utgard14 Charlie Chan (Sidney Toler) is summoned to a mysterious castle in the Mojave Desert where a bizarre masked man (Douglas Dumbrille) lives with his wife, a descendant of the famous Borgia family. There are also several other guests at the castle. When one of them is poisoned, Charlie must investigate with meddlesome son Jimmy (Victor Sen Yung).The last of the 20th Century Fox Charlie Chan films is one of the weirdest. The plot, at its heart, is a simple old dark house mystery. But the setting here, a castle in a desert, is different enough to keep things somewhat fresh. Also the eccentric characters help out a lot. It's an enjoyable entry in the Fox series. Not the best or worst but somewhere in the middle. Sadly, the quality would drop considerably when the series moved to Monogram a couple of years later.

tavm This is my sixth review of a Charlie Chan movie in which I go through them in chronological order of when they were made for these consecutive days. This was also the last one made for 20th Century-Fox before the series moved to Monogram, two years later. In this one, Chan goes to the title place after a couple of murders had occurred. One of the family members there is a descendant of the infamous Borgias...Starts off well enough but by the end, I was a little confused by some of Charlie's explanations of what happened. Also, I didn't find many of his exchanges with "No. 2 son" Jimmy all that funny though his wisdom proverbs are still pretty amusing. So on that note, Castle in the Desert is worth a look and nothing more. P.S. I actually noticed a blooper when one of the "statues" moved when Jimmy came closer to him!

JohnHowardReid A confused and totally muddled screenplay fittingly closes the Fox series of Charlie Chan entries, which is number 30 in the official 47-picture compendium which excludes the 1981 "Charlie Chan and the Curse of the Dragon Queen".Actually, the equally preposterous script of this one is so full of holes, red herrings, misleading alliances, spooky hallucinations and other bizarre elements, it would make an equally amusing parody; but unfortunately the players and the director have all chosen to play it straight as a die. A shame, because a fair amount of money has been thrown at the movie which is beautifully produced and often quite stylishly directed.Although it's disconcerting to see such wonderful sets and glistening cinematography squandered on this ridiculous mish-mash of impossible plotting and over-the-top characters, within these limits, Castle in the Desert is quite fascinating. The players are particularly engrossing. Toler is in top form as he tosses off the usual quota of quixotic aphorisms, including: "Man has enemies like dog has fleas"; "Caution sometimes mother of suspicion"; "The man who walks always has both feet on ground"; "Elaborate excuses seldom true"; and "A timid man never win lottery prize!"

Ospidillo Not ONE of the other Charlie Chan films can touch this one! The casting is brilliant, the acting is superior, the cinematography is dramatic and, the location is PERFECT. Imagine that! A castle in the desert!This is a poisoning case, (sort of), and Charlie is summoned to help solve it. He's warned from going from the moment he's invited and, of course, one of his numerous sons (not quite so goofy as some others we've seen), tags along to watch out for his dear dad. Dark characters are everywhere and the sub-plots are above average.Fans of Charlie Chan films will drool over this one but the average viewer can enjoy this light mystery as well. The desert town, old vehicles, the landscapes, the castle, (and it's creepy accoutrements) are all about the coolest things you'll ever view in a black and white old-timey mystery film.