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Reviews
Charlie Chan at the Olympics (1937)
One of the best
One of the best of the 1930s Chan films. It is remarkable how all reference to the Nazis was expunged from the scenes of the 1936 Olympics in Berlin. The Police are represented as Kaiser-style people rather than members of the Gestapo. I was more familiar with Sidney Toler, but I can see that Oland was a superior actor and much of the slapstick of the later Chans was omitted in the earlier versions. All in all, a well-done effort. The plot really doesn't concern the Olympics aside from being used as a backdrop for the action, but this isn't a problem. There is the usual complement of Chan aphorisms. The early Chan films are also interesting commentaries on the state of technology in the 1930s. Getting across the US by plane is said to take 13 hours, as Charlie races a boat from Honolulu to Germany.
Mystery Liner (1934)
Amusing apparatus
Interesting to see what passed for high-tech in 1934. Lots of sparks flying and big vacuum tubes. Even a sort-of TV for sending messages. The model ships used suggest that this was a low budget outfit. At first, I thought that Noah Beery Jr was in the cast, but this was Noah Beery himself. Unfortunately, he didn't have much of a role. There are also some amusing insights into shipboard travel in the 1930s. What I do find odd is that the owners of this ship are trying out for the first time a radio-controlled system and pick a ship with real passengers, not volunteers. It is also not entirely clear who the 'bad guys' are supposed to be. Considering that this was 1934, they appear to be generic Europeans, up to no good. Maybe their plan was to kidnap the ship and turn it into a floating casino?
Sherlock Holmes and the Secret Weapon (1942)
Technical issues
Among the more surprising items in the film was the choice of the prop for the actual bomb-sight. I was amazed to see that this consisted of an old Omega D-2 enlarger which had a round housing on long rails. The photographers in the audience must have been highly amused. This same enlarger (or a close relative) was used again when Holmes photographed the image of the dancing men. I would have thought that the prop department could have some up with something more likely. On the other hand, I used to have a D-2 and must admit that I never tried to use it on a bombing run.
The film is otherwise among the better of the Rathbone series, although the use of the dancing men is a bit of a stretch. I suppose the idea was to attempt to connect up the story with some of the original plot-lines, since in the days of Conan Doyle, there were no bomb slights. Or D-2 enlargers, for that matter.