THE RETURN OF CHANDU (1934) ** Cat worshippers, that's the problem. Wearing gangland jackets. Turns out that California was really weird even before the beatniks took over. I like it when the guy gets knocked out by being hugged and mis-slapped. Bela's great at being the hero, maybe not as great as being the villain, but there's no reason that his mysterious and exotic presence should always have to serve evil. Lots of good things are mysterious and exotic, too. There wouldn't be any plot at all if the silly princess wasn't always getting captured. Maria Alba is an absolute genius at getting captured: she must accomplish it at least five times in this brief serial. Imagine what she could do with a film of epic length and scope. Why, I bet she could get captured by everyone. I bet she could capture herself! It's worth sitting through the whole thing just to hear Bela say "jungle drums." I've got to tell you, though: I'm disinclined to believe all this "circle of invisibility" talk. And if you're not convinced that Bela is brilliant, this may get tedious.
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