Chandu the Magician (1932)

Directors:

William Cameron Menzies
Marcel Varnel

Writers:

Harry A. Earnshaw (radio serial) &
Vera M. Oldham (radio serial) ...

Release Date:

18 September 1932 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Fantasy | Sci-Fi

Plot:

Megalomaniac and would-be world dominator Roxor has kidnaped Robert Regent, along with his death ray invention...

Plot Keywords:

Fight | Megalomaniac | Self Sacrifice | Fire | Torture

Cast

Edmund Lowe	...	Chandu - aka Frank Chandler
Irene Ware	...	Princess Nadji
Bela Lugosi	...	Roxor
Herbert Mundin	...	Albert Miggles
Henry B. Walthall	...	Robert Regent
Weldon Heyburn	...	Abdullah
June Lang	...	Betty Lou Regent (as June Vlasek)
Michael Stuart	...	Bobby Regent (as Nestor Aber)
Virginia Hammond	...	Dorothy Regent

Runtime:

71 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric System)

Certification:

USA:Approved (PCA #4786-R, 11 October 1938 for re-release) | USA:Passed (National Board of Review) | USA:TV-G (TV rating) | USA:Unrated

Company:

Fox Film Corporation

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.

Movie Connections:

Spoofed in Sham Poo, the Magician (1932)

Soundtrack:

How Dry I Am

Interesting curio

Fantastic set design and some great production values are hampered by an incredibly witless story and script, and further weighed down by the wooden screen persona of Lowe and the inevitable poor attempt at humor at the expense of the bumbling sidekick. Lugosi is his usual self. A mini-cliffhanger-serial with many 'hero and heroine in distress' setups, it's only 70 minutes long so not that unwatchable. The obvious Caucasians playing Egyptians and Arabs also adds to the fun or detracts from it, depending on the mood in which you approach the film.