Charlie Chan: Castle in the Desert [VHS]

Charlie Chan: Castle in the Desert [VHS]
by Harry Lachman

Charlie Chan: Castle in the Desert [VHS]

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Product details

Actor: Arleen Whelan, Douglass Dumbrille, Henry Daniell, Richard Derr, Sidney Toler
Director: Harry Lachman
Cinematographer: Virgil Miller
Editor: John Brady
Producer: Ralph Dietrich
Writer: Earl Derr Biggers
Writer: John Larkin
Edition: VHS Tape
Audio: English (Original Language), Analog
Format: Black & White, Closed-captioned, HiFi Sound, NTSC
Running Time: 62 minutes
Release Date: 1998-09-01
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Publisher: 20th Century Fox
Studio: 20th Century Fox

VHS Movie Reviews of Charlie Chan: Castle in the Desert [VHS]

Movie Review: One of the Best Charlie Chan Mysteries...
Summary: 5 Stars

1942's "Castle in the Desert" is one of the very best of the Charlie Chan series. Sidney Toler does the honors as the Honolulu Police Detective, assisted by Number Two Son, played for comic relief by Victor Sen Yung as a young soldier on pass from the Army.

Charlie is summoned by an unknown person to investigate an apparent murder at Manderley Castle, an austere Gothic replica built in the Mojave Desert by Paul Manderley. Manderley, who wears a partial mask to hide facial scarring, is a reclusive scholarly millionaire and married to a descendant of the infamous Borgia family of Medieval Italian poisoners. En route to the castle, Chan and Number Two Son fall in company with Madame Saturnalia, an astrologer prone to seemingly counterfactual predictions that nevertheless keep coming true.

At the isolated castle, done in chilling duplication of its medieval precessors and complete with suits of armor and a torture chamber, Charlie finds an exceptional collection of potential suspects. It seems the killer or killers are still on the scene. Members of the party, now cut off from the nearest town, keep dying. Chan and Number Two Son must somehow keep one step ahead of the killer while trying to unravel a complex plot involving control over Manderley's millions. The plot is likely to keep the viewer guessing to the very end.

"Castle in the Desert" is a successful and suspenseful adaption of the classic closed house murder mystery. There are more than enough sub-plots and red herrings to satisfy the amateur sleuths out there, while retaining the pithy proverbs and solid police work characteristic of a Chan drama. This movie is very highly recommended to fans of the Charlie Chan series and of film noir.

Movie Review: The very best Charlie Chan film!
Summary: 5 Stars

Not ONE of the other Charlie Chan films can touch this one. The casting is brilliant, the acting is superior, the cinematography is dramatic and, the location is PERFECT. Imagine that! A castle in the desert! This is a poisoning case, (sort of), and Charlie is summoned to help solve it. He's warned from going from the moment he's invited and, of course, one of his numerous sons (not quite so goofy as some others we've seen), tags along to watch out for his dear dad. Dark characters are everywhere and the sub-plots are above average. Fans of Charlie Chan films will drool over this one but the average viewer can enjoy this light mystery as well. The desert town, old vehicles, the landscapes, the castle, (and it's creepy accoutrements) are all about the coolest things you'll ever view in a black and white old-timey mystery film. Grab this one if you can find a copy!

Movie Review: Unusually High Production Values (for Charlie Chan)
Summary: 5 Stars

Castle in the Desert has unusually high production values ... for a Charlie Chan movie. Camera angles, for example, are sophisticated, and sets are fairly elaborate, unlike some of the later Chans. The plotting is fairly complex, and the acting is mostly of professional quality, even from the minor players. All in all, this is one of my favorite in the Charlie Chan series.

Movie Review: A Superior Plot
Summary: 4 Stars

The Charlie Chan series was dropped by 20th Century-Fox after this film.

Charlie solves a murder which happens while he is a guest in a desert castle. Sidney Toler has the role of Charlie and Sen Yung plays Jimmy Chan.

John Larkin wrote the screenplay and the director was Harry Lachman. Mostly because of the plot, I have always considered CASTLE IN THE DESERT to be one of the better Chan movies.

Movie Review: The Last Film in the "Real" Charlie Chan Series
Summary: 4 Stars

CASTLE IN THE DESERT would be the last Charlie Chan film made by 20th Century Fox, which originated the series; the rights to the character was subsequently purchased by Monogram, where Chan films continued to be made--but to considerably less effect. Consequently, CASTLE is generally regarded as the last film of any merit in the series. It is also one of the most entertaining. A neurotic historian and his wife, a descendent of the Borgia family no less, reside in eccentric isolation in a castle in the desert--where sinister doings are afoot, and Chan is summoned to take matters in hand. The plot as it unfolds requires a certain suspension of disbelief re what is medically possible, but a particularly entertaining cast (Ethel Griffies is a standout) allows the viewer to buy into the tale, and the film abounds with comic florishes that Chan fans will enjoy.

Although the Charlie Chan films are sometimes accused of perpetuating racial stereotypes, they were in fact no more stereotypical than other serial-style films (Blondie and Dr. Kildare come to mind) of the era--and as the series progressed the patronization found in the earliest films was rapidly discarded. Regretfully, many of the best Chan films are not available on video, much less DVD, and fans of the series who want to see such classics as CHARLIE CHAN AT TREASURE ISLAND or CHARLIE CHAN AT RENO(my own favorites) must hope for a showing on television.

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