Dead Men Tell
Dead Men Tell is a 1941 American mystery film starring Sidney Toler, who played Charlie Chan in 22 feature films, beginning with Charlie Chan in Honolulu (1938), and ending with The Trap (1946). The first 11 Charlie Chan films were produced by 20th Century Fox Studios, thereafter sold to Monogram Pictures.[1]
| Dead Men Tell | |
|---|---|
 Movie poster | |
| Directed by | Harry Lachman |
| Produced by | Ralph Dietrich Walter Morosco |
| Written by | Earl Derr Biggers (characters) John Larkin |
| Starring | Sidney Toler Sheila Ryan Robert Weldon |
| Music by | Emil Newman |
| Cinematography | Charles G. Clarke |
| Edited by | Harry Reynolds |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Twentieth Century-Fox |
Release date |
|
Running time | 61 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
The interiors for Dead Men Tell were filmed in 1941 at Fox Studios B-unit, 1401 N. Western Ave., Hollywood, CA. Today this property is home to a large shopping center, and DeLuxe Full Spectrum Digital & Film Labs. Meanwhile, exterior shots were filmed on the 20th Century Fox backlot, which is now Century City.
Plot
Charlie Chan (Sidney Toler) is engaged by an heir to solve a mystery on a boat. Miss Nodbury (Ethel Griffies) seeks a pirate treasure on Cocos Island, and the ship she uses is an old sailing ship used in the recent past as a museum of pirate lore by one of her relatives. For safety, she has split her map into four pieces, which she gave to some of the passengers whom she has invited to go along with her, but tells no one who they are. When she is given a fright and succumbs to her heart disease Chan must clear up the mystery while the ship is still at the dock.
Cast
- Sidney Toler as Charlie Chan
- Sen Yung as Jimmy Chan
- Sheila Ryan as Kate Ransome
- Robert Weldon as Steve Daniels
- Don Douglas as Jed Thomasson
- Katharine Aldridge as Laura Thursday
- Paul McGrath as Charles Thursday / Mr. Parks
- George Reeves as Bill Lydig
- Ethel Griffies as Miss Patience Nodbury
- Lenita Lane as Dr. Anne Bonney
- Milton Parsons as Gene La Farge, patient of Dr. Bonney