Dead Men Tell (1941)

Fortunately, director Harry Lachman's interest in the Charlie Chan series was revived by "Dead Men Tell". Lachman had considerable input into designing the elaborate sets. Alas, although his work is wonderfully eerie, not a great deal of it is actually visible on the screen because, when actual filming began, he encouraged photographer Charles G. Clarke to shoot the picture mostly with spooky close-ups. However, it must be admitted that this ploy is highly successful and that all the players acquit themselves well.In fact, there are fans who regard this entry with all its noir effects and intriguing plot, as actually the very best of the whole series.

"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.

A "treasure hunt cruise" is all lined up—but the ship never leaves the dock in this mystery featuring a pirate ghost, a treasure map, a couple of murders, and the usual lineup of suspicious characters. Jimmy Chan helps get the action started by sneaking aboard the darkened ship to investigate, his imagination fired by news about the expedition to retrieve $60 million of hidden treasure. Pop Charlie Chan comes looking for Jimmy, intending to take him home—which is how both Chans happen to be on the ship when the first murder occurs.Sidney Toler is fine as always as the elder Chan; Sen Yung has a larger role than usual as Jimmy, and gives an energetic—practically manic—performance as the would-be detective whose curiosity is matched only by his enthusiasm. Toler and Yung, by now veterans of several films in these roles, complement each other perfectly. The plot concerns an alleged treasure map, divided into four pieces and distributed among the would-be passengers. When the map's owner (and tour sponsor) is murdered and her map portion disappears, it becomes apparent that someone else on board is out to grab all four sections. Not surprisingly, practically all of the passengers and crew seem to harbor secrets of one kind or another….The entire film is set inside the ship, outside in the harbor, or in a neighboring waterfront bar…and it all takes place at night. Nicely designed sets and good shadowy photography create an atmosphere that is sinister and just slightly spooky. Jimmy Chan can't seem to keep out of the water in this one….And my favorite line from the picture is the elder Chan's response to Jimmy's apology for falling in yet again: "Please. Save alibi for autobiography."

It seems as if "Dead Men Tell" is over just as it's about to get interesting, with Inspector Charlie Chan (Sidney Toler) solving two murders in virtually record time. The action takes place aboard a docked sailing vessel, The Suva Star, which has been chartered to host a treasure hunt cruise for sixty million dollars hidden on Cocos Island. Miss Patience Nodbury (Ethel Griffies) has divided the treasure map into four pieces, and has distributed them to members of the cruise party without each others knowledge. Miss Nodbury becomes the first victim, frightened to death by the "ghost" of the pirate Black Hook, an ancestor who escorts members of the Nodbury family into the "other world".Victor Sen Yung again helps his "Pop" as Number #2 Son Jimmy, and spends much of his time falling into and climbing out of the harbor, adding to the perception that as an aspiring detective, he's all wet. Before becoming the second victim, future TV Superman George Reeves makes an appearance as an escaped murderer and bank robber, posing as of all things, a newspaper reporter! Milton Parsons plays his part as an anxiety suffering neurotic well, and skulks in and out of shadows enough to be considered a likely suspect. There are other characters as well, and as with most Charlie Chan films, a scorecard helps to keep track of who's who, but this one moves along so quickly that it's almost a moot point. So too do the pieces of the treasure map wind up in more places than a pea in a shell game. When Charlie finally reveals the killer, it comes rather quickly out of left field, with the generally obligatory Chan exposition left out.Nevertheless, "Dead Men Tell" offers a rather atmospheric setting and enough bumps in the night to keep one's interest for it's quick pacing. The pairing of Griffies and Parsons in the film also worked well enough to recommend them for another Chan movie the following year, "Castle in the Desert".