Watch Charlie Chan at the Wax Museum For Free

Must See Movie...

Ok... Let's be honest. It cannot be the best movie but is quite enjoyable. The movie has the potential to develop a great plot for future movies

The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

A convicted murderer (Marc Lawrence) escapes and vows revenge on Charlie Chan (Sidney Toler). He receives help from an unscrupulous doctor who lures Charlie to his wax museum for a radio show on criminal cases. I realize that sentence doesn't make a lot of sense but trust me it works out okay. "Number Two Son" Jimmy (Victor Sen Yung) is especially high-strung in this one. Chan series vet C. Henry Gordon plays humorously-named villain Dr. Cream. Joan Valerie and Marguerite Chapman provide the pretty. Spooky wax museum backdrop is a plus. This one's got lots of suspects and atmosphere to spare. There are also quite a few implausibilities so be prepared to suspend disbelief more than usual. Still, it's good fun.

One of the more interesting in the Charlie Chan mystery series. The honorable Chinese-American detective played by Sidney Toler uses his astute powers of deduction to solve two murder cases at once. A recently convicted killer(Marc Lawrence)hides out Dr. Cream's(C. Henry Gordon)wax museum and house of criminal horrors. The diabolical doctor does plastic surgery in the basement to change the faces of criminals and puts their likeness in his museum. Number Two Son Jimmy(Victor Sen Yung)actually offers some fruitful advice to his "pop" for a change. Chan also helps clear the name of a falsely condemned man by revealing the real killer in an older case. Terrific atmosphere and scenery for a mystery. The strong supporting cast includes: Joan Valerie, Ted Osborne, Joe King, Hilda Vaughn and Michael Visaroff.

This is my third review in a series of them for these days for the films of the Charlie Chan mysteries. It's also my first for the ones starring Sidney Toler as the famed detective with Victor Sen Yung (then billed as simply Sen Yung) as "Number 2 Son" Jimmy. In this one, Chan is a target for execution from a hood that escaped Death Row-which, of the latter, was due to Charlie's testimony-years earlier. I'll stop there and just say that while there's plenty of compelling atmospheric touches and some good humor concerning Jimmy's sneaking around the wax museum's exhibits, the way the whole thing gets revealed at the end seemed a little convoluted for my tastes (it probably didn't help that I almost fell asleep during some of the parts). Still, for the most part, I liked what I saw and I'll probably watch this again someday just to try to sort things out from what I remembered on previous viewing. Oh, and that female reporter (as many such parts in '40s movies tend to be) sure was stunning...

Excellent series entry and one of Sidney Toler's best Chan films. New direction by Lynn Shores gives this series a new look and feel. The most significant feature of this film is the mixing of suspicious characters with very realistic wax figures in the dark dungeon-like Dr. Cream's Chamber of Horrors on the New York waterfront (admission 25¢) Naturally it is raining outside most of the time (thunder and lightening to boot) and the lights keep going out.Witty dialog add to the enjoyment. Chan provides his usual pearls of wisdom: `Knowledge only gained through curiosity,' `Mice only play when cat supposed to be in bed,' and `Sometimes better to see and not tell…' We can thank writer John Larkin who also penned a few other good Chan films including `Charlie Chan at Treasure Island.'The story unfolds quickly and the comic relief provided by Jimmy Chan is more subtle than it other entries. Plenty of suspects, lots of misdirection, more than enough clues, and in the end Chan reveals what he knew that could not be known by the viewer; i.e. you can only guess who is the killer. Nevertheless, just sit back and enjoy this one. My wife even liked it. Highly recommended.