"Charlie Chan at Treasure Island" is at the top of many Chan fan lists as their favorite; it certainly deserves that distinction. Even when the film gets creepy it's fun, as in the séance scene at the home of Dr. Zodiac.
Charlie Chan's friend Paul Essex is an apparent suicide aboard a San Francisco bound plane flight. His suicide note - "Can't escape Zodiac, Good Bye my Love, Paul".
Charlie Chan (Sidney Toler) is warned not to investigate: "Do not challenge the supernatural unless you are prepared to visit your ancestors." But investigate he does, and as usual we are introduced to a colorful cast of characters and suspects along the way. There's The Great Rhadini (Cesar Romero), who challenges other magicians and psychics, his mind reading assistant Eve Cairo (Pauline Moore), and insurance investigator Salsbury (Douglas Dumbrille). Aiding Charlie on the case are Number #2 Son Jimmy (Victor Sen Yung) and Deputy Chief Kilvaine (Donald MacBride).
Watch for a neat scene when Chan returns to the Zodiac home a second time - a black cat crosses his path.
The twist to the story comes when we learn that Romero's character Rhadini is also Dr. Zodiac, blackmailing victims with secrets from their past. He even takes a knife to the shoulder during an on stage performance in an attempt to throw suspicion in a different direction. The film borrows from a Bela Lugosi trademark, piercing dark eyes attempting to overcome psychic Eve Cairo's thoughts while under Chan's influence to flush out the killer of Zodiac's Turkish servant.
The film is set against the backdrop of the 1939 San Francisco World's Fair, Treasure Island being an attraction, along with the Century of Progress Exhibition. But as in most of the Charlie Chan films, the locale is secondary to the mystery, and this time it's a good one, with clever writing and just enough imagination to make you wonder whether mind reading might actually be real!
Charlie Chan's friend Paul Essex is an apparent suicide aboard a San Francisco bound plane flight. His suicide note - "Can't escape Zodiac, Good Bye my Love, Paul".
Charlie Chan (Sidney Toler) is warned not to investigate: "Do not challenge the supernatural unless you are prepared to visit your ancestors." But investigate he does, and as usual we are introduced to a colorful cast of characters and suspects along the way. There's The Great Rhadini (Cesar Romero), who challenges other magicians and psychics, his mind reading assistant Eve Cairo (Pauline Moore), and insurance investigator Salsbury (Douglas Dumbrille). Aiding Charlie on the case are Number #2 Son Jimmy (Victor Sen Yung) and Deputy Chief Kilvaine (Donald MacBride).
Watch for a neat scene when Chan returns to the Zodiac home a second time - a black cat crosses his path.
The twist to the story comes when we learn that Romero's character Rhadini is also Dr. Zodiac, blackmailing victims with secrets from their past. He even takes a knife to the shoulder during an on stage performance in an attempt to throw suspicion in a different direction. The film borrows from a Bela Lugosi trademark, piercing dark eyes attempting to overcome psychic Eve Cairo's thoughts while under Chan's influence to flush out the killer of Zodiac's Turkish servant.
The film is set against the backdrop of the 1939 San Francisco World's Fair, Treasure Island being an attraction, along with the Century of Progress Exhibition. But as in most of the Charlie Chan films, the locale is secondary to the mystery, and this time it's a good one, with clever writing and just enough imagination to make you wonder whether mind reading might actually be real!