Obscure Lugosi and a brief look at Asian actors in early film

 Bela Lugosi is a curious case as far as actors go. He, arguably, had a more profound impact on the horror genre than almost any other actor, and defined so many of the tropes of the genre...but his film output is not all that stellar. I mean... sure, he literally defined Dracula in the 1931 film.... and while many of his other films are respected by fans of the genre (such as White Zombie or Son of Frankenstein), most of his films are obscure, and often get lost in the mess of low budget outputs and program fillers. Its frankly hard to sit through something like Bela Lugosi Meets a Brooklyn Gorilla (1952) or Vampire Over London (1952). Its even hard to sit through something like The Return of Chandu (1934) and that has a far better story than many of his later films.

So its really nice to find something a little obscure that is engaging and actually showcases Lugosi as an actor, and not a horror icon. I discovered, on YouTube, the oldest surviving Charlie Chan film, The Black Camel (1931) which includes not only Lugosi, but an uncredited Dwight Frye... both acting mere months after the release of the mega-hit Dracula (1931). While Dracula received a general release on Feb 14, 1931, The Black Camel was released on June 21, 1931. 

The Black Camel was the second of the Charlie Chan films starring Warner Oland as the detective. It is the earliest surviving of Oland's version, with something like 5 of the other earliest having been destroyed in fires over the years. It is also notable for a couple other reasons... First off it is actually one of the rare films in the series which is based on one of Earl Derr Biggers original Charlie Chan novels. So many of these films were made that they ran out of novel material pretty quickly. Secondly, this was actually filmed in Honolulu, Hawaii and many of the locations, including Waikiki Beach and The Royal Hawaiian Hotel are included, and give a genuine sense of the exotic. This is not an early soundstage bound production. It is one of the earliest depictions of Hawaii that I am aware of on film. Hawaii itself would not even be a state until 1959.

And finally, there are Lugosi and Frye. Frye gets an uncredited bit part with only a couple lines, as a Butler. He isn't given much to do, but his voice is unmistakable, and he still talks in the slow, stilted manner he did as Renfield. Lugosi though... Lugosi is actually really impressive here, and this has shot up to near the top of my favorite performances by him. He's very natural as Tarneverro, a sort of psychic advisor who eshews the usual trappings of the soothsayer you would see him in in later roles. He's quite casual here, and looking at ease in a business suit, and right from the first scene he has with Warner Oland, you get the impression that he is easily the equal of Charlie Chan, and is not so much a psychic as extremely observant. 

Thats actually a wonderful scene. Lugosi is having breakfast at the Royal Hawaiian hotel with friends when he is informed that a 'Chinese Businessman' has arrived to speak with him. He is puzzled but curious, and goes to meet the man in the lobby, who turns out to be Charlie Chan, posing as a businessman to get information from him. This deception lasts about a second, as Lugosi immediately points out that Chan is no businessman but a police officer. Chan is amused and also guesses that Tarneverro has noticed the holes in his waistcoat from where he removed his badge. This establishes so much between these two... a mutual respect for each others intelligence, a slightly tense curiosity about one another, and the fact that they actually like each other, even if they suspect one another. Its a great scene.

And the other thing you get from this is Lugosi playing against type. Sure, he's set up as a potential suspect, but then literally everyone else is as well. He never seems a particularly CREDIBLE suspect, and there are times when Chan actually shares clues with him. As it turns out, he DOES have a connection to the murder case, but as it turns out, he is NOT the murderer... so its a rare instance in which Lugosi does NOT play either a villain or a victim. In fact, he really showcases his charm as a leading man here, and its a great glimpse of what might have been had he not been typecast and become such a victim to his own addictions and demons. This is the sort of role that Boris Karloff would occasionally get which really enabled him to rise above being a 'mere horror star'. 

Now... as for the film itself....

This is really a tricky film to examine. 

On the one had, this film shows a lot of problems that were common in early Hollywood where race was concerned. There should have been no reason to cast a white man as Chan, other than the inherent racism of the time. Warner Oland seems to be a fine actor, but why they cast him as a Chinese man is beyond me. This seems to be simply what was done at the time, and we see this over and over and over again, with Charlie Chan being played by Warner Oland, Sydney Toler, Roland Winters, and even Peter Ustinov playing him in film, while Ross Martin and J. Carroll Naish played him on television... to say nothing of both Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi playing the Chinese detective Mr Wong in various films, Peter Lorre playing the Japanese spy Mr Moto, and the likes of Karloff, Christopher Lee, and even Peter Sellers playing Fu Manchu. 

It become especially curious when you see the later films with capable Asian-American actors playing his family and sidekicks, most notably Keye Luke (who I discovered, along with Boris Karloff, was a founding member of the Screen Actors Guild). The simple fact is, sadly, I doubt that America in the 1930s would even have been willing to go to a film fronted by an Asian actor. They experimented with it on occasion, with one very interesting and notable example being to curious mystery When Were You Born (1938) starring the lovely and talented Anna Mae Wong. Keye Luke was given the chance to play James Lee Wong in Phantom of Chinatown in 1940 (previously the role had been played by Karloff). But that was about it. Merle Oberon was a popular leading lady in British film, but had to conceal the Indian and Maori heritage she had and used skin lightening makeup. According to film historian Robert Ito, apparently there were "protections" built in to the Hollywood system to protect white actors, guaranteeing that if a character was a lead, and an Asian, he would likely be a white actor cast in 'yellowface'. 

The character of Charlie Chan has drawn some criticism, some of which is justified, and some which may not be. Earl Derr Biggers created the character as a reaction to the 'Yellow Peril' style of portrayal of Asians, which he despised. He wanted a heroic and law-abiding Asian character, and was inspired by meeting real life Honolulu Detective Chang Apana in 1920. Apana was quite a colorful character, whose adventures included being tossed out a window on the second story of a house by drug addicts (only to land on his feet), and single handedly arresting 40 people involved in illegal gambling, while armed only with a bullwhip. However, the character of Charlie Chan is often criticized for his constant overuse of 'fortune cookie' wisdom, and broken English speech patterns, as well as the aforementioned Yellowface. 

On the other hand, Keye Luke, when asked if he felt that Charlie Chan was demeaning, responded with ""Demeaning to the race? My God! You've got a Chinese hero!". It should also be noted that the Charlie Chan films were the most popular American films in China during the 1930s, and there were even a number of Chinese films made of the character during that time. I am reminded somewhat of the controversy surrounding the Looney Tunes character of Speedy Gonzales, which was pulled for being racially offensive, while simultaneously being extremely popular among the people he was supposed to be offensive to. 

The yellowface is absolutely problematic... but the portrayal maybe less so. Chan DOES spout proverbs and fortune cookie wisdom... but as one reviewer pointed out, they aren't always wisdom. Many time they are cutting insults or subtle jabs at the other characters. His 'broken' English speech patterns and polite, gentle manner make his opponents constantly underestimate him. He is shown to be a loving family man, and even, at times, more professional than his colleagues in the police. 

Treated respectfully, and given to a good actual Chinese (or at least Asian) actor, its possible, I think, to modernize and redeem the character of Charlie Chan.

This is NOT a horror film, but it is horror adjacent since it has both Lugosi and Frye in it. Its a pretty good mystery too. I recommend this for fans of Lugosi especially.