Think Fast, Mr. Moto (1937)

On a freighter going from San Francisco to Shanghai Mr. Moto solves mysteries caused by a gang of smugglers. First of the series.

Director:

Norman Foster

Writers:

Howard Ellis Smith (screen play), Norman Foster (screen play),

Stars:

Peter Lorre, Virginia Field, Thomas Beck

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Peter Lorre	...	Mr. Moto
Virginia Field	...	Gloria Danton
Thomas Beck	...	Bob Hitchings
Sig Ruman	...	Nicolas Marloff (as Sig Rumann)
Murray Kinnell	...	Joseph Wilkie
John Rogers	...	Carson
Lotus Long	...	Lela Liu
George Cooper	...	Muggs Blake
J. Carrol Naish	...	Adram
Frederick Vogeding	...	Curio Dealer

Storyline

Mr Moto encounters mysterious goings-on on a ship bound for Shanghai. He recognises his steward as the murderer of a man in San Francisco, and catches him trying to steal an important letter from the stateroom of another passenger, Robert Hitchings. Hitchings, son of the owner of the shipping line, falls in love with Gloria, who refuses to tell him anything about her life and disappears when they arrive in Shanghai. In Shanghai, Mr Moto uncovers the secret which links the murder in San Francisco, the mysterious letter, and Gloria.

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Plot Keywords:

murder | warrior | man with glasses | fighting style | imperative in title | 

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Taglines:

Meet.... MR. MOTO the foxiest detective of them all!

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Genres:

Adventure | Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

27 July 1937 (USA)

Also Known As:

O Misterioso Mr. Moto

Filming Locations:

20th Century Fox Studios - 10201 Pico Blvd., Century City, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

70 min 67 min (FMC Library Print)

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Mirrophonic Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The movie version is greatly changed from the original novel: in the novel, the criminals were using the ship to bring gambling assets to Japan, and Mr. Moto was a Japanese agent assigned to stop them from doing so.

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Goofs

When Gloria is skeet shooting at the edge of the boat, she cocks the shotgun and the spent shell is seen flying through the air over the side of the boat into what should be the water down below. Instead of hearing a splash, the shell is heard bouncing on what sounds like concrete (stage).

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Quotes

Kentaro Moto: Half the world spends its time laughing at the other half, and both are fools.

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Connections

Referenced in The Private Navy of Sgt. O'Farrell (1968)

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Soundtracks

"The Shy Violet"
Music by Harry Akst
Lyrics by Sidney Clare

User Reviews

Bogs Down A Bit But Has A Good Finish

This was the first of the eight Mr. Moto movies but not necessarily the best of the early group, although not bad. I thought the second and third ones were the best of the first grouping of four. This got bogged down a little too much early on with Thomas Beck's infatuation with Virginia Field ("Gloria Danton"). In subsequent Moto movies, the romance angle was lesser and Moto featured more, which is better. However, some of the sappy guy's lust for his girl turns out to tie in with the head crook, so all is not lost in having to sit through the dull romance spots. (Dull because the dialog was affected, especially Beck's as "Bob Hitchings," the son of the shipping magnate and the man pursuing Gloria.

When the script featured the crime angle (smuggling), as in the beginning and in the last 25 minutes, it's interesting and gets involving. The long break in the middle of the film makes it easy for the viewer to lose track what exactly is going on here: who is smuggling what. We have to piece things together again when the action re-gains in the last third of the film. There is an interesting twist near the end and we hear Mr. Moto sum everything up a la Charlie Chan.

The exotic setting is Shanghai and viewers can enjoy the hectic sets with lots of people running to and fro; obnoxious British and Americans making racist statements to the locals, treating them as insignificant young kids and, of course, all the Asians played by the Anglos. That was part of '30s Hollywood, and you just accept it.

The last 40 percent of this movie makes up for any shortcomings and makes the viewing worthwhile. Mr. Moto is definitely one cool guy, who seems to have it all - except height. Peter Lorre was just great playing this role and I hope I get the opportunity to see all eight feature films in the series. I always enjoy his disguises, too, even though they don't fool us for a minute!