Review of Chandu the Magician

Edmund Lowe is the heroic Chandu, a good magician who is determined to stop the evil Roxor (Bela Lugosi) from destroying the world and ruling the ruins he creates. It appears that his brother-in-law has created a death ray and has gone into business with Roxor, eventually being betrayed by Lugosi when he realizes what evil this man does. Well, what else do you think would happen if you invented a death ray? Would that invention ever be utilized for good? Just that ridiculous premise alone leaves a big hole in this plot line, especially when brother-in-law ends up imprisoned in Lugosi's compound with wife, daughter, son and a beautiful exotic princess on Lugosi's lists of ways to get the inventor to comply. Lugosi, of course, gets to chew up the scenery, especially as he envisions the destructions of the world's biggest cities. Some truly horrific moments includes Lowe being buried in a coffin alive under water and the floor of the prison cell slipping open as his prisoners try not to fall to their deaths in the same water where Lowe is trapped. Certainly not as offensive as the same year's "The Mask of Fu Manchu" (with Lugosi's rival Boris Karloff in one of the tackiest of all villain roles), it's one of those ridiculous adventure tales that dominated the best and worst of the serials, even if it is relatively short. Ironically, Lugosi would later play Chandu in a serialized version where you at least know that the narrative will be silly. Given the fact that Lugosi's abode reminds me of the witches' castle from "The Wizard of Oz" makes me praise it instantly for its art direction and photography, but lacking in much of anything else except some good old unintentional laughs.