Dead Men Tell

An agreeable entry in the Charlie Chan series, this is an extremely well-made little movie, directed by Harry Lachman, and featuring some striking shots of an old pirate vessel in port and a tough waterfront dive. It's all cliches, nicely cobbled together, and served up with good humor by actors who don't seem to be taking themselves too seriously. Sidney Toler makes an agreeably phlegmatic and dignified Chan; while Sen Yung's Number Two Son gets into his usual hot water,--in this case actually sea water--as he tries to bail his old man out. Ethel Griffies is splendid as the haunted (and hunted) Mrs. Nodbury, Truman Bradley sinister as a pipe-smoking captain, George Reeves breezy as a suspect. I especially liked the quietly neurasethenic performance of Milton Parsons as a Boston Brahmin on vacation, trying to overcome a recent nervous breakdown. He picked one hell of a vacation spot! Highly recommended for fans of maritime mysteries, treasure maps, talking parrots and nocturnal strolls around creaking, fogbound wharves.

This is an often overlooked Chan film that deserves more attention! It is short at an hour running time. But it is loaded with great atmosphere and a good cast of interesting and eccentric characters. This is a good mystery and has many humorous parts, too. Sen Yung is quite good in this one. How can you get better than a ghost pirate named Black Hook on a treasure hunt? Another one that's lots of fun. TV Superman, George Reeves is in it too. This is one to see and see again!

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.

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.

This is an interesting Chan in several ways. First, the DVD print looks great! Our setting is a classic type old sailing ship and the adjacent docks, tavern, etc. Tons of fog, so I guess we are in San Francisco, though I don't recall anyone specifying that.

This film is also notable, for the action all taking place in a few sets: sailing ship deck, cabins, docks, tavern, a few others. Think of an old mansion story--like Castle in the Desert--but here we are on a ship at dock. I imagine this saved a lot on the budget. The sets are A-1; just about anything nautical is crammed on that old ship!

I was a bit surprised by the acting styles in this film; a lot of the actors play it very broad, with long, big visual reaction takes, more like an early 1930's film. The pace of the film is very deliberate, almost slow at times, but I enjoyed it. There is good humor with Number Two Son. Toler underplays very effectively; he owns the part, at this point. This is a good one; recommended.