Return to Chandu

This 1934 serial is a well-made adventure story, of special interest to Bela Lugosi fans because for once he plays a plausible romantic lead instead of a sinister menace, and he's quite charming in this. A lot of action was packed into the first four chapters (intended to attract exhibitor and audience interest); these are especially good, with fine end-of-chapter perils. (For those who haven't got time for the entire serial, a feature version was fashioned from the first four chapters.)

VCI Entertainment and Principle Pictures present the mystic magician adapted from a radio drama in "The Return of Chandu " (1934) (Dolby digitally remastered), 12 Chapters of vintage serial loaded with suspenseful and mysterious sequences...story line has Chandu the mystic locking horns with the Black Magic Cult of Ubasti...is there a sacrifice in the works of the last Egyptian Princess alive...will Chandu with all the powers at his hand be able to thwart these evildoers of this 12 Chapter serial...does Bela Lugosi as Chandu get the girl at the end of the serial...director Ray Taylor at the helm does an excellent job of bringing the best out of each actor for the characters involved....also take note of the musical score by these composers Rudolf Friml, Charles Dunworth, Francis Gromon, Nem Herkin and Josiah Zuro, each cue is completely mesmerizing...keep that thought as each chapter is more exciting than the previous one...stayed tuned and don't miss any of the mysterious episodes...don't leave the theater until the final chapter is over and done with "The Knife Descends"....just remember double thrills, chills, mystery and suspense...hitting the bull's eye with excitement...don't miss a single spine thrilling episode..return next week to this local theater for another episode of action and adventure that will keep you thrilled until the next chapter

Under director Ray Taylor, producer Sol Lesser with screenplay by Barry Barringer, Harry A. Earnshaw, R.R. Morgan, Vera M. Oldman...the cast Bela Lugosi ( Frank Chandler, aka Chandu the Magician), Maria Alba (Princess Nadji), Clara Kimball Young (Dorothy Regent), Dean Benton (Bob Regent), Phyliss Ludwig ( Betty Regent), Murdock MacQuarrie (The "Voice" of Ubasti), Iron Eyes Cody (Cat Man), Jack Clark (Vitras, High Priest of Ubasti), Josef Swickard (Tyba, the White Magician), Wilfred Lucas (Capt. Wilson), Lucien Prival (Vindhyan)...danger everywhere for Princess Nadji is what Chandu visions in his crystal ball...black magic will be held for a sacrifice of the cult Ubasti...must they visit the island of Lemuria and the result is being held in captivity...will Chandu be plunged into an endless maze of caverns beneath the evil Temple of Ubasti...can his own powers be made helpless by the full forces of Black Magic...this is the kind of stuff we went to the local theater to see every week and couldn't wait for the next time.........special footnote, actor Bela Lugosi's was outstanding in this serial and he handled it like the professional he was, all serial-buffs and Bela Lugosi fans should find this very rewarding and entertaining, Lugosi gained fame when he played "Count Dracula" in the legendary 1927 Broadway stage adaptation of Bram Stoker's novel, continued for three years, and was subsequently, and memorably, filmed by Tod Browning in 1931, establishing Lugosi as one of the screen's greatest personifications of pure evil.....meanwhile back to our Lugosi serial which is always good till the last drop and this serial is no exception...there is a great deal of entertainment here for the cliffhanger fans out there...all courtesy of VCI Entertainment, who in my humble opinion is the best there is in restoring early serials and features...relive those wonderful memories of the serials from yesteryear thanks to VCI Entertainment and their gang of dedicated people.

CHAPTER TITLES:

1. The Chosen Victim

2. The House in the Hills

3. On the High Seas

4. The Evil Eye

5. The Invisible Circle

6. Chandu's False Step

7. Mysterious Magic

8. The Edge of the Pit

9. The Terror Invisible

10.The Crushing Rock

11.The Uplifted Knife

12.The Knife Descends

SPECIAL FEATURES:

BIOS:

1. Bela Lugosi

Birth Date: 10/20/1882 - Austria-Hungary

Death Date: 8/16/1956 - Los Angeles, CA

2. Maria Alba - (1905-1999)

3. Ray Taylor

Birth Date: 12/01/1880 - Perham, Minnesota

Death Date: 2/15/1952 - Hollywood, CA

TRAILERS::

Undersea Kingdom (Ray "Crash" Corrigan)

Tex Granger (Robert Kellard, Peggy Stewart, Smith Ballew, Jack Ingram)

Congo Bill (Don McGuire)

If you're into vintage serials as I am, why not pick up a copy of the following titles from VCI Home Video:

VCI CLIFFHANGER TRAILERS:

1. Adventures of Red Ryder (Don "Red" Barry)

2. Adventures of the Flying Cadets (Bobby Jordan)

3. Buck Rogers (Buster Crabbe)

4. Captain Midnight (Dave O'Brien)

5. Captain Video: Master of the Stratosphere (Judd Holdren & I. Stanford Jolley)

6. Dick Tracy's G-Men (Ralph Byrd)

7. Don Winslow of the Navy (Don Terry)

8. Don Winslow of the Coast Guard (Don Terry)

9. Drums of Fu Manchu (Henry Brandon)

10.Fighting Kit Carson (Johnny Mack Brown)

11.Flash Gordon Conquers the Universe (Buster Crabbe)

12.The Green Archer (Victory Jory)

13.Jungle Girl (Frances Gifford)

14.Jungle Jim (Grant Withers & Raymond Hatton)

15.Lost City of the Jungle (Russell Hayden & Keye Luke)

16.Mandrake the Magician (Warren Hull & Dick Curtis)

17.Miracle Rider (Tom Mix & Tony Jr)

18.The Painted Stallion (Ray "Crash" Corrigan)

19.The Phantom (Tom Tyler)

20.The Return of Chandu (Bela Lugosi)

21.Riders of Death Valley (Dick Foran, Leo Carrillo & Buck Jones)

22.Secret Agent X-9 (1937) (Scott Kolk & Henry Brandon)

23.Secret Agent X-9 (1945) (Lloyd Bridges & Keye Luke)

24.Sky Raiders (Donald Woods & Billy Halop)

25.Undersea Kingdom (Ray "Crash" Corrigan)

26.Winners of the West (Dick Foran, Harry Woods, Roy Barcroft & Charles Stevens)

27.Zane Greys "King of the Royal Mounted" (Allan "Rocky" Lane)

28.Zorro's Cliffhanger Collection (Reed Hadley, John Carroll & Linda Stirling)

Coming soon January 2006 from VCI Home Video on DVD..."FLAMING FRONTIERS" (1938), Universal Serial with 15 chapters, featuring Johnny Mack Brown, Eleanor Hansen, John Archer, James Blaine and Ralph Bowman..."OREGON TRAIL" (1939), another Universal Serial with 15 exciting chapters featuring Johnny Mack Brown, Fuzzy Knight, Roy Barcoft and Charles King..."THE TALL TEXAN" (1953), full length feature starring Lloyd Bridges, Lee J Cobb, Luther Adler and Marie Windsor...watch for more details on VCI Entertainment and Amazon your two favorite sites for serials and B-Westerns.

Great job by VCI Entertainment for releasing the digital transfere with a clean, clear and crisp print...looking forward to more of the same from the '30s vintage serial era...order your copy now from Amazon or VCI Entertainment ("King of the Serials"), stay tuned once again with a top notch serial from VCI...just the way we like 'em!

Total Time: 208 mins on DVD ~ VCI Entertainment 8386~ (6/29/2004)

This video contains all the episodes of the serial. It is in the EP mode but nevertheless worth seeing.

› Go to Amazon.com to see all 3 reviews  4.0 out of 5 stars