Watch Charlie Chan in Egypt For Free

One of my all time favorites.

Good movie but grossly overrated

The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

It's simply great fun, a winsome film and an occasionally over-the-top luxury fantasy that never flags.

So, Charlie Chan goes to Egypt - or, more accurately, to Fox's "Egypt" backlot. The film does manage to get some atmosphere out of its meager budget, but it's mostly a yawner. A dark-haired Rita Hayworth has a small role (we all have to start somewhere), while Stepin Fetchit is simply unintelligible. In "Charlie Chan in London", I thought it made a nice change that Chan did not have any sidekicks with him; in this picture, he probably needed them, because the rest of the cast is short on charisma. ** out of 4.

One of my least favorite Charlie Chan films seems slow and static. the film has the great detective in Egypt and getting involved in murder around an excavation. Part of the problem is that the film feels terribly set bound. I never felt that I wasn't anywhere other than in Hollywood with a cast that was just trying to be glitzy. Give Fox points for making a film that is very much A list, but take many points for what is really a dull by the book mystery. I know some people really like this film a great deal, but for me this is not one I rarely ever choose to see with any screenings always done as the result of watching a video tape where its between two other entries in the series I like. Worth seeing once for Chan fans, other wise I'd skip it.

"Waiting for tomorrow, waste of today!" and other Chan aphorisms account for just a small portion of the delightful entertainment afforded by this eleventh offering in the 47-picture series. But for one distressing lapse, it might even rank as the best. That lapse is Mr Stepin Fetchit, about whom the less said, the better. Fortunately, his role is small, although, alas, it's considerably larger than that enjoyed by the lovely Rita Hayworth who seems to have spent most of her Fox sojourn posing for charming stills. Her role in the actual movie is inconsequential although she does manage to exchange a few lines with Warner Oland. Otherwise, all she does is to hover in the background of a few scenes.Oland, of course, is in top form, but so are the other players, and even more importantly the Robert Ellis-Helen Logan script comes across as a real winner. Although the identity of the killer will fail to stump many viewers, the puzzle is admirably contrived and the plot worked out with commendable pace, precision and power.This is no "B" picture. The sets are stunning. Daniel Clark's noirishly atmospheric photography also deserves special mention and even the normally humdrum director, Louis King (brother of Henry King) has risen to the occasion.

I can highly recommend this delightful entry in the Charlie Chan series for its good story, fine sets and photography and all around good atmosphere. Warner Oland was by far the best of the Chans and his performance is thoughtful, introspective and, simply, a joy.And I am not going to offer any sanctimonious (and very tiresome) criticisms of the role played by that wonderful comedian Stepin Fetchit, whose appearances in any film, very much including this one, were fun to watch. His skills and his ingratiating personality are always welcome in my home.Seek this one out on a late Friday night with a bowl of popcorn and just have a good time.