Warner Oland and Béla LugosiOland on the production set of The Black Camel at Kailua Beach, with Chang Apana, the Honolulu detective who inspired the character of Charlie Chan
Movie star Shelah Fayne is making a picture on location in Honolulu, Hawaii. She summons mystic adviser Tarneverro from Hollywood to help her decide whether to marry wealthy Alan Jaynes, a man she has known for only a week. Her friend Julie O'Neil worries, however, that the famous psychic has too much influence over Fayne. Meanwhile, Julie has fallen in love herself with local publicity director Jimmy Bradshaw.
Honolulu Police Inspector Chan pretends to be a humble merchant, but Tarneverro sees through his impersonation. Chan mentions to him the yet unsolved murder of film star Denny Mayo, committed years before.
Then Jimmy finds Shelah's body; she has been murdered. Julie makes him remove Shelah's ring before calling for the police.
Chan investigates. He invites Tarneverro to assist him. Tarneverro reveals that Shelah told him she was in love with Denny and was responsible for his death, but kept quiet to protect her career.
The suspects are many, but after various startling revelations, Chan eventually identifies the killer and the connection to Danny Mayo's death.
The film further reunited Lugosi with Dwight Frye (playing Jessop, the butler), who had appeared with him in Dracula in the same year. C. Henry Gordon, who had been in Warner Oland's first (lost) Chan film and would show up in three more Chan films with both Oland and the later Chan Sidney Toler, appears uncredited as Huntley Van Horn.[citation needed]
The small but crucial role of Anna the housekeeper was played by stage actress Violet Dunn, the wife of director Hamilton MacFadden.[2]
Production
Much of the picture was shot on location in Honolulu, with several scenes filmed at the renowned Royal Hawaiian Hotel. The opening beach scene was filmed at Kailua Beach.
^"Robert Young Loaned". The Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles, California. March 26, 1931. p. 33 – via Newspapers.com.
Bibliography
Hanke, Ken, Charlie Chan at the Movies: History, Filmography, and Criticism, McFarland & Company Publishers, Jefferson, North Carolina, and London, 1989, ISBN0-89950-427-2.
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