WHV Press Release: Charlie Chan Collection (1 Viewer)

[Steve...O]

Great post Dana. Those last three Chans have fallen off WHV's radar it appears. The MGM films are OOP and would be nicely reissued if new scans of those films were done. Love Mantan Mooreland in those.

 

[JoHud]

I don't think they're off the radar, really. Feltenstien made a big announcement at least 5 years ago that the WB-owned Charlie Chans would all be getting photochemical restorations. We got the fruits of that labor in their recent box set, but not with all of them.


I'm still under the impression that they are still being restored painstakingly. That or the elements they have are unusable and they are seeking others. However as far as I know Feltenstien has never indicated the latter.


I think enough time has passed to ask the question on their restoration status though. Is it completed, nearing completion, or is there a snag that recludes their release?

 

[dana martin]

Joe,

great that someone else remembers some of the discussions back when we would have the chats, think I ask once about the Chan films, and another time about the Tarzan films. but just did a quick check at the release dates on profiler, the first set from WB came out in 2010 and the second set from them was in 2013. Granted the presentations on them are right on spot, so I can wait to get the last three as good,



on a funny note that original Chanathology set came out in 2004, 11 years so far, and only three remaining; unless someone gets the notion to go a step further, hey I can dream its in 1080P

 

[dana martin]

six days away from 2016, three movies still missing, the mystery deepens as to where they are.......

 

[DeWilson]

six days away from 2016, three movies still missing, the mystery deepens as to where they are.......

I've lost track- which 3 movies are they?

 

[Steve...O]

Feathered Serpent
Red Dragon
Sky Dragon

Two Winters and one Toler.

 

[dana martin]

just as a cursory about this since the last release well not a cursory, because its not haisty, or ill thought, but since the last relese WB/ BBC have released all of Joan Hickson's Miss Marple , and even went so far as to do it on blu ray, The WAC have finished the Bowery Boys sets, so i am hoping on some movement on this, unless a true miracle was to happen and the lost Chan's were found, then well i would want those as well.

 

[TheSteig]

I wish these would get blu ray releases. Id love to have 4 movies that are on the DVD sets to be released in HD on two blu ray discs. I imagine how much space I would have if that would happen ! I have one entire row on my shelf with all the Charlie Chan movies (8 sets)

 

[Josh Steinberg]

I've only seen a few Charlie Chan movies (The Shanghai Cobra is the only one I've got), but I'd like to see some more. Any suggestions or favorites to recommend?

 

[Matt Hough]

Any title put out by Fox is superior to any of the Monogram titles (better production values, better actors, more intriguing mysteries), and looking at the Fox DVD releases, it's clear that time and money went into making them look and sound as good as they could with the materials they had to work with. I watched some titles from the last Fox box a month or so ago (Charlie Chan in Rio is one I recall), and upcoverted, some of them looked like HD video they were so sharp and clear.

 

[TheSteig]

I've only seen a few Charlie Chan movies (The Shanghai Cobra is the only one I've got), but I'd like to see some more. Any suggestions or favorites to recommend?

I prefer the Warner Oland ones myself - Chan in London, The Black Camel, etc is a good place to start

 

[Josh Steinberg]

Thanks Matt and David!

 

[JoHud]

I'd also recommend starting with the Warner Oland/Key Lukes films as well. However, the Fox titles of the 30s in general were very professionally handled B-films of their era, much like the Mr Moto films the studio handled. In addition, both the Fox releases and the WHV releases sport the best looking video transfers. The MGM Chans, while not that bad, are in more visible need of new transfers.


As far as the Monograms, those have their own separate appeal. In addition to Sydney Toler's performance and the inclusion of Mantan Moreland, they often have more of a comedic flavor. Personally, I thought this helped refresh the series as Syndey Toler's character became more laid back as he became more comfortable with the role, which is also in line with the series' gradual transition into more distinctive B-movie vehicles.

 

[TheSteig]

The series declined so badly by the time the Monogram movies were made, in fact in the Chanthology DVD set, there are two movies that use the very same scene of Charlie Chan going into a cab ..


I forgot the two titles at the moment but if you watch the films in the order which they were released you will see the original scene of Chan going into the cab and in a later film on the same DVD set, they use the same scene of him going into the cab. Pretty funny


EDIT - the first film with the original cab scene is Charlie Chan in the Secret Service..

 

[dana martin]

I've only seen a few Charlie Chan movies (The Shanghai Cobra is the only one I've got), but I'd like to see some more. Any suggestions or favorites to recommend?

Black Camel, Chan and Lugosi, you can't go wrong

 

[dana martin]

well almost to the halfway point of the year and still no word on those last Chan films,

as for the ones that have been released, curious as to what would be a way to get HD releases from them, Fox is farming stuff out, and MGM is to, and between all the smaller companies that they are dealing with which would be the best choice, TT, Kino, .... or i say Shout, the reason is simple, look at what they did with the Vincent Price sets, i think given the opportunity that shout could give us a chronologically correct Chan, ok time to back out of that dream.

 

[TheSteig]

Yes there has been *word* on the WAC FB page.. they hinted

Someone on their page asked Any chance the Archive will release the remaining 3 Monogram Charlie Chan titles?
WAC replied saying *stay tuned*

Theyre coming

 

[borisfw]

Nice to hear there may be a release coming .

 

[KathyBeck]

Woo Hoo!

 

[dana martin]

Charlie Chan 3 Flim Collection in June!, oh my, it has been such a long run to get to this point, almost 12 years to finally get to this point, curious if the cover art will be Roland Winters?? but whatever, it's going to look good next to all of this

just look at the top of the stack