Gordon Wiles didn't have much of a career as a director but he came from the ranks of production designers, of all things, and it shows in this inexpensive murder mystery set in a dilapidated San Francisco mansion. Almost the entire movie takes place in this big house. Well, in one big room, actually, as in a play.
But what a room it is. The production designer is responsible for the "look" of the sets -- the design of the rooms and ceilings, the furniture, the decor. This one has doors you must stoop to walk through. There are melancholy underground passages reached through hidden doors. There are ancient chandeliers with hidden radio speakers. The ceilings slope down to waist height. And they have exposed beams, like a Tudor house. There are tables with statues on them. The statues must have taken an archaeologist to find them in the Fox basements. Gargoyles stick out of the discolored walls.
You may or may not notice all this stuff because there are actors moving around in the sets, talking to each other, gesturing, sometimes holding a séance or throwing a knife or firing a pistol.
The problem is that a terribly rich man, who has been missing for years, shows up just at the time his will is about to be read. Half a dozen people gather at the mansion to hear the will. So does the mogul, but he's immediately murdered. And everybody present seems to have had a motive. It's up to Charlie Chan to unravel the mystery, and he does so without the zealous help of an Enumerated Son. One highly suspicious character is the caretaker, Egon Brecher. I would like to see Egon Brecher go mano a mano with Max Schreck. The comic sidekick role is taken by Herbert Mundin as a frightened English butler. You'll recognize him as Munch the Miller's Son in "The Adventures of Robin Hood," the one starring Errol Flynn. Award for most striking-looking performer goes to (envelope, please) -- yes -- Henrietta Crosman as Henrietta Lowell, just as I thought. She's unforgettable. An old lady, her hair was snowy white but her eyebrows were dark and formed a straight line across her brows, as if she were some raving paranoid. Her irises were the color of anthracite. She looks a lot more like a heavy than a pal of Charlie's.
Since it's an inexpensive B film, you won't find much in the way of originality. These cheap movies were designed to be shown as a second feature, on a double bill with a more lavishly budgeted film that was colossal in scope, stupendous in impact, featuring thousands of extras and a major director who did not come out of production design. The lights and cameras were put in place. The director called "Action." The actors hit their marks, did what they were told to do, said their lines, and -- "Cut." One take.
But what a room it is. The production designer is responsible for the "look" of the sets -- the design of the rooms and ceilings, the furniture, the decor. This one has doors you must stoop to walk through. There are melancholy underground passages reached through hidden doors. There are ancient chandeliers with hidden radio speakers. The ceilings slope down to waist height. And they have exposed beams, like a Tudor house. There are tables with statues on them. The statues must have taken an archaeologist to find them in the Fox basements. Gargoyles stick out of the discolored walls.
You may or may not notice all this stuff because there are actors moving around in the sets, talking to each other, gesturing, sometimes holding a séance or throwing a knife or firing a pistol.
The problem is that a terribly rich man, who has been missing for years, shows up just at the time his will is about to be read. Half a dozen people gather at the mansion to hear the will. So does the mogul, but he's immediately murdered. And everybody present seems to have had a motive. It's up to Charlie Chan to unravel the mystery, and he does so without the zealous help of an Enumerated Son. One highly suspicious character is the caretaker, Egon Brecher. I would like to see Egon Brecher go mano a mano with Max Schreck. The comic sidekick role is taken by Herbert Mundin as a frightened English butler. You'll recognize him as Munch the Miller's Son in "The Adventures of Robin Hood," the one starring Errol Flynn. Award for most striking-looking performer goes to (envelope, please) -- yes -- Henrietta Crosman as Henrietta Lowell, just as I thought. She's unforgettable. An old lady, her hair was snowy white but her eyebrows were dark and formed a straight line across her brows, as if she were some raving paranoid. Her irises were the color of anthracite. She looks a lot more like a heavy than a pal of Charlie's.
Since it's an inexpensive B film, you won't find much in the way of originality. These cheap movies were designed to be shown as a second feature, on a double bill with a more lavishly budgeted film that was colossal in scope, stupendous in impact, featuring thousands of extras and a major director who did not come out of production design. The lights and cameras were put in place. The director called "Action." The actors hit their marks, did what they were told to do, said their lines, and -- "Cut." One take.