Mr. Moto's Last Warning (1939)

Director:

Norman Foster

Writers:

John P. Marquand (character)
Philip MacDonald (original screenplay) ...

Release Date:

20 January 1939 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Mystery | Romance | Thriller

Plot:

Moto thwarts a ruthless band of international agents who try to foment an international incident by mining the entrance to the Suez Canal and blaming the British.

Plot Keywords:

Mr. Moto | Egypt | Fleet | Ship | Suez Canal

Cast

Peter Lorre	...	Mr. Kentaro Moto
Ricardo Cortez	...	Fabian the Great
Virginia Field	...	Connie Porter
John Carradine	...	Danforth / Richard Burke
George Sanders	...	Eric Norvel
Joan Carroll	...	Mary 'Marie' 'Delacour (as Joan Carol)
Robert Coote	...	Rollo Venables
Margaret Irving	...	Madame Delacour
Leyland Hodgson	...	Captain Bert Hawkins
John Davidson	...	Hakim

Also Known As:

Mr. Moto No. 6 (USA) (working title)
Mr. Moto in Egypt (USA) (working title)
Winter Garden (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

71 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Mirrophonic Recording)

Certification:

USA:Approved (PCA #4445) | USA:TV-PG (TV rating) | Norway:16 | Finland:K-16

Company:

Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Trivia:

The reason this film is shown more often than any of the others is because it's in the public domain, and no longer under the legal control of 20th Century-Fox.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Fabian first suspects that Danforth is not what he seems, he uses a pen to scribble a beard on a photo of British Intelligence Agent Richard Burke in his notebook dossier. The beard he draws ends in a straight line under Burke's chin. In a later scene, when Fabian shows the photo to Norvel, the beard is thicker and descends with a point toward Burke's collar.

Quotes:

Admiral Lord Streetly: [First Lines] The two French squadrons are here now, Benthum, off Tunis. They plan to sail directly to Port Said and proceed through the canal and join our fleet for their maneuvers in the Red Sea.
Bentham: When exactly will they reach the canal?
Admiral Lord Streetly: We had a wire from the French Admiral this morning, says, "Fleet arrives Port Said, 23 o'clock, 16 instant, compliments, Delacour Admiral, Commanding."
Bentham: That's even less time than I thought. Isn't it possible to delay them somehow?

Movie Connections:

Featured in The Slanted Screen (2006)

Soundtrack:

Moroccan Nights

Perhaps the Best in the Series

Mr. Moto's Last Warning (1939)

*** (out of 4)

Mr. Moto (Peter Lorre), believed dead, is assisted by an undercover British agent (John Carradine) as the two try to stop a couple international agents (Ricardo Cortez, George Sanders) from using the Suez Canal to blow up some French ships and blaming the British. This sixth entry in the series is a major step up from the previous two entries and one could say this one here was the best of the series. The story is a pretty good one but what really works here is the wonderful cast of character actors who really make this a must see. It's fun seeing Lorre's Moto up against various other actors who played famous roles themselves and that includes Perry Mason and Sam Spade (Cortez), The Saint (Sanders) and Dracula (Carradine) too. Seeing the four character actors share the same film makes for a lot of fun and the story itself also helps build some drama and that includes a wonderful underwater sequence that certainly won't be forgotten by anyone who sees it. The story is certainly a bit far fetched but it's made believable due to the actors all giving very good performances and Foster handles the material very well. The ending contains some great action with our hero kicking it into high gear to do major damage. The guys get to have a lot of fun but so does Virginia Fields in her small but fun role. Lorre is great as usual but it's actually Cortez who steals the film as the ruthless villain. Carradine also offers up an excellent performance and his scene at the bottom of the ocean is quite creepy and highly effective. Overall this here is certainly one of the best films in the series and one that even non-fans should be able to enjoy.