Mr. Moto's Last Warning (1939)

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.

Director:

Norman Foster

Writers:

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

Stars:

Peter Lorre, Ricardo Cortez, Virginia Field

Cast

Complete credited 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	...	Marie Delacour
Robert Coote	...	Rollo Venables
Margaret Irving	...	Madame Delacour
Leyland Hodgson	...	Capt. Bert Hawkins
John Davidson	...	Hakin

Storyline

A Japanese man claiming to be Mr Moto, of the International Police, is abducted and murdered soon after disembarking from a ship at Port Said in Egypt. The real Mr Moto is already in Port Said, investigating a conspiracy against the British and French governments. The dead man was his colleague, impersonating him to throw the conspirators off his scent. Mr Moto recognises one of the conspirators as a British Secret Service agent, and together they discover that the gang have mined the harbour in preparation for the arrival of the French fleet. Their aim is to throw the blame onto the British, which may start a second World War.

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Plot Keywords:

mr. moto | fleet | ship | suez canal | japanese | 

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Mystery | Romance | Thriller

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

20 January 1939 (USA)

Also Known As:

Mr. Moto No. 6

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:

71 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Mirrophonic Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

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.

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Goofs

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.

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Quotes

Danforth - aka Richard Burke: Moto, I'm beginning to believe all the stories I've heard about you.
Mr. Kentaro Moto: Please do not. I do not.

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Connections

References Charlie Chan in Honolulu (1938)

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Soundtracks

"Moroccan Nights"
(uncredited)
Music by David Raksin

User Reviews

nice cast in pre-WW II programmer

1939's "Mr. Moto's Last Warning" stars Peter Lorre as the Japanese detective, of whom nothing was heard once the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor. Lorre is surrounded by a great cast, which includes Ricardo Cortez, Virginia Field, John Carradine, and George Sanders. Lorre not only plays Moto, but his cover, who runs an antique store.

The story concerns Moto's investigation of a conspiracy against the British and French governments. One of the "conspirators" is a British agent, and the two of them discover that the group has put mines in the harbor in order to blow up the French fleet -- the group had been desperately trying to find out the arrival date, and once they got it, set the bombs in place. Obviously, this is before Churchill blew the French fleet up in 1940 when the French refused to do so, which would thus give the Germans access to the fleet. The conspirators plan to blame the British for the bombing, hoping to start the Second World War.

Lorre does a great job, and Ricardo Cortez, as the head of the group whose works as a ventriloquist as his cover, makes an effective villain. Sanders uses a strange accent. Virginia Field, one of the "ice cream blondes" of that era was under contract to 20th Century Fox at the time; unfortunately, she never made it to the top, but she was in a lot of good films and is very pretty. John Carradine is in top form.

Entertaining as well as interesting, this is a good entry into the series featuring the brilliant and delightful "Mr. Moto."