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TV show review: CONTINUUM season 4
PHOTOGRAPHY

CHARLIE CHAN COLLECTION

DVD Review by David Blackwell

 

DETAILS:  64 minutes/ 65 minutes/ 65minutes/ 69 minutes- four films, no extras

VIDEO: 1.33:1

AUDIO: English Dolby Digital

Subtitles: English, French, Spanish

 

STUDIO: Warner Home Video/ Monogram Productions

RELEASE DATE: 8-6-2013

CHARLIE CHAN SHADOW OVER CHINATOWN starring Sidney Toler (64 minutes)-

Charlie Chan is brought to San Francisco to investigate a mysterious murder and it involves a missing woman and an insurance scam.

 

Charlie Chan films starring Ronald Winters:

CHALIE CHAN DOCKS OF NEW ORLEANS (65 minutes)-  Chan investigates the mysterious goings-on with the partners of LaFontanne Chemical Co. as someone is targeting the partners of the company starting with the head of the company being found dead in his office.   He has to figure out who is responsible.  Could it be the foreign partners or the man responsible for creating a formula he claims the company stole from him?

CHARLIE CHAN SHANGHAI CHEST (65 minutes)-   Chan is trying to solve the murder of a judge as he finds out anyone involved with the trial of a man who was executed over six months ago could be the next target.  Adding to the mystery are the fingerprints of the dead man being found at the crime scene.

CHARLIE CHAN THE GOLDEN EYE (69 minutes)-  Charlie Chan investigates the  murder attempts on the owner of the Golden Eye mine and finds there is some activity at night at the mine.

 

This latest collection of CHARLIE CHAN movies from Warner Brothers present some of the last CHARLIE CHAN films from MONOGRAM PICTURES with Sidney Toler’s last film as the Chinese detective and three films featuring Ronald Winters as Charlie Chan.  Ronald does a good job as taking over the title role while Number Two son Jimmy and Chan’s bumbling black chauffer Birmingham provide moments of comedic relief.   Many of the Chan stories feel like plots that have been recycled from previous Chan films, but THE GOLDEN EYE proves to be the best movie in the collection as it decides to a mix up of genres as it combines the mystery with a western that you wouldn’t realize it was a Chan movie if you didn’t include the Chan cast in it.  THE GOLDEN EYE ends with a breaking the fourth wall moment as Birmingham talks directly to the audience.

 

EXTRAS: None.

 

PACKAGING:  It is like they are expecting to sell each movie as singles given how each movie is one disc each and in regular DVD cases.  I wish the set was more compact like the last CHALIE CHAN COLLECTION from TCM or have two movies per disc.

 

FINAL ANALYSIS:  The latest CHARLIE CHAN collection is for fans of the Charlie Chan movies, but newcomers to Charlie Chan should watch the better Charlie Chan films from the 20th Century Fox collections.   The video looks fine and sharp while the sound quality is also excellent.

 

This review is (c)8-31-2013 David Blackwell and cannot be reprinted without permission.  Send all comments to feedback@enterline-media.com

 

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