IMDb > Dead Men Tell (1941)

Dead Men Tell (1941) More at IMDbPro »

Overview

User Rating:
7.7/10   442 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Down 4% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
Harry Lachman
Writers:
Earl Derr Biggers (characters)
John Larkin (writer)
Contact:
View company contact information for Dead Men Tell on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
28 March 1941 (USA) more
Genre:
Comedy | Crime | Mystery | Thriller more
Tagline:
Aboard a treasure ship Chan battles his most elusive adversary... the ghost of a pirate 100 years dead!
Plot:
A treasure map in four pieces, the ghost of a hanged pirate, a talking parrot, and a shipful of red herrings complicate Charlie's search for a murderer on board a treasure cruise. full summary | add synopsis
Plot Keywords:
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User Comments:
Ghosts and Red Herrings more (7 total)

Cast

  (in credits order) (verified as complete)
Sidney Toler ... Charlie Chan
Sheila Ryan ... Kate Ransome
Robert Weldon ... Steve Daniels
Victor Sen Yung ... Jimmy Chan (#2 son) (as Sen Yung)
Donald Douglas ... Jed Thomasson (as Don Douglas)
Kay Aldridge ... Laura Thursday (as Katharine Aldridge)
Paul McGrath ... Charles Thursday / Mr. Parks

George Reeves ... Bill Lydig
Truman Bradley ... Capt. Kane of the Suva Star
Ethel Griffies ... Miss Patience Nodbury
Lenita Lane ... Dr. Anne Bonney
Milton Parsons ... Gene LaFarge
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Stanley Andrews ... Inspector Vessey (uncredited)
Jimmy Aubrey ... English Sailor (uncredited)
Ralph Dunn ... Homicide desk sergeant (uncredited)

Pat Flaherty ... Policeman with checklist (uncredited)
Lee Tung Foo ... Ship's cook / waiter (uncredited)
Oscar 'Dutch' Hendrian ... Saloon Dance extra (uncredited)
Lee Phelps ... Detective (uncredited)
Tim Ryan ... Red Eye Bartender (uncredited)
Charles Tannen ... Sailor (uncredited)
John Wallace ... Peg Leg (uncredited)
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Directed by
Harry Lachman 
 
Writing credits
(in alphabetical order)
Earl Derr Biggers  characters
John Larkin  writer

Produced by
Ralph Dietrich .... producer
Walter Morosco .... producer
 
Original Music by
David Raksin (uncredited)
 
Cinematography by
Charles G. Clarke 
 
Film Editing by
Harry Reynolds 
 
Art Direction by
Lewis H. Creber  (as Lewis Creber)
Richard Day 
 
Set Decoration by
Thomas Little 
 
Costume Design by
Herschel McCoy  (as Herschel)
 
Sound Department
Alfred Bruzlin .... sound
Harry M. Leonard .... sound
 
Music Department
Emil Newman .... musical director
Alfred Newman .... composer: stock music (uncredited)
Herbert W. Spencer .... composer: stock music (uncredited)
 

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Additional Details

Parents Guide:
Add content advisory for parents
Runtime:
61 min
Country:
USA
Language:
English
Color:
Black and White
Aspect Ratio:
1.37 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Mono (RCA Sound System)
Certification:
USA:Approved
Company:
Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation more

Fun Stuff

Quotes:
Jimmy Chan: You can scare a person to death, but if you do it deliberately, that's murder. more
Movie Connections:
Follows Charlie Chan in Panama (1940) more

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User Comments

   (Comment on this title)
7 out of 7 people found the following comment useful.
Ghosts and Red Herrings, 25 August 2002
10/10
Author: telegonus from brighton, ma

An agreeable entry in the Charlie Chan series, this is an extremely well-made little movie, directed by Harry Lachman, and featuring some striking shots of an old pirate vessel in port and a tough waterfront dive. It's all cliches, nicely cobbled together, and served up with good humor by actors who don't seem to be taking themselves too seriously. Sidney Toler makes an agreeably phlegmatic and dignified Chan; while Sen Yung's Number Two Son gets into his usual hot water,--in this case actually sea water--as he tries to bail his old man out. Ethel Griffies is splendid as the haunted (and hunted) Mrs. Nodbury, Truman Bradley sinister as a pipe-smoking captain, George Reeves breezy as a suspect. I especially liked the quietly neurasethenic performance of Milton Parsons as a Boston Brahmin on vacation, trying to overcome a recent nervous breakdown. He picked one hell of a vacation spot! Highly recommended for fans of maritime mysteries, treasure maps, talking parrots and nocturnal strolls around creaking, fogbound wharves.

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