet, but Chan arrives just in time.
Chan explains that the bullets recovered from Arnold and Tom came from Thurston’s gun, and the police then take Thurston away.
Cast and Characters
- Warner Oland as Charlie Chan
- Stepin Fetchit as Snowshoes
- Rita Cansino (Rita Hayworth) as Nayda
- Pat Paterson as Carol Arnold
- Jameson Thomas as Dr. Anton Racine
- Frank Conroy as Professor John Thurston
- Thomas Beck as Tom Evans
- Nigel de Brulier as Edfu Ahmed
Social and Cultural Context
When watching movies “of a certain age”, one has to keep in mind the old saw that “the past is a foreign country”. Social and cultural attitudes were quite different in the past, and those attitudes will be reflected on the silver screen.
Biggers created Charlie Chan as a deliberate attempt to counter the racist depictions he saw everywhere in his home state of California. Chan is very intelligent and observant; here in Egypt he spots the still-damp varnish on a centuries-old sarcophagus, and takes note of how peculiar it is that the female lead smokes her own specially-made cigarettes (among other observations). Oland plays him as a “Columbo” type detective, puttering about being unassuming and inoffensive as he carefully puts together all the pieces of the puzzle.
As far as Perry’s portrayal of Snowshoes, I immediately saw him as a “stoner” type character. He’s laid back and relaxed, taking everything in stride (there’s even one scene where he’s enjoying puffing on a hookah). No pop-eyed jumping about here! A recent interpretation of Perry’s roles paints his characters as more of a “trickster” archetype; the “Laziest Man in the World” was getting Whitey to do all the real work.
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tags: #Egypt
