Dead Men Tell

Very nice cinematography in this installment of the Chan series - beautiful lighting that really does the most with black and white film. The story is a nice one, but for me there's just too much of son Jimmy playing the fool. This is one of those Chans where the son is really a co-star in the film, with a resulting comic-relief drag on the mystery. I know the sons were very popular back in the day when the formula was a little drama, a little comedy, a little action, a little romance and maybe a little music, but for me the bug-eyed, bumbling Jimmy just stops the story in its tracks over and over. Watching the DVD on my laptop, I find myself pausing the film every time Jimmy jumps to the front of the scene and surfing the web for a while.

If Jimmy doesn't bother you like he does me, then I'd give it a 7. For me, it's a 5 in the world of Chan.

A "treasure hunt cruise" is all lined up—but the ship never leaves the dock in this mystery featuring a pirate ghost, a treasure map, a couple of murders, and the usual lineup of suspicious characters.

Jimmy Chan helps get the action started by sneaking aboard the darkened ship to investigate, his imagination fired by news about the expedition to retrieve $60 million of hidden treasure. Pop Charlie Chan comes looking for Jimmy, intending to take him home—which is how both Chans happen to be on the ship when the first murder occurs.

Sidney Toler is fine as always as the elder Chan; Sen Yung has a larger role than usual as Jimmy, and gives an energetic—practically manic—performance as the would-be detective whose curiosity is matched only by his enthusiasm. Toler and Yung, by now veterans of several films in these roles, complement each other perfectly.

The plot concerns an alleged treasure map, divided into four pieces and distributed among the would-be passengers. When the map's owner (and tour sponsor) is murdered and her map portion disappears, it becomes apparent that someone else on board is out to grab all four sections. Not surprisingly, practically all of the passengers and crew seem to harbor secrets of one kind or another….

The entire film is set inside the ship, outside in the harbor, or in a neighboring waterfront bar…and it all takes place at night. Nicely designed sets and good shadowy photography create an atmosphere that is sinister and just slightly spooky.

Jimmy Chan can't seem to keep out of the water in this one….And my favorite line from the picture is the elder Chan's response to Jimmy's apology for falling in yet again: "Please. Save alibi for autobiography."

There is murder on board a ship that is taking its customers to an island where there is a 60,000,000 dollar treasure (or so we're told). The map has been divided into fourths to be distributed once they reach the island. Jimmy Chan stows away (what else is new) and while there an old lady is murdered (she has one of the pieces) by someone dressed as a pirate. Meanwhile, Charlie Chan comes aboard, looking for his number two son. As it turns out there are all sorts of people who could be responsible, including the captain of the ship who hates people and would rather have nothing to do with them. Jimmy, who is in this episode too much, starts investigating. He ends up dropping the water on at least four occasions. He muddles up the case again. This is fun because of the locale. There are numerous misleading clues. By the way, George Reeves appears in this one. He is the one who starred in "The Adventures of Superman" back in the fifties. This is a decent mystery.

"Dead Men Tell" is an enjoyable Charlie Chan mystery from 1941.

People gather for a treasure hunt via ship to an island, based on a map an elderly woman, Patience Nodbury, inherited from her ancestor, a pirate named Black Hook. Since someone has attempted to steal the map, she's divided it into four pieces and gives three pieces to three passengers.

Patience says that Black Hook visits each relative before they die, and Black Hook visits her, all right, but in this case, he kills her.

Charlie and Jimmy want to solve her murder, and they have plenty of suspects. There's a man posing as a reporter, Bill Lydig (George Reeves), a neurotic man, Gene LaFarge, who has a psychiatrist with him, and the captain, Captain Kane, whose ex-partner left him to do on a deserted island.

Dark, atmospheric film with Jimmy (Victor Sen Yung) in trouble most of the time. Toler has an authoritative presence as Charlie. He's less whimsical than Warner Oland, and his gruff voice gives his line readings a nice sarcasm. He tells Jimmy "Save alibi for your autobiography."

One thing I noticed is, though these films have been criticized for not being politically correct, in the bar scene, no one calls Jimmy derogatory names. They make fun of him, but no one acts as if he looks different.

In fact, I have never picked up anything like that in any film, directed at Charlie or one of his children. It seems to me that these are films of their time, which make them un-p.c. By today's enlightened standards, but the writers never meant to be deliberately insulting.

Just an interesting thought, as the days of casting someone Chinese as Chinese were a long way off.

If many of the other 'Charlie Chan' movies are real gems, some smaller, some quite big (like "The Black Camel" or "Charlie Chan's Secret"), this much lesser known film is perhaps the 'Golden Jubilee' among them all - and among mystery movies in general. With moderate, but immensely effective means, this mixture between a scary ghost story and a solid whodunit goes way beyond the general line of the 'Charlie Chan' series: there are elements of horror that can compete with any horror classic of the time, while the atmosphere is overall Noirish, with everything from the characteristic lighting effects to the feeling of doom that seems to hang over the protagonists as much as the fog on deck...

Strange, but very determined elderly Miss Nodbury, the ancestor of a notorious pirate who was hanged for murder, has organized a 'treasure hunt' on the island where the pirate's treasure is hidden - worth 60,000,000 dollars! But she wants to call off the trip on board the old pirate ship 'Suva Star' the last minute, because the night before somebody tried to steal the pirate's map that was in her possession - but the old lady is clever: she has divided the map into four parts and kept only one part to herself, while she sent the other three to members of the expedition. Still, somebody obviously is craving for ALL of the pieces, and so, on the same night, pirate captain "Black Hook" himself, in whose ghost Miss Nodbury has always believed, seems to come in order to claim them and summon Miss Nodbury to her ancestors...

Now don't believe that this is just another whodunit with only a little bit of 'ghost hokum' in it - there are moments when the strange, melancholy melody that 'means death', as Miss Nodbury insisted, and the sound of the pirate's wooden leg approaching ACTUALLY make not only the expedition members, but also us think our conviction that there ARE no ghosts over again...

But then, of course, there's a VERY real murder to solve; because while you COULD explain Miss Nodbury's death as a natural one, due to her heart problems and her strong belief in ghosts - you certainly can't put the blame for the suffocation of a man in an old diving bell on supernatural powers! And there's a really illustrious group of suspects on board, from a numismatist who doesn't seem to know his occupation's scientific name to a neurotic and his woman psychiatrist to the hardened, taciturn captain himself...

This movie is indeed perfect in EVERY way: the eerie atmosphere the direction creates with all means from the settings to the sound effects to the shadows and the fog is completed by a marvelous cast - in particular Ethel Griffies as the pirate's heiress is simply MAGNIFICENT. In order not to scare the wits out of the audience completely, of course some humor is added as always (with Jimmy falling into the harbor basin with every opportunity) - but all ye who are about to watch this movie for the first time, be prepared for some VERY creepy moments!

But speaking seriously now, as a long-time fanatic of classic B movies: to my knowledge and in my opinion, this is about the MOST underrated B mystery movie of all times.