Artivels Undescribable Perfection

Solemplex To me, this movie is perfection.

Portia Hilton Blistering performances.

Mathilde the Guild Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

hwg1957-102-265704 Directed by Harry Lachman this is another entry in the Sidney Toler series of Charlie Chan films concerning a divided treasure map, a planned trip to a remote island, a ghost of a pirate and a couple of murders solved of course by Charlie Chan with the doubtful help of his number two son, Jimmy. The story is not much really, the usual red herrings, but it satisfies. What is really good are the excellent detailed sets and the atmospheric black and white photography. Some of the framing is gorgeous to look at, thanks to Charles G. Clarke, cinematographer. Sidney Toler is fine as always as the quotable Chan and Sen Yung as son Jimmy has an active time in support. The running gag of him falling into water amused me. The rest of the cast are adequate. It does definitely benefit from having the easily recognisable Milton Parsons as Gene LaFarge, whose unique voice and features add greatly to the entertainment.Another solid movie in the series.

blanche-2 "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.

dbborroughs I had thought I had consciously seen all of the Charlie Chans that exist. I thought that I had seen Dead Men Tell but hadn't seen the ending because when I had taped it the end was missing. Boy was I shocked to discover that I had no memory of the film what so ever.The plot of the film has a ship waiting to set off on a treasure hunt. The grand daughter of a pirate was going to use her grandfathers map to recover the 66 million dollar treasure. Sadly the trip was being delayed by some one trying to steal the map.Charlie Chan comes into the story on a search for his number two son who has chucked college in the hope of stowing away on the trip. Chan meets the old lady who is in charge of the meeting who imparts some secrets to him. He then uses that info to help him catch her killer after she is frightened to death.Ship board (and fog shrouded dock) mystery is a typical Chan. More intent to be a real thriller then just a mystery the film is full of dark and shadowy locations. There is also an abundance of great characters (including a nice turn for George Reeves). The sort of film that is a perfect pair for the similar in feel Charlie Chan in The Wax Museum which preceded it.I really like this film a great deal, and had the film not overly relied on the use of the pirate costume the film would have been among the very best in the entire series (lets face it after the second appearance the suit's use if down right stupid.Allowing for that this is a great film and worth seeing when ever you get a chance.

telegonus 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.