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Castle in the Desert

17 votes

Producing House

Charlie Chan, with son Jimmy on a week's pass from the Army, takes up a request for help at a castle-home, miles from anywhere in the American desert south-west and inhabited by an eccentric, reclusive historian and his wife, a descendant of Lucrezia Borgia. Once there, he finds the request's legitimacy denied by all who are present, but still necessary as one houseguest has already been murdered, the other guests are at each other's throat, and the Borgia-related chatelain is suspected...

movie

Status: Released

Released Date: 1942-02-02

Runtime: 62 mins

Director: Harry Lachman

Spoken language: English

Genres: Crime, Mystery, Thriller

Original title: Castle in the Desert

Production Companies: 20th Century Fox

Production Countries: United States of America

Charlie Chan (Sidney Toler) Collection

Charlie Chan in Honolulu
3.2

Charlie Chan in Honolulu

1938-12-30

While Charlie is distracted with the birth of his first grandchild, son Jimmy impersonates his fathe

Charlie Chan in Reno
3.1

Charlie Chan in Reno

1939-06-16

Mary Whitman has gone to Reno to obtain a divorce. While there she is arrested on suspicion of murde

Charlie Chan at Treasure Island
3.3

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1939-08-31

Charlie Chan's investigation of a blackmail-induced suicide as a case of murder leads him into a wor

City in Darkness
3.2

City in Darkness

1939-11-15

Chan, in Paris for a reunion with friends from World War I, becomes involved in investigating the mu

Charlie Chan in Panama
3.4

Charlie Chan in Panama

1940-03-01

Charlie impersonates an employee of the U.S. government to foil an espionage plot which would destro

Charlie Chan's Murder Cruise
3.4

Charlie Chan's Murder Cruise

1940-05-02

On a cruise ship from Honolulu to San Francisco, the famous Chinese detective encounters four more m

Charlie Chan at the Wax Museum
3.9

Charlie Chan at the Wax Museum

1940-09-06

A wax museum run by a demented doctor contains statues of such crime figures as Jack the Ripper and

Murder Over New York
3

Murder Over New York

1940-12-13

When Charlie's old friend from Scotland Yard is murdered when they attend a police convention in New

Dead Men Tell
3.1

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1941-03-28

When the elderly woman sponsoring a treasure hunt is murdered on board her docked ship, Charlie Chan

Charlie Chan in Rio
3.1

Charlie Chan in Rio

1941-09-05

In Rio de Janiero to arrest a nightclub singer on suspicion of a murder in Hawaii, Charlie Chan beco

Castle in the Desert
3.5

Castle in the Desert

1942-02-02

Charlie Chan, with son Jimmy on a week's pass from the Army, takes up a request for help at a castle

Charlie Chan in the Secret Service
3

Charlie Chan in the Secret Service

1944-02-14

Charlie Chan is an agent of the US government working in Washington DC and he is assigned to investi

Charlie Chan in The Chinese Cat
3.2

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1944-05-20

To solve the murder of a man shot in a locked room, Chan must wade through a Fun House, the writings

Black Magic
3.5

Black Magic

1944-08-19

Chinese detective Charlie Chan solves a murder linked to the occult.

The Jade Mask
3

The Jade Mask

1945-01-26

The latest assignment for respected detective Charlie Chan has come directly from the government and

The Scarlet Clue
3

The Scarlet Clue

1945-05-11

Chinese sleuth Charlie Chan discovers a scheme for the theft of government radar plans while investi

The Red Dragon
3.3

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1945-08-01

Chan is faced with suspects in a stolen atomic bomb formula case, that are being killed with bullets

The Shanghai Cobra
2.9

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1945-09-29

Someone is attempting to steal radium stored in a bank. Death by cobra venom connects a number of mu

Shadows Over Chinatown
2.9

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1946-06-27

In San Francisco's Chinatown, Charlie helps two different people search for their missing relatives

Dangerous Money
2.9

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1946-10-12

A treasury agent on the trail of counterfeit money confides to fellow ocean liner passenger, Charlie

The Trap
3.4

The Trap

1946-11-30

When a troupe of showgirls with their impresario and press agent vacation at a Malibu Beach resort,

Dark Alibi
3.1

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1946-05-25

After three men are convicted of bank robberies, Charlie becomes suspicious. After some investigati

Reviews

G

Geronimo1967
I have to say that I rather enjoyed this - but boy, is it a far-fetched affair! This time "Charlie Chan" (an on-form Sidney Toler) and No. 2 son "Jimmy" are invited to a remote castle in the Mojave desert tp investigate some strange goings on. What adds to the mystery is that the owner of this spookily lit house - "Manderley" (the man that is, not the house) wears a partial mask to cover an huge scar obtained in an accident and his wife "Lucy" (Lenita Lane) is a distant descendant of the infamous Borgia family. What ensues plays all the best cards from a mansion house game of "Cluedo" with some intrigue emanating from the many Borgia legends (with some very interesting pronunciations) that they have tapped into - all involving deadly poisons and a ring... No electricity, no phone and loads of ancient instruments of torture help keep the suspense going, as do contributions from Douglass Dumbrille; rent-a-baddie Henry Daniell and the outrageous "Madame Saturnia" (Ethel Griffies). The ending, well that's quite amusing too - and all in all, it's a good hour of diversion.
2022-06-26

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