| Charlie Chan and the Curse of the Dragon Queen | |
| Director: | Clive Donner |
| Screenplay: | Stan Burns David Axelrod |
| Story: | Jerry Sherlock |
| Producer: | Jerry Sherlock |
| Starring: | Peter Ustinov |
| Cinematography: | Paul Lohmann |
| Editing: | Walt Hannemann Phil Tucker |
| Music: | Patrick Williams |
| Studio: | Jerry Sherlock Productions |
| Distributor: | American Cinema Productions (United States and Canada) United Artists (International)[1] |
| Runtime: | 97 minutes |
| Country: | United States |
| Language: | English |
| Gross: | $1.5 million[2] |
Charlie Chan and the Curse of the Dragon Queen is a 1981 comedy–mystery film directed by Clive Donner that stars Peter Ustinov, Angie Dickinson and Lee Grant.[3] It is the last film to feature the titular character.
Retired detective Charlie Chan is asked for his help by the San Francisco police to solve a new series of murders. This time his usual sidekick, "Number One Son" Lee Chan, has been replaced by Lee's own son, Lee Chan, Jr.
The prime suspect in the killings is a shadowy lady known as the Dragon Queen, but soon Chan's suspicions fall elsewhere.[4] Among those at risk are Lee's maternal grandmother, Mrs. Lupowitz. Even though Lee Jr. is (as usual) rarely accurate in reading clues, he has the love and full support of his beautiful fiancée Cordelia.[5]
[6] TV Guide gives Charlie Chan and the Curse of the Dragon Queen 0 out of 5 stars.[7]
Roger Ebert and Gene Siskel loathed the movie, giving it two "no" votes on their public television series Sneak Previews, and later listing it as one of the worst movies of 1981.[8] [9]
Conversely, critic Vincent Canby of The New York Times wrote in his review: "Clive Donner's Charlie Chan and the Curse of the Dragon Queen... is loose-limbed, immensely good-natured entertainment that moves easily between parody and slapstick without ever doing damage to the memories of the character who, in the 1950s and 1960s, gained something of a following as a figure of camp."[10]
Charlie Chan and the Curse of the Dragon Queen was released in theatres on February 13, 1981, by American Cinema Productions.[10]
The film was released on DVD on September 7, 2004, by Trinity Home Entertainment.[11]