Definitely not one of the better Chan films, but it has an odd quality that compels re-watching. Maybe it's the unusual setting, at the beach, instead of a large, threatening city ,or a mysterious Chinatown background or an exotic foreign locale.
It certainly isn't the characters, who are some of the most unlikable to be found in any Chan mystery. The obnoxious press agent, and the whiny impresario are both pretty off-putting, and Rita Quigley as Clementine seems to spend the whole movie shrieking and cowering at very little. The one bright spot is the priceless Minerva Urecal as the grumpy housekeeper, whose non sequiturs about drink being the root of all evil, and barely concealed hostility toward the show troupe renting the beach house, give the movie a weird, unintentional humor that helps to offset some of the more annoying characters.
Sidney Toler manages to imbue his character with some of Charlie Chan's wisdom and authority, but the humor is almost absent, except for an occasional wisecrack at son Jimmy's expense. Toler obviously was in poor shape, but manages to do fairly well, considering his ill health, and being stuck in a poor film for his final appearance.
All in all, not the worst movie ever made. It has a certain intrigue to it, if you don't expect too much. It's still a Charlie Chan film. and for lovers of Charlie Chan and old movies in general,that's what counts the most.
It certainly isn't the characters, who are some of the most unlikable to be found in any Chan mystery. The obnoxious press agent, and the whiny impresario are both pretty off-putting, and Rita Quigley as Clementine seems to spend the whole movie shrieking and cowering at very little. The one bright spot is the priceless Minerva Urecal as the grumpy housekeeper, whose non sequiturs about drink being the root of all evil, and barely concealed hostility toward the show troupe renting the beach house, give the movie a weird, unintentional humor that helps to offset some of the more annoying characters.
Sidney Toler manages to imbue his character with some of Charlie Chan's wisdom and authority, but the humor is almost absent, except for an occasional wisecrack at son Jimmy's expense. Toler obviously was in poor shape, but manages to do fairly well, considering his ill health, and being stuck in a poor film for his final appearance.
All in all, not the worst movie ever made. It has a certain intrigue to it, if you don't expect too much. It's still a Charlie Chan film. and for lovers of Charlie Chan and old movies in general,that's what counts the most.