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Castle in the Desert

Play trailer Poster for Castle in the Desert 1942 1h 2m Mystery & Thriller Play Trailer Watchlist
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Detective Charlie Chan (Sidney Toler) finds bad wine at a millionaire's (Douglas Dumbrille) medieval Mojave Desert abode.

Critics Reviews

View All (3) Critics Reviews
Emanuel Levy EmanuelLevy.Com Rated: 2/5 Aug 12, 2005 Full Review Ken Hanke Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC) The last of the Fox Charlie Chan films and a decent farewell to the long running series it is. Rated: 3/5 Aug 2, 2004 Full Review Dennis Schwartz Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews The film has many plot twists and the usual Chan setup for the mystery story to unfold. Rated: C+ Aug 2, 2001 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View All (5) audience reviews
Audience Member After Warner Oland's death, Sidney Toler took over the role of Charlie Chan in the popular series (although Fox dropped it after this film and the series slid further into lower budgets after this, still with Toler). Here we find the sleuth from Honolulu in the Mojave Desert where a reclusive millionaire has built a castle -- of course, there is a murder and Chan is mysteriously invited to the castle. Probably, a truism for the series is that there will be a host of characters, all possible suspects. The art of screenwriting for such an enterprise involves keeping the characters straight, giving them enough backstory to make them identifiable (and interesting), and, of course, deluding the viewer as to who the real killer is until the last possible moment. In this film, I'll admit that I got a little confused between the characters and didn't quite catch who was the long lost half brother. Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 02/04/23 Full Review Audience Member Better-than-average Charlie Chan outing. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/27/23 Full Review Audience Member The last of the Fox Chans and one of the best--A desert delight!! Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 02/22/23 Full Review bill t Another fun Chan actioner here (can't stop saying that when I enjpy em!) Chan (with #2 son back!) goes to, yes, a castle in the desert to figure out a mystery, if there is one! of a genealogist's (!!) death. Plenty of clues and false clues and red herrings in this one. Actually more fun than usual. One of the best! Rated 4 out of 5 stars 03/30/23 Full Review Audience Member Due to the large cast of suspects, it was a little difficult to follow who was who at times. Ethel Griffies does a terrific job as a mysterious stargazer. Overall, a fun movie to watch. I recommend this film to any Charlie Chan fan or anyone who likes a good old-fashioned mystery. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/21/23 Full Review Read all reviews
Castle in the Desert

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Cast & Crew

Movie Info

Synopsis Detective Charlie Chan (Sidney Toler) finds bad wine at a millionaire's (Douglas Dumbrille) medieval Mojave Desert abode.
Director
Harry Lachman
Genre
Mystery & Thriller
Original Language
English
Release Date (DVD)
Sep 16, 2008
Runtime
1h 2m