The Black Camel

"The unsolved secrets of Hollywood disclosed under the romantic spell of Hawaiian moonlight"

1931 1h 11m EN

😐

6.1

MID

★6.1TMDB · 38

CrimeMystery

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Movie star Shelah Fane is seeing wealthy Alan Jaynes while filming in Honolulu, Hawaii, but won't marry him without consulting famed psychic Tarneverro first. Enter inspector Charlie Chan of the Honolulu Police, investigating the unsolved murder, three years earlier, of a Hollywood actor.

“The unsolved secrets of Hollywood disclosed under the romantic spell of Hawaiian moonlight”

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Cast

Warner Oland
Charlie Chan
Sally Eilers
Julie O'Neil
Bela Lugosi
Tarneverro
Dorothy Revier
Shelah Fane
Victor Varconi
Robert Fyfe
Murray Kinnell
Archie Smith
William Post Jr.
Alan Jaynes
Robert Young
Jimmy Bradshaw

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Hamilton MacFadden
Writers: Earl Derr Biggers, Philip Klein, Barry Conners
Languages: Mandarin, English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

Tight 71-minute runtime — shorter than most television pilots.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

95 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 2 languages: Mandarin, English.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

CINEMA

Did you know

Part of the "Charlie Chan (Warner Oland) Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Hamilton MacFadden, shot by Daniel B. Clark. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Warner Oland and Sally Eilers and Bela Lugosi carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "The unsolved secrets of Hollywood disclosed under the romantic spell of Hawaiian moonlight".

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0021668 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Hamilton MacFadden directs. Daniel B. Clark behind the camera. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in Mandarin, English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Tight 71-minute runtime — shorter than most television pilots.
295 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
3Dialogue crosses 2 languages: Mandarin, English.
4Part of the "Charlie Chan (Warner Oland) Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
5Directed by Hamilton MacFadden, shot by Daniel B. Clark. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
6Warner Oland and Sally Eilers and Bela Lugosi carry the top of the cast.
7Marketing tagline: "The unsolved secrets of Hollywood disclosed under the romantic spell of Hawaiian moonlight".
8IMDB entry: tt0021668 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
9Only 38 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.
10Classified under 9 themes, including "hawaii", "murder", "whodunit", "psychic".

The technical file

Cinematography: Daniel B. Clark
Runtime: 71 min · 1h 11m
Status: Released
Original language: EN
IMDB: The Black Camel (1931)

Part of

Charlie Chan (Warner Oland) Collection

Charlie Chan Chanthology

Also by

Hamilton MacFadden

Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2022-06-13
★ 7/10
Warner Oland is "Charlie Chan" in this engaging marriage of the occult with the vanities of Hollywood stardom. "Sheila Fayne" (Dorothy Revier) is an actress being pursued by the wealthy "Alan Jaynes" (William Post). Before she will commit to his ardour, she consults her psychic medium "Tarneverro" (Bela Lugosi). Instead of a simple yeah or nay, though, he raises the spectre of the death of her erstwhile co-star "Danny Mayo" and next thing we know "Chan" is investigating a far more recent murder. Loads of possible culprits; some eerily lit settings, a bit of gently cerebral humour and the sight of his assembled family at a dinner table that would have made even the "Walton's" blush all helps the mystery develop nicely. Lugosi is effective as the clearly dubious mystic, and there's an early turn from the handsome Robert Young to look out for, too. It's well directed, written and the suspense builds nicely. Oland presents a "rotundness" of spirit with his performance; his frequent adages delivered with his tongue in his cheek - and I enjoyed this.

Production companies