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      Charlie Chan at Treasure Island

      1939 1h 15m Mystery & Thriller List
      Reviews 63% Audience Score 100+ Ratings An illusionist (Cesar Romero) helps the Chinese detective (Sidney Toler) find a killer blackmailer at a San Francisco fair. Read More Read Less

      Critics Reviews

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      Ken Hanke Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC) The most highly regarded of the Sidney Toler Charlie Chan series. Rated: 4.5/5 Nov 9, 2005 Full Review Dennis Schwartz Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews An invigorating Charlie Chan escapade and the best one in the series... Rated: B May 5, 2003 Full Review Read all reviews

      Audience Reviews

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      Audience Member Sidney Toler comes up against the supernatural in the form of Zodiac, a possibly phony psychic who is possibly blackmailing people (including one of Charlie Chan's friends) until they commit suicide. The Imdb trivia page suggests that this movie might have provided some inspiration for San Francisco's 1960s Zodiac killer. Huh? But as far as the CC series goes, this is a ripper -- probably one of the best. The cast of potential suspects is better defined (including Cesar Romero as a magician) as is the overall arc of the plot and tightness of the script (even Number Two Son Jimmy's comic relief is kept to a minimum). If it influenced anything, it is more likely to have been "Scooby Doo, Where Are You?" Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 02/04/23 Full Review Audience Member A chilling mystery with an even chillier addendum--Terrific Cinematography!! Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 02/22/23 Full Review Audience Member 1.5: Hmm. I was prompted to watch these by an article in The New Yorker that I read a year or two ago. I wasn't expecting them to be outstanding, but I was expecting something better than this. I have now seen essentially every Charlie Chan film, or at least all that were made between 1931 and 1947 (29 films). What struck me most is that these really have more in common with a television show than a feature film. Each film is essentially the same except for the "location." I guess it makes sense as they serve essentially the same purpose. One can essentially watch every film on auto-pilot comfortable in the knowledge that one knows exactly which characters will pop up and that everything will be satisfactorily resolved in the end. They are "C" picture at best. Sidney Toler is pretty good; Warner Toland is somewhat acceptable; and the other two one picture no-names are either inconsequential or awful. It is rather ludicrous that they didn't allow an actual Asian actor to play the role, but the portrayal of African-American's is much more heinous. They certainly pale in comparison to just about every other detective picture/TV series I've ever seen. None of the films rate an individual review so this will have to suffice for all 29. Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars 02/14/23 Full Review Audience Member One of the best in the series. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/05/23 Full Review bill t Fun Charlie Channer here, though I'm still not a Sidney Toler fan. Chan investigates how an author is murdered, while diving into a wacky tale of the paranormal. Cesar Romero (!) is a well-known psychic wanting to expose another psychic's powers in a sub-plot. It's a bit dumb for the first half, but then gets quite enjoyable when they head off to the World's Fair and Treasure Island. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 03/30/23 Full Review Audience Member Wow. I feel racist just having put this on my NetFlix Queue. Imagine the dad from "Webster" playing the worst Chinese stereotype you can imagine in the form of a whodunnit. Now add B-roll from the Treasure Island World's Fair and the fad interest in Houdini. Two stars for the awesome B-roll and the peek into what passed as combating stereotypes back then. Eeesh. Rated 2 out of 5 stars 02/16/23 Full Review Read all reviews Post a rating

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      Charlie Chan at Treasure Island

      Charlie Chan at Treasure Island (1939) Charlie Chan at Treasure Island (1939) Charlie Chan at Treasure Island (1939) Charlie Chan at Treasure Island (1939) Charlie Chan at Treasure Island (1939) View more photos

      Movie Info

      Synopsis An illusionist (Cesar Romero) helps the Chinese detective (Sidney Toler) find a killer blackmailer at a San Francisco fair.
      Director
      Norman Foster
      Genre
      Mystery & Thriller
      Original Language
      English
      Release Date (DVD)
      Feb 12, 2008
      Runtime
      1h 15m