Charlie Chan’s Murder Cruise

In Chan's office, No.2 and No.7 Sons are caught trying to destroy a bad report card. Inspector Duff arrives and explains that a mass killer may be aboard the cruise ship moored in Honolulu. He asks Chan to board the voyage and help uncover the truth before the ship sets sail.

The strangler leans in through an open window and strikes, killing Duff. Chan is briefly absent, learning of the assault and realizing the case has just intensified. The shipboard mystery begins to unfold in earnest after this murder.

Chan returns and discovers there has been another homicide at the hotel housing the cruise passengers. He vows to pursue the killer to the end, sensing a connected pattern among the deaths. The investigation now crosses from land to sea.

Jimmy Chan is found hiding in a lifeboat, and Charlie arranges for him to be thrown into the brig. Sensing Jimmy's willingness to work his way through, Chan ends up placing him as a steward with access to most staterooms. This setup gives Jimmy a chance to uncover clues from inside the ship.

Dr. Suderman, the cruise director, seems overly eager to prevent information about the murders from reaching the public. He pressures staff and passengers to maintain calm and keep the affair out of press and official channels. This suppression stirs suspicion among the passengers and crew.

Susie Watson, her secretary Paula Drake, and Susie's jovial traveling companion Ross are introduced, along with Professor Gordon, the Walters, and Pendleton. Each character becomes a potential suspect in the mounting puzzle as tensions rise aboard the ship.

Buttons, a tough sailor, guards Pendleton's door but is decoyed away and knocked out. Pendleton is murdered, and 30 pieces of silver are left at the scene, adding a cryptic clue to the growing conspiracy on the ship.

A quiet, fun-and-games party upstairs features candid photos that Charlie hopes will reveal who was absent during the murders. The killer, disguised in beard and mask, knocks Chan out and steals the negatives. The party ends in chaos as the investigation tightens around the ship's social carousel.

In a below-decks chase, the thief is shot and killed, but the negatives are not on him. It is revealed that Ross was a willing accomplice who wore the disguise as a decoy. Charlie warns that the actual killer is blackmailing Ross and pulling the strings behind the scenes.

Pendleton's wife, appearing crippled and blinded from an auto accident, is brought to the San Francisco docks. Her presence seems to provoke the killer into making a fatal misstep, bringing the pursuit to a new, decisive moment of justice.

With the killer cornered by circumstances, Jimmy holds Dr. Suderman at gunpoint, forcing a tense standoff. Chan and the others work to calm him and prevent a violent outcome, pushing the investigation toward its final act.

The mastermind behind the blackmail is exposed and confronted, bringing the case to a close. Ross's role and Pendleton's wife's story are reconciled within the resolution, and the detective work concludes as the ship reaches port.