Tintin Forums

I was re-reading Cigars of the Pharaoh and noticed that the bungalow that Tintin and Dr Sarcophagus arrive at is clearly shown as a one storey building in Panel 4 on Page 37.

However in Panel 2 of Page 39, Tintin and the other guests at the bungalow hear Dr Sarcophagus scream and in the next panel they are shown rushing upstairs. How does this work?

Also in Cigars:
On page 20, panel 6, after Tintin has shot the light and escaped from the Thom(p)sons, a sailor with a lantern provides the light for them to see again. This is the one and only time we see this sailor although presumably for the light to stay on during the rest of the scene he'd have to be following the Thom(p)sons around - so where is he?

Unless he left the lamp in the room thus providing enough light for the Thompsons to see. Being unarmed, the sailor would then have gone back to the deck.

except the lamp wouldn't have provided quite that much light would it?

oh well, who cares if there are a couple of inconsistencies, its a great story

A single light bulb seemed to be enough to light up the hold, so if placed in the right place a lamp may have been just enough.

true, so the mystery of the missing sailor has been solved, but what about the mystery of the TARDIS bungalow?

Well spotted, I was intrigued by this so I had a good look.

It could be an oversight by Herge, but I think it's unlikely because the discrepancy also occurs in the original black and white album. I reckon Herge was aware of the inconsistency but decided that artistic license outweighed pure accuracy for the sake of accuracy. I think the outside of the villa is more typical of a jungle dwelling and also fits the frame better aesthetically; allowing for the outside shape of the villa to be visible.

I quite like the fact that a mysterious staircase and upper floor reveal themselves according to the action in the story. This seems to heighten the occult theme of the narrative at this point, and also fits in with the surreal nature of Cigars of the Pharaoh.

I also noticed that the hallway takes up two floors in height, making this quite a grand building.

mat

Looking at the pages in which the outsides of this and the neighbouring houses are shown, it seems to me that we never get a proper view of them, showing a complete structure - they drop off the edge of the frame.

It could be that the structure we see is in a fact just the corner of a veranda, which would be attached to one side or more of a regular house, which isn't visible at the angles we are given.

Still, I've got to hand it to Cutts_The_Butcher - it is a bit of a poser!

(It should be said that, while conventionally a single storey, there are also what are called "chalet bungalows", which have a room or rooms under the eaves - so perhaps this is what Hergé intended? I guess that people might informally fail to make a distinction, and simply call them a "bungalow" too?)

I did wonder this myself, but look at page 43 frame 12 and the complete house is visible - so a TARDIS we have!

Update: I just had another look and the whole house is also visible on page 37 frame 4; Tintin describes the house as a bungalow (French version) - as Cutts the Butcher stated in the first post in fact.

mat

Wow, a bungalow with upstairs rooms! I've read that book many times, but never spotted it before. As robbo says, it might simply be a plot device to serve the narrative (similar to the bushes that mysteriously appear along the Marlinspike Hall pathway in The Red Sea Sharks), but I'd like to think it was done on purpose to ramp up the surrealism.

I think the bungalow dinner party is one of my favourite scenes in the book. I love how the Kukri dagger disappears from the table downstairs whilst they're all upstairs. Of course, Doctor Sarcophagus simply nipped back in from downstairs to pinch it with a sheet over him, but it's still a very surreal moment.


Is that not Dr Finney's bungalow? But as you say, the whole building is visible on page 37, frame 4, and Tintin says "Look... a bungalow" in the English edition too.

Yes, sorry you are right the doctor was just a guest at the first bungalow.

mat