Charlie Chan and the Curse of the Dragon Queen

PG

1981

1 hr. 37 min.

Comedy

List

29%

7 Reviews

Tomatometer

32%

1,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

The retired detective (Peter Ustinov) and his clumsy grandson (Richard Hatch) probe murders in San Francisco's Chinatown.

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kevin w

So embarrassing. And on so many levels. If you've done something bad, anything, this could be acceptable penance. You're forgiven.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

03/30/23

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Audience Member

Silly gags (despite of a very few exceptions) and clumsy spectacle made me impatient to see the end of the film. Peter Ustinov could not convince too.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

02/12/23

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Audience Member

The film is quite racist in casting Peter Ustinov, but I'd dismissed that as a parody of old Charlie Chan films (this is a comedy after all) where the Chinese detective was always played by a white guy so it wasn't a problem. But the real problem is that it was never played for laughs. Nor was anything really. The slapstick was very clumsy and watching Apollo ham it up for the camera as his grandson was tough. The plot is supposed to revolve around a murder mystery but it never actually does anything with it. Instead we're treated to the cast of boring characters wandering through their daily lives in ways that are supposed to be funny. And they're just not.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

02/22/23

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bill t

I have seen pretty well all of the Charlie Chan movies, and I gotta say, this is the worst of of the lot. Every single actor in this movie embarasses themselves greatly in this. Biggest culprits are the ladies though. Michelle Pfeiffer hasn't a clue how to do comedy and Lee Grant is just mugging, mugging, mugging. Ustinov as Chan couldve been great, but the script really just defeats him.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

03/30/23

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Audience Member

A simplistically written caper that should by no means be taken seriously. Peter Ustinov and Richard Hatch are fine here, but the film belongs to the wonderful Angie Dickinson, Michelle Pfeiffer, Roddy McDowall, and Lee Grant in supporting roles. Brian Keith's foul-mouthed dialogue backfires, though, and is nothing short of annoying.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

01/20/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Abysmal. Why actors of this calibre were in such a horrendously bad film is beyond me. This is just bad slapstick, a very boring and messy film.

Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars

01/24/23

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Clive Donner

Director

Peter Ustinov

Charlie Chan

Richard Hatch

Lee Chan, Jr.

Angie Dickinson

Dragon Queen

Lee Grant

Mrs. Lupowitz

Brian Keith

Police Chief Baxter

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Eddie Harrison

film-authority.com

…the updating of Chan’s character is as baffling as the shonky back projection…

Rated: 2/5

Mar 24, 2023

Full Review

Diego Galán

El Pais (Spain)

A movie condemned to be forgotten. [Full Review in Spanish]

Aug 23, 2019

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Emanuel Levy

EmanuelLevy.Com

Rated: 2/5

Jul 14, 2005

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Rebecca Murray

About.com

Rated: 4/5

Jul 6, 2005

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Jeffrey Westhoff

Northwest Herald (Crystal Lake, IL)

Rated: 2/5

May 30, 2005

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Ken Hanke

Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)

Nice to look at, but what on earth were they thinking?

Rated: 2/5

Jul 19, 2004

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Synopsis

The retired detective (Peter Ustinov) and his clumsy grandson (Richard Hatch) probe murders in San Francisco's Chinatown.

Director: Clive Donner
Executive Producer: Alan Belkin, Michael F. Leone
Screenwriter: Stan Burns, David Axlerod
Production Co: American Cinema Productions, Jerry Sherlock Productions
Rating: PG
Genre: Comedy
Original Language: English
Release Date (Streaming): Mar 26, 2018