Rating
Reviews and Comments
"Please decorate man with legal jewelry."
In a desert castle, owned by recluses, a poisoning is disguised as a heart attack to avoid scandal. Charlie Chan (Sidney Toler) is mysteriously called on the case to sort it all out. The mystery and the atmosphere of the setting are both well done, but the film loses points regarding realism -- some of the details are either neglected or don't hold up, and I didn't care for the spooky psychic woman. There are enough twists, pithy sayings, and sneaking around in the dark to keep Chan fans happy, though, and the film is fondly remembered.
This was the last of the bigger budgeted Chan mysteries put out by Twentieth Century Fox. The poverty row studio Monogram Pictures picked the series up for the remaining episodes, and the drop in quality and budget showed.
Series Entries
- Charlie Chan Carries On (1931)
- The Black Camel (1931)
- Charlie Chan's Chance (1932)
- Charlie Chan's Greatest Case (1933)
- Charlie Chan's Courage (1934)
- Charlie Chan In London (1934)
- Charlie Chan In Paris (1935)
- Charlie Chan In Egypt (1935)
- Charlie Chan In Shanghai (1935)
- Charlie Chan's Secret (1936)
- Charlie Chan At the Circus (1936)
- Charlie Chan At the Race Track (1936)
- Charlie Chan At the Opera (1937)
- Charlie Chan At the Olympics (1937)
- Charlie Chan On Broadway (1937)
- Charlie Chan At Monte Carlo (1937)
- Charlie Chan In Honolulu (1939)
- Charlie Chan In Reno (1939)
- Charlie Chan At Treasure Island (1939)
- City In Darkness (1939) (aka: "Charlie Chan In City In Darkness")
- Charlie Chan's Murder Cruise (1940)
- Charlie Chan At the Wax Museum (1940)
- Charlie Chan In Panama (1940)
- Murder Over New York (1940)
- Charlie Chan In Rio (1941)
- Dead Men Tell (1941)
- Castle In the Desert (1942)
- Charlie Chan In the Secret Service (1944)
- The Chinese Cat (1944) (aka: "Charlie Chan In the Chinese Cat")
- Charlie Chan In Black Magic (1944) (aka: "Meeting At Midnight")
- The Shanghai Cobra (1945)
- The Scarlet Clue (1945)
- The Jade Mask (1945)
- The Red Dragon (1946) (aka: "Charlie Chan and the Red Dragon")
- Shadows Over Chinatown (1946)
- Dangerous Money (1946) (aka: "Charlie Chan In Dangerous Money")
- Dark Alibi (1946)
- The Trap (1947) (aka: "Charlie Chan In the Trap")
- The Chinese Ring (1947)
- Docks of New Orleans (1948) (aka: "Charlie Chan On the Docks of New Orleans")
- Shanghai Chest (1948)
- The Golden Eye (1948) (aka: "Charlie Chan and the Golden Eye")
- The Feathered Serpent (1948) (aka: "Charlie Chan and the Feathered Serpent")
- The Sky Dragon (1949) (aka: "Charlie Chan and the Sky Dragon")
Related Films
- The House Without a Key (1925)
- The Chinese Parrot (1927)
- Behind That Curtain (1929)
- The Return of Charlie Chan (1979) (aka: "Happiness Is a Warm Clue")
- Charlie Chan and the Curse of the Dragon Queen (1981)