Watch Charlie Chan's Murder Cruise For Free

Best movie of this year hands down!

Save your money for something good and enjoyable

what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

Inspector Duff of Scotland Yard, traveling incognito as a cruise passenger, contacts Charlie during a stopover in Hawaii to enlist his help in apprehending a strangler that Duff believes is part of his entourage. Before Duff can get out of Chan's office he's murdered and Charlie takes the case as a personal mission. As with many of the Chan mysteries there's a rogue's gallery of suspects (at least 10 by my count) making keeping them all straight somewhat of a challenge. However, the actors making up the suspects are a who's who of the mystery genre headed up by Lionel Atwill and Leo G. Carroll. Also notable were Cora Witherspoon, Don Beddoe, and Leonard Mudie who turned in fine performances and Charles Middleton (Ming the Merciless of Flash Gordon fame) in a somewhat lesser role. And, of course, the overbearing Victor Sen Yung, who I was rooting for Charlie to just throw overboard. Dismissing Yung's nonsense, this is a fine if very complex mystery. And I admit that it took a couple of viewings to understand the finish. Still it's enjoyable especially for Chan lovers.

Charlie Chan hustles a whole passel of suspects aboard their cruise ship, knowing one of them is a murderer. He risks his life by staying aboard himself. At least that's what suspect Leo G. Carroll tells him—to which Chan replies, "Life has been risked for jewels far less valuable than friendship."An old friend has been murdered right in Lieutenant Chan's office, and Chan takes it as a personal challenge. The clues all point to some member of a round-the-world cruise as the murderer…but which one?A great assortment of the usual suspects keeps this Chan mystery moving along nicely. Besides archaeologist Leo Carroll, there's Cora Witherspoon, a dizzy rich lady; Marjorie Reynolds, her secretary; Robert Lowery, handsome and suddenly wealthy nephew of a second murder victim; and Charles Middleton and Claire Du Brey as a weird couple who do séances. Cruise leader Lionel Atwill wants the whole story kept out of the papers—and how suspicious a character is he? Mr. Chan is assisted in his investigation by number two son Jimmy Chan, played with energy and style by Sen Yung, who gets a couple of laughs but plays it mostly straight. Sidney Toler is excellent as Mr. Chan; very much at the center of the action, his confidence and timing are superb. The suspects snap at Mr. Chan, bite at each other, make their noise…and Chan just keeps that little smile on his face, polite, slightly mocking, letting them have their say, waiting for someone to make a mistake…. An exciting and clever climax tops this one off and clinches it as a top notch series entry.

Charlie Chan and #2 son Jimmy join a cruise headed to San Francisco hot on the heels of a murderer. The mad strangler has already killed Chan's friend and colleague from Scotland Yard, so Charlie has to be on his toes. And with the confined space of a cruise ship, suspects at every turn, and even more dead bodies, Charlie Chan certainly has his hands full.When you go about 35 years in between viewings, you not only forget everything about the plot (including the killer's identity), but you also forget how good a movie can be. That's the case with me and Charlie Chan's Murder Cruise. I had the opportunity to check out it out last night for the first time in over three decades. My reaction - what a wonderful movie! An excellent and convoluted plot, a ruthless killer, red herrings everywhere you look, comic relief that doesn't get in the way of the mystery, and some of the most solid acting you'll find in one of the Toler Chan films help make Charlie Chan's Murder Cruise a real winner. The cast that includes Sidney Toler, Victor Sen Yung, the always enjoyable Lionel Atwill, Leo (no G.) Carroll, and Charles Middleton is as good as you'll find in a "B" mystery from the 40s. Another big plus is the film's location. I've always been a fan of a mystery where the killer and suspects are trapped in a place with no hope of escape. And a cruise ship is one of those kind of locations. Add to this list of superlatives I've mentioned some nice pacing from director Eugene Forde and solid cinematography and lighting and you've got the makings of a wonderful entry in the log running Charlie Chan series.

in this well rounded mystery.An early Toler film, which should be seen by all Chan fans. A fine cast including Leo G. "Topper" Carroll as Prof.Gordon. A familiar formula, but well done in all aspects.The antics of Jimmy Chan (Victor Sen Young) work well here as usual.Although Toler moves through the movie sounding like he's suffering from a cold, he does one of his finest jobs here as Charlie Chan. A must see.