The Return of Chandu 2004 Horror Movie Review

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.


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…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


VCI CLIFFHANGER TRAILERS:

1. Adventures of Red Ryder (Don “Red” Barry)

2. Zorro Cliffhanger Collection (Reed Hadley, John Carroll, Linda Stirling)

3. Dick Tracy’s G-Men (Ralph Byrd)

4. Adventures of the Flying Cadets (Bobby Jordan)

5. Buck Rogers (Buster Crabbe)

6. Flash Gordon Conquers the Universe (Buster Crabbe )

7. Jungle Girl (Frances Gifford),

8. Jungle Jim (Grant Withers & Raymond Hatton)

9. Mandrake the Magician (Warren Hull)

10.Zane Grey’s “King of the Royal Mounted” (Allan “Rocky” Lane)

11.Miracle Rider (Tom Mix & Tony Jr)

12.Secret Agent X-9 (1937) (Scott Kolk, Henry Brandon & Monte Blue)

13.The Phantom (Tom Tyler)

14.Secret Agent X-9 (1945) (Lloyd Bridges & Key Luke)

15.Zorro’s Cliffhanger Collection (Reed Hadley, John Carroll & Linda Stirling)


TRAILERS::

Undersea Kingdom (Ray “Crash” Corrigan)

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

Congo Bill (Don McGuire)


If you crave action, drama and plenty of adventure then this is the place for all of the above…if you enjoyed this serial check out another release from VCI Entertainment and Columbia Pictures present “Captain Video: Master of the Stratosphere” (1951) (digitally remastered), 15 Chapters.finally for the first time on video the really great Columbia Serial that broke the mold…we have everything a serial fan would want…the tinted sequences by Cinecolor and unique inventions that were unlike any other serial out there in the ‘50s…get out there as they’re going fast, this is the one you’ve been waiting for.


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)