Mr. Wong, Detective (1938)

Director:

William Nigh

Writers:

Houston Branch (screenplay)
Hugh Wiley (characters)

Release Date:

5 October 1938 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Crime | Drama | Mystery

Tagline:

HIS HOBBY IS MURDER! Mr. Wong's main interest is solving murders - and he's an expert at it! Watch Collier's Magazine's famous Chinese sleuth trick a triple-killer into giving himself away...for the mystery thrill of you life! (original poster)

Plot:

When a chemical manufacturer is killed after asking detective James Wong to help him, Wong investigates this and two subsequent murders...

Plot Keywords:

Spy | Chemical | Poison Gas | International Spy | Detective

Cast

Boris Karloff	...	Mr. James Lee Wong
Grant Withers	...	Captain Sam Street
Maxine Jennings	...	Myra Ross, Dayton's Secretary
Evelyn Brent	...	Olga Petroff / Countess Dubois / Sophie Dome
George Lloyd	...	Detective Lt. Devlin
Lucien Prival	...	Anton Mohl, aka Baron Von Krantz
John St. Polis	...	Carl Roemer, Poison Gas Inventor
William Gould	...	Theodore Meisel, Dayton's Partner
Hooper Atchley	...	Christian Wilk, Dayton's Partner
John Hamilton	...	Simon Dayton, President Dayton Chemical Co.
Wilbur Mack	...	Russell, Dayton's Office Manager
Lee Tung Foo	...	Tchin, Wong's Servant (as Lee Tong Foo)
Lynton Brent	...	Detective Tommy
Grace Wood	...	Mrs. Carl Roemer

Runtime:

69 min | USA:70 min (copyright length)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Certification:

USA:Passed (National Board of Review) | Finland:K-16 | USA:Approved (PCA #4690)

Company:

Monogram Pictures

Goofs:

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): Mr. Wong's servant waits on him on what we are told is his day off.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Anton Mohl, aka Baron Von Krantz: You're going to get killed doing that, one of these days, Lescardi!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Mammoth (2006) (TV)

This movie is a campy hoot!

I have the Mr. Wong series on DVD and find it quite enjoyable. You must immerse yourself in the ambience of sitting in a darkened movie theater circa 1939 watching a double bill of "B" movies to enjoy. By modern detective story standards it is creaky, but you don't watch it for the plot. I agree the sheer political incorrectness of the very British Boris Karloff playing a Chinese detective takes some getting used to, but he lends the role an air of dignity that a less talented actor would not be capable of expressing. Grant Withers is most famous for eloping with a seventeen year old Loretta Young before her rise to stardom. The later films in the series feature a cheeky Marjorie Reynolds and gives her ample room to display her comedic talents. All in all, suspend your modern frame of reference and enjoy!