Charlie Chan at Treasure Island

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Russ G A decent CC B-movie featuring Toler as the inscrutable Oriental accompanied by Number Two Son on a trip to San Fran. Naturally where Mr. Chan goes, murder cannot be far behind. The plot is pretty hokey focusing on fake fortune tellers but a genuine mind reader. The movie is lifted out of the rut by a handsome young Cesar Romero chewing the scenery. The audience is spared the racial stereotypes of the Birmingham Brown character, usually a staple of these Toler entries in the series. Rated 2.5/5 Stars •  Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 02/21/25 Full Review Ted B 2.0 stars; Charlie investigates corrupt illusionists and fortune tellers. This episode is more dedicated to mystery and less to minstrel humor (no Birmingham); the number one son carried the humor load. I think I like those better. Rated 3/5 Stars •  Rated 3 out of 5 stars 12/29/24 Full Review 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 3.5/5 Stars •  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 3.5/5 Stars •  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 1.5/5 Stars •  Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars 02/14/23 Full Review Audience Member One of the best in the series. Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/05/23 Full Review Read all reviews

Charlie Chan at Treasure Island

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