Charlie Chan's Murder Cruise (1940)

User Rating:

7.9/10   

Director:

Eugene Forde

Writers:

Earl Derr Biggers (story)
Robert Ellis (adaptation)
(more)

Release Date:

21 June 1940 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Crime | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

Along the moonlit decks of a gay luxury liner a pair of happy lovers stroll... and so does... THE DEADLIEST KILLER ON THE HIGH SEAS!

Plot:

Charlie tries to discover the identity of a strangler who strikes multiple times on a cruise ship bound from Honolulu to California.

Plot Keywords:

Cruise Ship | San Francisco | Racial Role Playing | Uncle | Morgue

Cast

Sidney Toler	...	Charlie Chan
Victor Sen Yung	...	Jimmy Chan (as Sen Yung)
Robert Lowery	...	Dick Kenyon
Marjorie Weaver	...	Paula Drake
Lionel Atwill	...	Dr. Suderman
Don Beddoe	...	James Ross
Leo G. Carroll	...	Prof. Gordon (as Leo Carroll)
Cora Witherspoon	...	Susie Watson
Leonard Mudie	...	Gerald Pendleton
Harlan Briggs	...	Coroner
Charles Middleton	...	Jeremiah Walters
Claire Du Brey	...	Mrs. Walters
Kay Linaker	...	Linda Pendleton
James Burke	...	Wilkie
Richard Keene	...	Buttons
Layne Tom Jr.	...	Willie Chan
C. Montague Shaw	...	Inspector Duff
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Wade Boteler	...	Police Chief (uncredited)
Cliff Clark	...	Lt. Wilson (uncredited)
John Dilson	...	Police Doctor (uncredited)
Sherry Hall	...	Radio Operator (uncredited)
J. Anthony Hughes	...	Detective (uncredited)
Paul McVey	...	Mrs. Pendleton's Doctor (uncredited)
Walter Miller	...	Ship's Officer (uncredited)
Harry Strang	...	Guard (uncredited)
Emmett Vogan	...	Hotel Manager (uncredited)

Directed by
Eugene Forde

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Earl Derr Biggers		story
Robert Ellis		adaptation
Helen Logan		adaptation
Robertson White		writer
Lester Ziffren		writer

Produced by
John Stone	....	producer

Cinematography by
Virgil Miller

Film Editing by
Harry Reynolds

Art Direction by
Richard Day
Chester Gore

Set Decoration by
Thomas Little

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Saul Wurtzel	....	assistant director

Sound Department
Joseph E. Aiken	....	sound
William H. Anderson	....	sound

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Helen A. Myron	....	wardrobe supervisor
Sam Benson	....	wardrobe supervisor (uncredited)

Music Department
Samuel Kaylin	....	musical director

Production Companies

• Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Distributors

• Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation (1940) (USA) (theatrical)
• Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment (2008) (USA) (DVD)

Runtime:

77 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Mirrophonic Recording)

Company:

Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Quotes:

Dick Kenyon: That's fantastic! My uncle never hurt anybody in his life. He didn't have an enemy in the world.
Wilkie: Well, it certainly wasn't a friend who came here and killed him.

Movie Connections:

Follows Charlie Chan at the Race Track (1936)

Better than usual thanks to an excellent cast and plot

Unlike many of the Charlie Chan films, this one had quite a few excellent actors in supporting roles. Among the stellar cast are Charles Middleton, Lionel Atwill and Leo G. Carroll, so already at the outset this film had a big advantage. Fortunately, this is not all it had going for it, as the plot was exceptional--making it among the best of the Sidney Toler films about the great fictional detective.

The film is set mostly aboard a cruise ship where, naturally, a murder occurs. A detective investigating a strangling maniac is killed and naturally other murders occur throughout the film. What makes this interesting, though, is that the murders vary and several times 'red herrings' are tossed in to confuse the viewer. Much of the reason this worked well is that unlike the average Chan film, this one is about ten minutes longer--and so the audience naturally thinks the film is finished when there are still a couple surprises to come. As a result, you can't help but see this film as a notch above the typical B detective series film.