It seems as if every character gets on board the ship without being seen or heard by anyone else. One couple say they just came on board, although they would have passed Charlie to get to their cabin.
This is one of the Chans where I find the son too obtrusive. It's Charlie Chan, not Chan and Son. On the other hand, the lighting was excellent - moody and Noirish. And the two young women were as beautiful as you're going to get in a movie of that era.
Ahh, but do U remember when the parrot flies outdoors as the camera pans up to see it above decks, the lighting is obviously daytime. Such an error.
Significance is the popsicle of a melting mind.
I wasn't familiar with Harry Lachman's work as a director, but I was greatly impressed by this film. Noirish lighting and angles and unexpected camera movement. Then I looked him up and saw that was also an acclaimed Impressionist painter!
"May I bone your kipper, Mademoiselle?"
Yes, this is one of the more atmospheric and stylish looking entries in the series.
I think the next entry (in Rio) is also visually pleasing.
Also directed in Circus which I think is one of the more memorable entries.
Don't let's forget the sound effects. The actors were well dressed, too. I don't mean as to elegance but nicely in character, right for the film. Lots of such little touches add up. It's a good mystery, too.
As to another poster's feeling that there was too much of son Jimmy Chan the picture, I enjoyed Sen Yung's horsing around on the pier and the ship. His goofiness, for me, nicely lightened the tone of a dark picture that wasn't taking itself too seriously anyway, thus it was a plus.
I agree. The son's horsing around that I have seen in other Charlie Chan movies is enjoyable. I like that there is comedy in them along with the menace and mystery. I look forward to seeing this one.
shareYes, and thanks. I love Jimmy's goofy Number Two son Jimmy's near comic relief character in, especially, CC At Treasure Island. Key Luke's Lee was the more pensive, serious son, it seems, while Number Two guy Jimmy was fun loving and more American than big bro Lee. I truly believe that the "lightening up" of the series with Jimmy was a factor in the CC series' longevity. As the world war approached (and then arrived) it probably provided a much needed lightening of tone for the CC pictures.
shareThanks for mentioning 'Charlie Chan at Treasure Island.' I think I will make it my next 'watch' in the series. I've just looked it up and I must say that it looks fascinating. The always-watchable Caesar Romero versus a phony psychic. And one reviewer claiming that it may have inspired the Zodiac Killer. Wow. I must see that one.
shareI've read a lot about the Zodiac killer business possibly tied to the film. Maybe so, though spiritualism was huge back in the Sixties, and a killer using words like zodiac and the like strikes me as likely coincidental as to this film, though one shouldn't rule it out. Sometimes these things happen, like that novel about a huge ocean liner that hit an iceberg and sunk on a clear April night in the north Atlantic that was published in I think it was 1898. The name of the ship in the book: Titan. There was a One Step Beyond (TV show) that made a reference to it (first season).
shareI've got the 'One Step Beyond' series on DVD. I'll look at that episode tonight. Coincidences do happen. So I will take any conspiracy theories from film reviewers just as a point of interest only. Though it does lace some of these old movies with a bit of enjoyable intrigue for me I must say.
shareDead Men Tell is one of my favorites in the series, mainly for its look. There are lots of shadows and eerie closeups, and it’s all filmed in glorious b&w. Sidney Toler is in top form, and the hijinks of number 2 son keep it light. Most of the movie is set aboard the ship, so there’s a nice sense of claustrophobia added to the mystery and intrigue. Recommended!
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