Mr. Moto Takes a Vacation (1939)

Disguised as a German archaeologist, Moto helps unearth the priceless crown of the legendary Queen of Sheba and sans disguise defends it from a variety of thugs and criminals.

Director:

Norman Foster

Writers:

Philip MacDonald (original screenplay), Norman Foster (original screenplay),

Stars:

Peter Lorre, Joseph Schildkraut, Lionel Atwill

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Peter Lorre	...	Mr. Moto
Joseph Schildkraut	...	Hendrik Manderson
Lionel Atwill	...	Professor Roger Chauncey Hildebrand
Virginia Field	...	Eleanore Kirke
John 'Dusty' King	...	Howard Stevens (as John King)
Iva Stewart	...	Susan French
G.P. Huntley	...	Archie Featherstone (as George P. Huntley Jr.)
Victor Varconi	...	Paul Borodoff
John Bleifer	...	Wendling
Honorable Wu	...	Wong
Morgan Wallace	...	David Perez
Anthony Warde	...	Joe Rubla
Harry Strang	...	O'Hara, Museum Guard
John Davidson	...	Prince Suleid

Storyline

A young and handsome archaeologist discovers the crown of the Queen of Sheba, and returns with it to a San Francisco museum where it is put on display. Its safety is in doubt as many criminals want the crown -- an international pair of criminals, a San Francisco gangster and his cohorts, and a super criminal known as Metaxa. Mr. Moto is forced to postpone his vacation while he deals with the threat.

---

Plot Keywords:

queen of sheba | museum | disguise | mummy | red herring | 

---

Genres:

Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

---

Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

7 July 1939 (USA)

Also Known As:

As Férias de Mr. Moto

Company Credits

Production Co:

Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

65 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Previewed in Hollywood on 10 November 1938, to negative reviews, and not released until July 1939.

---

Quotes

Mr. Moto: [lifting up the cut telephone cord] Someone deprived this instrument of all utility.

---

Connections

Follows Think Fast, Mr. Moto (1937)

User Reviews

A fun romp

This is one of my favorite Mr. Motos, and I have seen them all. As usual Lorre is his charming self as the debonair Mr. Moto. Lionel Atwill plays a delightfully zany museum curator, the usual comic relief is quite funny here, and there are lots of suspects on whom to cast an eye. It's fast paced and fun.

The archaeologist doesn't have quite the same flair as Thomas Beck, the usual second lead in these programmers, but he's adequate. Stepin Fetchit is on board, and while he speaks in a stereotypical manner his lines are funny, not demeaning to his intelligence, and he actually saves the day in his brief time on screen.