Castle in the Desert (1942) was the last Charlie Chan movie produced by 20th Century Fox. This one starred Sidney Toler as the man himself and Sen Yung as number 2 son.Charlie is invited to a desert castle to see Mrs. Manderley, a descendant of the Borgias, and her husband Paul, who wears a handkerchief over one side of his face because of a horrible accident. The castle has no phone or electricity because Paul is a historian and tries to replicate the conditions of the men he is studying.A death has occurred, but in order for Manderley to hold onto his $20 million fortune, he cannot be attached to any scandal. He persuades a doctor to allow the man to be moved to a hotel where he will be found, and nothing will attach to the Manderley or the castle.Soon Jimmy Chan arrives with a sculptor (Henry Daniell) he met at the station who also needed a ride; there is also an eccentric astrologer (Ethel Griffiths) who claims the man who died is not dead, and neither is Mrs. Manderley's stepbrother, who presumably died in the war.There is another death and a murder, and Charlie soon uncovers not one, but two conspiracies that are designed to get control of the Manderley money.This was a good movie, but confusing. I still can't figure out what the deal was with the stepbrother. All they did was talk about him being alive, and I think Charlie said he was in the house. I swear I never saw him. Anyway, I wasn't satisfied at all with the ending. They should have stuck with one conspiracy.Anyway, Toler and Sen Yung are good, and the cast is high quality, with Douglas Dembrille as Manderley, Henry Daniell, Richard Derr, and Arlene Whelan. The quality of the series is about to go down -- this is the last one of any quality.When Charlie arrives, it seems that Mrs. Manderley did not invite him. The invitation was forged. But now there's no way to leave because the distributor cap is missing. Paul Manderley, eccentric historian, and his wife, descendant of the Borgias, live in an isolated castle-like mansion in the Mojave Desert. When a guest suddenly collapses, Charlie Chan is invited to stay. As the standard mystery-mansion props come into play, and all means of outside communication are sabotaged, it becomes evident that one of the inhabitants has access to poisons and is prepared to use them...

After a muddled, convoluted first half, the plot really picks up in the second half. A big house full of suspects, candles in lieu of electric lights, an ever-so-subtle echo from the large rooms, and at least one murder combine to create mystery and suspense. At one point in the second half, Charlie Chan (Sidney Toler) advises all: "Return to rooms, lock doors; no one is safe now." Good plot misdirection leads us astray, as some "facts" aren't what they seem to be.The overall premise is vaguely believable. But a runtime of only 62 minutes suggests an underdeveloped plot. We don't really get to know the suspects very well. The film hardly gets started; then it's over.One character is strictly ornamental. I could also have done without number 2 son (Victor Sen Yung), added apparently as comic relief, who comes across as merely annoying, mostly because Sen Yung overacts.Stark B&W lighting creates a creepy look and feel, with Chan's very white suit against a dark background and eerie shadows. Some overhead camera shots add visual interest. The castle itself creates an atmosphere of isolation."Castle In The Desert" ends better than it starts. A script re-write, both to make the first half clearer and to expand the back-stories of the characters, would have helped. Even so, it's not a bad Chan film, owing mostly to some good plot misdirection and effective cinematography.

Mid-entry in the long-running "Charlie Chan" series which originally started with Warner Oland portraying Chan and finished up with Roland Winters taking on the role; here, Sidney Tolar is cast as the clever Orientel sleuth, amusingly sniffing out a killer in a desert mansion. Although Tolar is enjoyable, the overly-colorful supporting turns by Arleen Whelan, Richard Derr, Douglas Dumbrille, and Sen Yung as Jimmy Chan are amateurish, and the mystery plot is perhaps too convoluted for its own good (and nearly impossible to follow in its final fifteen minutes). Still, some dry laughs and good production values in this modest second-biller. ** from ****

An ornate medieval castle in the Mojave desert is the location for this intriguing Charlie Chan mystery. A semi-recluse author is married to a beautiful descendant of the infamous Borgia family of poisoners, and the wife is suspected of doing away with her guests in the same fashion, with poisoned wine at the dinner table. Chan is called in to investigate the strange goings-on, with uninvited help from Number Two Son Jimmy Chan and an eccentric astrologer.Some small town desert settings are cleverly used, in contrast with the imposing castle. The town of Mojave Wells looks like a leftover from the Old West days, with flat fronted buildings and prospectors with donkeys. Comedy is provided by the cantankerous hotel proprietor and his opportunistic brother in law. The grumpy hotel owner gets mad every time anything to do with Manderley Castle is mentioned, and assumes every Chinese man he sees must be a chop suey salesman. When Jimmy Chan arrives on the Twenties vintage bus, he is accosted by Madame Saturnia, amusingly played by the great Ethel Griffies. She and Jimmy travel the last few miles to the castle on foot, where Jimmy promptly falls into the dungeon, to be greeted with something less than enthusiasm by his father.A cast of suspicious characters including a reserved butler, a sleazy lawyer, a slightly corrupt doctor and guests who keep dropping dead, all make for an entertaining old mystery, with plenty of atmosphere. Such stalwarts of old movies as sinister Henry Daniell and cadaverous Milton Parsons add color to a delightful cast. This movie is lots of fun for Charlie Chan enthusiasts; highly recommended.