Chandu On the Magic Island (1935)
It’s no secret that Bela Lugosi is one of the most pigeonholed actors in history and Chandu On the Magic Island was one of the rare occasions when he got to play a good guy. The third installment in what was meant to be a twelve-part series, Magic Island follows Frank Chandler, also known as Chandu, a rather intense and colorful psychic who’s well-versed in white magic.
Chandu’s plot is simply this: The wealthy Chandler family of Beverly Hills have been hosting Egyptian princess Nadji, and since the last film, The Return of Chandu, she and Chandu have fallen in love. While on a yacht excursion, Nadji is lured to an island called Lemuria, where a tribe called the Ubasti want to sacrifice her to their cat god. Well, specifically, they want to transfer Nadji’s soul to their deceased princess. Naturally, Chandu goes to rescue her and naturally a lot of derring-do ensues.
The film was based on a radio drama called Chandu the Magician, which first ran from 1931 until 1936 and originally starred Gayne Whitman as the title character (Fun fact: According to Walter Winchell, “Chandu” is a Hindi-Chinese word for an opium compound).
Like its series-mates, Magic Island didn’t deviate too much from its formula. Chandu talks to his spirit guides and uses his powers, bad guys plot mischief, Nadji often serves as someone to rescue, and it’s easy to expect a bouncy male voice tell us to tune in next week, but it’s still cool seeing Chandu doing his thing. Not to mention Bela Lugosi is pretty intense. His eyes are piercing. His jaw is set. He’s very focused on who he’s supposed to be and what he has to do.
Also, these movies were a lot of fun. They’re over the top adventure stories with lots going on, and if anything we’re left to guess how much more action they can cram in before the ending credits roll. Plus some of it is just laughably so bad it’s good, and among the howlers are the Ubasti cat god and its temple servants who wear cat hoods that look more like Batman cowls. It all begs to be chuckled at or maybe even mocked.
Unfortunately Magic Island’s condition makes this easy. Over the years the Chandu films have been neglected, and since the series isn’t in high demand these days no one’s in a hurry to clean them up. The dialogue can be tough to understand, the picture is fuzzy and slightly warped, and there’s a ton of film dirt. It’s very likely some of the elements haven’t survived, so the movie may be hard to follow in spots.
The other problem is that while there’s plenty of action, character development and personality are definitely skimpy. It’s cool that Bela gets to play a sympathetic character for once, but Chandu is hardly Indiana Jones or Phillippe d’Arnot. He’s a good guy with magic powers but that’s about all. Still, if anyone has only seen Lugosi play Dracula or one of his other villain roles, Chandu will be a nice change of pace.
Chandu On the Magic Island is currently streaming on Amazon Prime and is also available on YouTube. Not rated.
My grade: B-
Principal cast: Bela Lugosi, Maria Alba, Clara Kimball Young, Deane Benton, Phyllis Ludwig, Wilfred Lucas, Josef Swickard, Jack Clark
Directed by Ray Taylor.
Written by Barry Barringer and Vera Oldham (radio series).