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On this day in 1932 (in the U.S.), the great city of Hollywood, California served as the host for an exclusive theatrical premiere event of the motion picture Chandu The Magician. (Full U.S. theatrical release wouldn't take place until September 1932.) Directed by William Cameron Menzies and Marcel Varnel from a script by Barry Conners, Philip Klein, Harry A. Earnshaw, Vera M. Oldham, R.R. Morgan, and a few others, the film starred Edmund Lowe, Irene Ware, Bela Lugosi, and others.
According to our friends at IMDB.com, here's the plot summary:
"When delusional madman Roxor kidnaps a scientist in hopes of using his death ray to achieve world dominance, he is opposed by Chandu, a powerful hypnotist and yogi."
Editor's Note:
While the original Chandu theatrical feature was not the huge box office success that Fox Film Corporation hoped for, it stirred up enough interest to warrant not one but two sequels: The Return Of Chandu (1934) and Chandu On The Magic Island (1935), both putting Bela Lugosi in the lead and dropping Edmund Lowe from the role. What could've owed to the short term success of the franchise was the fact that it was based on a popular radio serial of its day, so the studio banked on such popularity translating to the box office returns. Lastly, I've also read that Chandu serves -- in some cultural ways -- as the original inspiration behind such other characters as Mandrake The Magician, Marvel's Doctor Strange, and even Indiana Jones.
-- EZ
On this day in 1932 (in the U.S.), the great city of Hollywood, California served as the host for an exclusive theatrical premiere event of the motion picture Chandu The Magician. (Full U.S. theatrical release wouldn't take place until September 1932.) Directed by William Cameron Menzies and Marcel Varnel from a script by Barry Conners, Philip Klein, Harry A. Earnshaw, Vera M. Oldham, R.R. Morgan, and a few others, the film starred Edmund Lowe, Irene Ware, Bela Lugosi, and others.
According to our friends at IMDB.com, here's the plot summary:
"When delusional madman Roxor kidnaps a scientist in hopes of using his death ray to achieve world dominance, he is opposed by Chandu, a powerful hypnotist and yogi."
Editor's Note:
While the original Chandu theatrical feature was not the huge box office success that Fox Film Corporation hoped for, it stirred up enough interest to warrant not one but two sequels: The Return Of Chandu (1934) and Chandu On The Magic Island (1935), both putting Bela Lugosi in the lead and dropping Edmund Lowe from the role. What could've owed to the short term success of the franchise was the fact that it was based on a popular radio serial of its day, so the studio banked on such popularity translating to the box office returns. Lastly, I've also read that Chandu serves -- in some cultural ways -- as the original inspiration behind such other characters as Mandrake The Magician, Marvel's Doctor Strange, and even Indiana Jones.
-- EZ
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