Michael_Elliott Behind That Curtain (1929) *** (out of 4) Sir George hires a private eye to investigate his niece's boyfriend but soon the P.I. is found dead and the niece and her boyfriend run off. Col. John Beetham (Warner Baxter) is called in to investigate. This is the first Charlie Chan film, although he doesn't appear until the very end. Baxter makes for an interesting character and the mystery plot works very nicely. Boris Karloff has a small role as a servant.Black Camel, The (1931) *** (out of 4) Before accepting a proposal, an actress goes to see a psychic (Bela Lugosi) who sees something in her past. Later that night the actress is murdered and it's up to Charlie Chan (Warner Oland) to find out who committed the crime. Oland is brilliant as Chan and the wonderful dialogue gives him all sorts of brilliant and memorable quotes. Lugosi is quite nice as well and the supporting players all fill their roles very nicely. The murder investigation is quite interesting all the way through. Dwight Frye has a small role as the caretaker.

gerrythree When Fox decided to make "Behind That Curtain," the studio picked as leads Warner Baxter, Lois Moran and Gilbert Emery. Of the three, Emery's role was the most important, since his actions kept the story moving to its eventual outcome in San Francisco. Although the scriptwriters gave Gilbert Emery terrible lines for his part as an upper class Englishman, Emery can take all the credit for his strange pseudo-British accent as he slowly enunciates every word of dialogue, pausing at every chance to lend gravity to the moronic dialogue. At about the 80 minute mark, Emery's character discusses a plan with Charlie Chan of the SFPD. In one exchange, both actors talked in exactly the same way, as if they memorized their dialogue phonetically. Unlike E.L. Park, the actor who played Chan, for Emery English was not a second language, but it sure sounded that way. At 90 minutes, this movie is about 30 minutes too long. Had the producer just cut out Emery's part entirely, this movie would have been much better. The story would still have been a mess, with the characters played by Warner Baxter and Lois Moran traveling in the desert with camels, for no reason I can see, except to save money on sets. Lois Moran has the best scene in the picture, as she runs through San Francisco while passersby look at her. This apparent cinema verite look at 1929 San Francisco is interesting, but not long enough. Maybe if there were more running scenes with Lois Moran, they could have renamed the picture "Run, Lois, Run." It is beyond me how Gilbert Emery could continue to have a career in Hollywood, while John Gilbert was almost laughed off the screen for having a voice with the wrong pitch for the roles John Gilbert first played in talkies.

classicsoncall Other than being based on a story by Earl Derr Biggers, this film offers little in the way of mainstream Charlie Chan familiarity, even down to the portrayal of the Oriental Detective by Asian actor E.L. Park in the closing minutes of the film. By then, the mystery behind the murder of Hilary Galt is no mystery at all, as one's early suspicion of Eric Durand (Philip Strange) behind the deed is confirmed a number of times as the movie proceeds.More so, the film involves a love triangle between Durand, his wife Eve Mannering (Lois Moran), and jilted lover Colonel John Beetham (Warner Baxter). Presumably, Galt had information for Eve's uncle Sir George Mannering (Claude King) that would threaten the marriage, so Durand enters Galt's study, murders him, and places a pair of slippers on Galt that were once connected to Beetham. However Durand was observed leaving Galt's study by night watchman Alfred Pornick (John Rogers), who attempts to blackmail Durand with the information. Eve learns of her husband's involvement in the murder, and runs to Beetham for comfort and support, not to mention his help in running away from Eric.As an early talkie film, the movie suffers from it's actors trying to find their place in a new medium. The players seem to over enunciate and over emphasize their dialog, almost to the point of extreme tedium. From today's vantage point it would seem like they were purposely going for "over the top" in their performances. It's especially apparent as the movie progresses; for example in the Persian Desert scene when Eve finally gives in to her feelings for Beetham, she drags on with a simple sentence - "Whatever....happens....John,....remember,....I....love...you".If you need a reason to watch the film, consider the appearance of a young Boris Karloff in a pre-Frankenstein role as Beetham's Indian servant. He's not given much to do, but his stamp on the film is undeniable, particularly in a scene when ordered by Beetham to protect his lady's secrecy. Karloff plays dumb in two different languages by saying nothing.Ultimately, the film stands as a curiosity piece for Charlie Chan fans, and for that reason should be viewed at least once. However one should not expect the usual signature items of a Chan film, such as the Chinese proverbs, the help of numbered sons, or the exposition of the crime solution by Charlie in the finale. In fact, the off screen Chan is virtually derided by Scotland Yard detective Sir Frederick Bruce who handled the case, stating that a tighter surveillance at the Cosmopolitan Club may have captured Eric Durand alive. At the same time though, his satisfaction in closing the case seems to be the over riding sentiment.

brianina The first half of "Behind That Curtain" is a excellent example of the drawbacks of early talkies. Except for Warner Baxter, all the actors indulge in over-enunciation to the extent that they often sound as if English is not their first language. The camera is nailed down in one long interior scene after another with the occasional mike boom shadow crossing faces. The second half, however, is a strong improvement. The lead actress learns how to properly emote and there are a number of excellent exteriors in the desert and in downtown San Francisco of 1929. Also livening events in the last half are cameo appearances by Boris Karloff and the character Charlie Chan, both in their first talkie appearances. Chan is played for once by an actual Asian person and Karloff has a good scene where he has to pretend to be mute, giving a glimpse of his later masterful work as Frankenstein' monster. He is also given the horrible line, "the desert gives and the desert takes away" but imparts a wonderful sense of mystery to it.