Evengyny Thanks for the memories!

SpuffyWeb Sadly Over-hyped

Lollivan It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

Logan By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

binapiraeus Charlie Chan, who's just planning a little vacation with son Jimmy, gets a letter from a Mrs. Manderley, née Lucrezia Borgia (!), who summons him urgently to Manderley castle because she fears for her life... And THERE we've got a classic isolated old mansion if ever there was one: Mr. Manderley, a famous historian, has built his castle in the middle of the Mojave desert, complete with a vault full of poison bottles and Renaissance torture instruments, with no electricity and no phone - and very soon the distributor of the only car available is stolen as well, which leaves the persons present in TOTAL isolation - except for Jimmy, of course, who finds his way to the castle together with a strange old lady with spiritualistic gifts, Madame Saturnia...And very soon it is revealed that recently, a genealogist who wanted to investigate on Mrs. Manderley's Borgia family tree (although she seems perfectly alright, her step-brother was a mad poisoner...) was poisoned in the castle - but strangely, Madame Saturnia insists that 'the finger of Isis has never touched this house'... yet...She also warns Charlie to 'watch out for an arrow' - and very soon, arrows from an old crossbow start flying through the castle halls, dangerously near to our detective hero! And the suspects are plenty: Mrs. Manderley (who insists she didn't write the note to Charlie, and that her step-brother is dead; another thing Madame Saturnia denies vehemently...), Mr. Manderley, who wears a mask over one side of his face (a result of an accident, he explains), Dr. Retling, whose death certificate for the genealogist is being questioned by private eye Fletcher, Mr. Hartford, Manderley's attorney, who together with his wife seems to be seeking to take control of the Manderley fortune, and sculptor Watson King, who reveals himself as yet another private detective hired by Mrs. Manderley... Make your choice! The creepy atmosphere of the old castle of course makes this entry in the 'Charlie Chan' series another immensely entertaining whodunit; and the cast is also superb: apart from distinguished British star Henry Daniell as Watson King and Douglas Dumbrille as Manderley, we also meet again with some of the cast members of that magnificent Charlie Chan movie "Dead Men Tell" from the previous year: Milton Parsons, Lenita Lane - and Ethel Griffies, giving once again a FORMIDABLE performance as the mysterious Madame Saturnia. Jimmy as always adds lots of fun, disguised in a medieval armor - a great mystery movie that shouldn't be missed by any fan of the genre!

tavm This is my sixth review of a Charlie Chan movie in which I go through them in chronological order of when they were made for these consecutive days. This was also the last one made for 20th Century-Fox before the series moved to Monogram, two years later. In this one, Chan goes to the title place after a couple of murders had occurred. One of the family members there is a descendant of the infamous Borgias...Starts off well enough but by the end, I was a little confused by some of Charlie's explanations of what happened. Also, I didn't find many of his exchanges with "No. 2 son" Jimmy all that funny though his wisdom proverbs are still pretty amusing. So on that note, Castle in the Desert is worth a look and nothing more. P.S. I actually noticed a blooper when one of the "statues" moved when Jimmy came closer to him!

JohnHowardReid A confused and totally muddled screenplay fittingly closes the Fox series of Charlie Chan entries, which is number 30 in the official 47-picture compendium which excludes the 1981 "Charlie Chan and the Curse of the Dragon Queen".Actually, the equally preposterous script of this one is so full of holes, red herrings, misleading alliances, spooky hallucinations and other bizarre elements, it would make an equally amusing parody; but unfortunately the players and the director have all chosen to play it straight as a die. A shame, because a fair amount of money has been thrown at the movie which is beautifully produced and often quite stylishly directed.Although it's disconcerting to see such wonderful sets and glistening cinematography squandered on this ridiculous mish-mash of impossible plotting and over-the-top characters, within these limits, Castle in the Desert is quite fascinating. The players are particularly engrossing. Toler is in top form as he tosses off the usual quota of quixotic aphorisms, including: "Man has enemies like dog has fleas"; "Caution sometimes mother of suspicion"; "The man who walks always has both feet on ground"; "Elaborate excuses seldom true"; and "A timid man never win lottery prize!"

ccthemovieman-1 This is the only Charlie Chan I threw in the waste basket, but that's because I was disgusted with all the pro-astrology message in this film. For those who could care less about that, this will be another entertaining Chan mystery. For the rest of us, this was disappointing.Normally, Chan debunks these "stargazer" figures in his films but, for some reason, in this movie the astrologer is given total validity. Everything she predicts comes true so Chan gives her respect. It was amazing how many times the occult was presented in classic-era movies. Since the Code restricted profanity, nudity, anti-clergy bias, etc., one of the ways these could still get anti-Biblical messages across was through all the occult nonsense. This is just one more example.This was Sidney Toler's last Charlie Chan before switching studios, adding Mantan Moreland to the cast and making the last of the films a lot more humorous (or stupid, depending on what you prefer). Moreland was funny as "Birmingham Brown" but he also was demeaning to the black race with his role. Regardless of the stories or the cast, Charlie Chan always remained smart, funny and a good family man, and his films (including this one) are always entertaining.