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Castle in the Desert (1942)
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Overview
User Rating:
Director:
Writers:
Release Date:
27 February 1942 (USA)
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Tagline:
...a poison arrow whizzes past... as Charlie Chan opens the gate to his most baffling adventure!
Plot:
Charlie Chan investigates apparent poisonings at a mystery mansion in the Mojave Desert. full summary | add synopsis
Plot Keywords:
Charlie Chan
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Mansion
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Mojave Desert
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Historian
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Borgias
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User Comments:
Entertaining Murder Mystery
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Cast
(Complete credited cast)| Sidney Toler | ... | Charlie Chan | |
| Arleen Whelan | ... | Brenda Hartford | |
| Richard Derr | ... | Carl Detheridge | |
| Douglass Dumbrille | ... | Paul Manderley | |
| Henry Daniell | ... | Watson King | |
| Edmund MacDonald | ... | Walter Hartford | |
| Victor Sen Yung | ... | Jimmy Chan (as Sen Yung) | |
| Lenita Lane | ... | Lucrezia 'Lucy' Manderley | |
| Ethel Griffies | ... | Lily, Mme. Saturnia | |
| Milton Parsons | ... | Arthur Fletcher | |
| Steven Geray | ... | Dr. Retling (as Steve Geray) | |
| Lucien Littlefield | ... | Prof. Gleason |
Additional Details
Parents Guide:
Runtime:
62 min
Country:
Language:
Color:
Aspect Ratio:
1.37 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Mono (Western Electric Mirrophonic Recording)
Filming Locations:
Fun Stuff
Trivia:
The exterior of the hotel would later be dressed as the saloon for The Ox-Bow Incident (1943).
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Goofs:
Revealing mistakes: The supposed statue of a Medieval executioner sways momentarily, revealing the statue as an actor.
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Quotes:
Charlie Chan:
Offspring sound like chip off old chopstick.
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Movie Connections:
Followed by Dangerous Money (1946)
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FAQ
This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.more (17 total)
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I caught this movie on the FOX MOVIE CHANNEL which had pulled it's CHARLIE CHAN month long marathon due to protests from Asian Americans. FMC resumed showing the Chan movies in September, bookending the movies with discussions by prominent Asian-Americans inluding George (Mr. Sulu)Takei who explored the racial issues of the movies.
I respect the discomfort and resentment the CHARLIE CHAN movies cause Asian Americans and there are some blatantly racial comments in this movie. There's a part where Charlie enters a hotel to await a car and the hotel manager takes one look at him and says; "Chop Suey salesman, eh? I hate the stuff!" that frankly made me cringe. But these movies have a historical value beyond simple entertainment. They remind us of how we once acted and thought of other races and other people. Even though Charlie Chan is a respected and internationally famous detective, he is still based on his appearance and skin color. Maybe we haven't come so far since this movie was made.
Taken strictly as entertainment, though, CASTLE IN THE DESERT is a nifty murder mystery with an eccentric cast of characters trapped in a remote location with a murderer running around loose. One character is a descendant of Lucrezia Borgia. Another is a fortune teller whose predictions actually DO come true. Charlie Chan and Number 2 son do a great job of finding the true murderer and putting things aright. The plot is perhaps more complicated than it needs to be but that's the great thing about those 30's/40's murder mysteries: it wasn't that easy to guess who was the killer. Despite the unplesant racial remarks, CASTLE IN THE DESERT is a fine entry in the CHARLIE CHAN series. I enjoyed it a lot. Lots of humor and sharp, witty dialog and great atmospheric sets.