Charlie Chan and the Curse of the Dragon Queen * (1981, Peter Ustinov, Angie Dickinson, Richard Hatch, Lee Grant, Brian Keith, Roddy McDowall, Rachel Roberts) – Classic Movie Review 9065

Director Clive Donner’s misguided 1981 comedy mystery thriller Charlie Chan and the Curse of the Dragon Queen at least has a good cast on its side: Peter Ustinov, Angie Dickinson, Richard Hatch, Lee Grant, Brian Keith, Roddy McDowall, Rachel Roberts, Paul Ryan, Johnny Sekka and Michelle Pfeiffer. It is the first cinema feature for Charlie Chan since Lesley Selander’s 1949 The Sky Dragon. But it was a final failed theatrical release and proved the end of the road for Charlie Chan movies.

Earl Derr Biggers’s inscrutable detective Charlie Chan (Peter Ustinov) and his grandson (Richard Hatch) help a San Francisco Police Chief Detective (Brian Keith) to investigate a series of bizarre murders watched by the vengeful Dragon Queen (Angie Dickinson) whom Chan, in his Hawaiian heyday, had unmasked as a killer.

Ustinov is game for it and at least gives the impression that he might have made a good Chan and Richard Hatch (from TV’s Battlestar Galactica) is amiable enough as his bumbling Jewish-Oriental Number One Grandson Lee Chan Jr, in a sticky, foolishly farcical slapstick spoof update.

The exuberant performances from a good cast try to paper over some of the cracks in this colourful but misjudged oriental detective spoof. Sadly, as a comedy, despite some good gags, it could have been much, much funnier, and, as a mystery, it could have been much, much more thrilling.

And, of course, even in 1982, many people found the ‘wily oriental’ stuff quite a bit racist.

Hopefully, perhaps someday, someone will resurrect Charlie Chan as a serious noir-style thriller and cast an Asian actor as star, and he will return to favour, like Sherlock Holmes.

Charlie Chan and the Curse of the Dragon Queen is directed by Clive Donner, runs 96 minutes, is made by American Cinema Productions, is released by United Artists, is written by Stan Burns (screenplay) and David Axelrod (screenplay), based on a story by Jerry Sherlock, is shot by Paul Lohmann, is produced by Jerry Sherlock and is scored by Patrick Williams, with Production Design by Joel Schiller.

Peter Sellers sent up the character in Murder by Death in 1976, playing Sidney Wang,

© Derek Winnert 2019 Classic Movie Review 9065

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