Dead Men Tell

Last updated
Dead Men Tell
Dead Men Tell - poster.jpg
Movie poster
Directed by Harry Lachman
Written by Earl Derr Biggers (characters)
John Larkin
Produced byRalph Dietrich
Walter Morosco
Starring Sidney Toler
Sheila Ryan
Victor Sen Yung
Cinematography Charles G. Clarke
Edited by Harry Reynolds
Music by Emil Newman
Production
company
Distributed byTwentieth Century-Fox
Release date
  • March 28, 1941 (1941-03-28)
Running time
61 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Dead Men Tell is a 1941 American mystery film directed by Harry Lachman and starring Sidney Toler, Sheila Ryan and Victor Sen Yung. Toler played Charlie Chan in 22 feature films, beginning with Charlie Chan in Honolulu (1938), and ending with The Trap (1946). The first 11 Charlie Chan films with Toler were produced by 20th Century Fox Studios, thereafter sold to Monogram Pictures. [1]

Contents

The interiors for Dead Men Tell were filmed in 1941 at Fox Studios in Hollywood. Exterior shots were filmed on the 20th Century Fox backlot, which is now Century City.

Plot

Charlie Chan is engaged by an heir to solve a mystery on a boat. Miss Nodbury seeks a pirate treasure on Cocos Island, and her ship has recently hosted a museum of pirate lore. For safety, she has split her map into four pieces, which she gave to some of the passengers whom she has invited, but tells no one who they are. When she is given a fright and succumbs to her heart disease, Chan must clear up the mystery while the ship is still at the dock.

Cast

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charlie Chan</span> Fictional detective

Charlie Chan is a fictional Honolulu police detective created by author Earl Derr Biggers for a series of mystery novels. Biggers loosely based Chan on Hawaiian detective Chang Apana. The benevolent and heroic Chan was conceived as an alternative to Yellow Peril stereotypes and villains like Fu Manchu. Many stories feature Chan traveling the world beyond Hawaii as he investigates mysteries and solves crimes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Victor Sen Yung</span> American actor (1915–1980)

Victor Sen Young was an American character actor, best known for playing Jimmy Chan in the Charlie Chan films and Hop Sing in the western series Bonanza. He was born in San Francisco, California to Gum Yung Sen and his first wife, both immigrants from China.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sidney Toler</span> American actor, playwright, and theatre director (1874–1947)

Sidney Toler was an American actor, playwright, and theatre director. The second European-American actor to play the role of Charlie Chan on screen, he is best remembered for his portrayal of the Chinese-American detective in 22 films made between 1938 and 1946. Before becoming Chan, Toler played supporting roles in 50 motion pictures, and was a highly regarded comic actor on the Broadway stage.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sheila Ryan</span> American actress (1921–1975)

Sheila Ryan was an American actress who appeared in more than 60 movies.

<i>Charlie Chan at Monte Carlo</i> 1937 film by Eugene Forde

Charlie Chan at Monte Carlo is a 1937 American mystery film directed by Eugene Forde and starring Warner Oland, Keye Luke and Virginia Field. The main character is Charlie Chan, a Chinese-Hawaiian detective. This was the sixteenth and final Charlie Chan film with Oland portraying Chan. The film features Keye Luke as Charlie's son Lee and character actor Harold Huber as a French police inspector. It was produced and distributed by 20th Century-Fox.

<i>Charlie Chan in Rio</i> 1941 film by Harry Lachman

Charlie Chan in Rio is a 1941 American mystery film directed by Harry Lachman and featuring the Asian detective Charlie Chan. It was the tenth film to feature Sidney Toler as the title character, who is called upon to investigate the death of a suspected murderer in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

<i>Charlie Chan at the Wax Museum</i> 1940 American film

Charlie Chan at the Wax Museum is a 1940 mystery film starring Sidney Toler as detective Charlie Chan. Revisiting an old case results in fresh deaths.

<i>Charlie Chan in Panama</i> 1940 film by Norman Foster

Charlie Chan in Panama is a 1940 mystery film starring Sidney Toler. It is an unaccredited remake of Jacques Deval's novel "Marie Galante", produced by 20th Century Fox in 1934, directed by Henry King.

<i>Dark Alibi</i> 1946 film

Dark Alibi is a 1946 American mystery film directed by Phil Karlson featuring Sidney Toler as Charlie Chan. It is also known as Charlie Chan in Alcatraz, Fatal Fingerprints and Fatal Fingertips.

<i>Charlie Chan in Honolulu</i> 1938 film by H. Bruce Humberstone

Charlie Chan in Honolulu is a 1939 American mystery film directed by H. Bruce Humberstone, starring Sidney Toler as the fictional Chinese-American detective Charlie Chan. The film is the first appearance of both Toler as Chan and Victor Sen Yung as "number two son" Jimmy.

<i>The Trap</i> (1946 film) 1946 film by Howard Bretherton

The Trap is a 1946 American mystery crime film directed by Howard Bretherton and starring Sidney Toler and Victor Sen Yung. The main premise is that two members of a show troupe are murdered, and detective Charlie Chan is called in to solve the case.

<i>The Feathered Serpent</i> (1948 film) 1948 film by William Beaudine

The Feathered Serpent is a 1948 mystery film, the fifth of six in which Roland Winters portrayed Charlie Chan. It is the only Chan film which featured both Keye Luke and Victor Sen Yung together. Luke had been cast in the later Warner Oland Chan films while Yung appeared primarily in the Sidney Toler Chan movies. This was Yung's last Chan movie. Luke appeared in one more with Roland Winters, the last of the Chan films, Sky Dragon (1949).

<i>Charlie Chans Murder Cruise</i> 1940 film by Eugene Forde

Charlie Chan's Murder Cruise is a 1940 murder mystery film starring Sidney Toler in his fifth of many performances as Charlie Chan. It is based on the Earl Derr Biggers 1930 novel Charlie Chan Carries On.

<i>Dangerous Money</i> 1946 film by Terry O. Morse

Dangerous Money, also known as Hot Money, is a 1946 American film directed by Terry O. Morse, featuring Sidney Toler as Charlie Chan. This is the second and last appearance of Willie Best as Chattanooga Brown, the cousin of Charlie Chan's usual chauffeur, Birmingham Brown.

<i>The Chinese Ring</i> 1947 film by William Beaudine

The Chinese Ring is a 1947 American mystery film directed by William Beaudine and starring Roland Winters, Louise Currie and Warren Douglas. It was produced and distributed by Monogram Pictures.

Charlie Chan in Reno is a 1939 American mystery film directed by Norman Foster, starring Sidney Toler as the fictional Chinese-American detective Charlie Chan, based on an original story "Death Makes a Decree" by Philip Wylie.

<i>Murder Over New York</i> 1940 film by Harry Lachman

Murder Over New York is a 1940 American mystery film directed by Harry Lachman and starring Sidney Toler as Charlie Chan. The cast also features Marjorie Weaver, Robert Lowery and Ricardo Cortez. Chan must solve a murder mystery while attending a police convention. Shemp Howard plays "Shorty McCoy" in an uncredited appearance.

<i>Shadows Over Chinatown</i> 1946 film by Terry O. Morse

Shadows Over Chinatown is a 1946 American mystery film directed by Terry O. Morse and starring Sidney Toler, Victor Sen Yung and Tanis Chandler. It is the second-to-last film starring Toler as Charlie Chan.

<i>Castle in the Desert</i> 1942 film by Harry Lachman

Castle in the Desert is a 1942 film featuring the Chinese detective Charlie Chan. It was the eleventh film to feature Sidney Toler as the title character, and the last made by 20th Century Fox. The series continued with Toler, though under much reduced circumstances, at Monogram Pictures.

<i>Charlie Chan in the Secret Service</i> 1944 film by Phil Rosen

Charlie Chan in the Secret Service is a 1944 mystery film starring Sidney Toler as Charlie Chan. It is the first film made by Monogram Pictures after the series was dropped by 20th Century Fox, and it marks the introduction of Number Three Son and taxi driver, Birmingham Brown.

References

  1. "Sidney Toler". IMDb .