Castle in the Desert (1942)

Director:

Harry Lachman

Writers:

Earl Derr Biggers (characters)
John Larkin (writer)

Release Date:

27 February 1942 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Crime | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

...a poison arrow whizzes past... as Charlie Chan opens the gate to his most baffling adventure!

Plot:

Charlie Chan investigates apparent poisonings at a mystery mansion in the Mojave Desert.

Plot Keywords:

Charlie Chan | Mansion | Mojave Desert | Historian | Borgias

Cast

Sidney Toler	...	Charlie Chan
Arleen Whelan	...	Brenda Hartford
Richard Derr	...	Carl Detheridge
Douglass Dumbrille	...	Paul Manderley
Henry Daniell	...	Watson King
Edmund MacDonald	...	Walter Hartford
Victor Sen Yung	...	Jimmy Chan (as Sen Yung)
Lenita Lane	...	Lucrezia 'Lucy' Manderley
Ethel Griffies	...	Lily, Mme. Saturnia
Milton Parsons	...	Arthur Fletcher
Steven Geray	...	Dr. Retling (as Steve Geray)
Lucien Littlefield	...	Prof. Gleason
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Oliver Blake	...	Hank, hotel manager (uncredited)
George Chandler	...	The Bus Driver (uncredited)
Paul Kruger	...	Servant (uncredited)
Eric Wilton	...	Wilson - Majordomo (uncredited)

Directed by
Harry Lachman

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Earl Derr Biggers		characters
John Larkin		writer

Produced by
Ralph Dietrich	....	producer

Original Music by
David Buttolph		(uncredited)
Cyril J. Mockridge		(uncredited)

Cinematography by
Virgil Miller

Film Editing by
John Brady

Art Direction by
Lewis H. Creber		(as Lewis Creber)
Richard Day

Set Decoration by
Thomas Little

Costume Design by
Herschel McCoy		(as Herschel)

Production Management
William Koenig	....	production manager

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

Sound Department
Bernard Freericks	....	sound
Harry M. Leonard	....	sound

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

Music Department
Emil Newman	....	musical director
Edward B. Powell	....	orchestrator (uncredited)
Conrad Salinger	....	orchestrator (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Distributors

• Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation (1942) (USA) (theatrical)
• Key Video (1989) (USA) (VHS)
• Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment (2008) (USA) (DVD)

Other Companies

• Panasonic Disc Manufacturing  transfer

Also Known As:

Charlie Chan in Castle in the Desert (USA) (informal alternative title)

Runtime:

62 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Mirrophonic Recording)

Filming Locations:

Backlot, 20th Century Fox Studios - 10201 Pico Blvd., Century City, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Trivia:

The exterior of the hotel would later be dressed as the saloon for The Ox-Bow Incident (1943).

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: The supposed statue of a Medieval executioner sways momentarily, revealing the statue as an actor.

Quotes:

Lily, Mme. Saturnia: There's death out in that desert.
Jimmy Chan: Huh? What do you mean? I mean how do you know?
Lily, Mme. Saturnia: The stars! They see everything!
Jimmy Chan: In the daytime?
Lily, Mme. Saturnia: [With disdain] No, at night!

Movie Connections:

Followed by Black Magic (1944)

positive comments on this film

My opinion is this is one of the best in the Chan series. It has a good story that is written well. The cast is great with some wonderful character actors. I think the production quality is a little better than other Chan films. One thing that stands out are lighting and camera angles. They create an ambiance of suspense.