Mr. Moto's Last Warning (1939)

Director:

Norman Foster

Writers:

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

Release Date:

20 January 1939 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | 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 | Fleet | Ship | Suez Canal | Japanese

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
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Carol Adams	...	Minor Role (uncredited)
Jimmy Aubrey	...	Waiter (uncredited)
Ted Billings	...	Barfly (uncredited)
A.R. Bogard	...	Hoist Man (uncredited)
Daniel Boone	...	Deep Sea Diver (uncredited)
David Cavendish	...	Deck Officer (uncredited)
E.E. Clive	...	Port Commandant General (uncredited)
Neil Fitzgerald	...	English Sergeant (uncredited)
Harold Goodwin	...	Nightclub Bouncer and Seaman (uncredited)
Holmes Herbert	...	Bentham (uncredited)
George Humbert	...	Stage Manager (uncredited)
Jacques Lory	...	Markaday - Juggler (uncredited)
Pat McKee	...	Seaman Observing Fight (uncredited)
Lal Chand Mehra	...	Customs Officer (uncredited)
Victor Metzetti	...	Cab Driver (uncredited)
Robert F. Owens	...	Tender (uncredited)
Jack Perry	...	Guard at Door (uncredited)
Georges Renavent	...	Adm. Jacques Delacour (uncredited)
Wayne Rivers	...	Cable Man (uncredited)
Bert Roach	...	Hotel Clerk (uncredited)
C. Montague Shaw	...	Adm. Lord Streetly (uncredited)
Teru Shimada	...	Fake Mr. Moto (uncredited)
H.W. Stroele	...	Tender (uncredited)
Al Wesslen	...	Deep Sea Diver (uncredited)
Eric Wilton	...	Deck Steward (uncredited)

Directed by
Norman Foster

Writing credits
John P. Marquand		(character)
Philip MacDonald		(original screenplay) and
Norman Foster		(original screenplay)

Produced by
Sol M. Wurtzel	....	executive producer

Original Music by
David Raksin		(uncredited)

Cinematography by
Virgil Miller		(photographed by)

Film Editing by
Norman Colbert

Casting by
Phillip Moore		(uncredited)

Art Direction by
Lewis H. Creber		(as Lewis Creber)
Bernard Herzbrun
Freddie Stoos		(uncredited)

Set Decoration by
Thomas Little

Costume Design by
Helen A. Myron

Makeup Department
Fred B. Phillips	....	makeup artist (uncredited)
Jean Thomas	....	hair stylist (uncredited)

Production Management
V.L. McFadden	....	production manager (uncredited)
Sam Schneider	....	unit manager (uncredited)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Jasper Blystone	....	assistant director (uncredited)
Charles Faye	....	assistant director (uncredited)

Art Department
Larry Haddock	....	assistant property master (uncredited)
George Peckham	....	props (uncredited)
Walter Poggi	....	assistant property master (uncredited)
Walter M. Scott	....	set dresser (uncredited)

Sound Department
William H. Anderson	....	sound
E. Clayton Ward	....	sound
R.M. Braggins	....	cable person (uncredited)
Emmett O'Brien	....	assistant sound (uncredited)
Harry Roberts	....	boom operator (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Tad Gillum	....	still photographer (uncredited)
Louis Johnson	....	gaffer (uncredited)
F. Mime	....	best boy (uncredited)
Roger Murphy	....	grip (uncredited)
John F. Warren	....	assistant camera (uncredited)
William P. Whitley	....	camera operator (uncredited)
Dan Wurtzel	....	assistant grip (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Sam Benson	....	wardrobe supervisor (uncredited)
Sandy Sandeen	....	wardrobe (uncredited)

Editorial Department
Douglass Biggs	....	assistant cutter (uncredited)

Music Department
Samuel Kaylin	....	musical director
David Buttolph	....	composer: stock music (uncredited)

Other crew
Helen Torres	....	script clerk (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation (as Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation)

Distributors

• Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation (1939) (USA) (theatrical) (as Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation)
• 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment (2007) (USA) (DVD)
• Alpha Video Distributors (2001) (USA) (DVD)
• FilmAnnex (2006) (worldwide) (all media)
• Hollywood's Best (2005) (USA) (DVD)
• Hollywood's Best (2005) (USA) (VHS)
• Inspired Productions (1989) (USA) (VHS)
• National Film Museum (2004) (USA) (TV) (as National Film Museum Incorporated)
• Odeon Entertainment (2012) (UK) (DVD)
• Reel Media International (2004) (worldwide) (video)
• Reel Media International (2005) (worldwide) (TV)
• Reel Media International (2007) (worldwide) (all media)
• Sarjim Video (????) (USA) (VHS)

Other Companies

• Hypercube  digital remastering: National Film Museum Incorporated print (as Hypercube LLC) (2004 National Film Museum Incorporated print)

Also Known As:

Runtime:

71 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Mirrophonic Recording)

Certification:

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

Filming Locations:

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

Company:

Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation

Trivia:

Of Fox's 8 MOTOs, this was the sixth to be produced, and the seventh to be released. Copyright 1938, not released until January 1939.

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:

I Do Like to Be Beside the Seaside

Fun in a foreign backlot

This one starts out especially murky, bristling with bad hats rubbing shoulders with innocent Westerners in a strange land. What they're all up to takes some resolving, but be reassured Moto's in charge, even though he unwittingly sends 2 of his cohorts to their deaths along the way. High production values compliment an interesting if far-fetched storyline.

A gang of jittery international spies working for an un-named foreign power aim to disrupt the French fleet heading into Port Said in Egypt and cause rupture between those very old long-standing allies Britain and France, Moto's aim is to disrupt the baddies first. All-knowing Ricardo Cortez has a strange job as ventriloquist to his unexplained Cockney dummy Alf, while his second George Sanders puts on a seedy French accent with gusto if not skill. Poor old John Carradine though! And good for Cortez's moll with moral fibre Virginia Field! A tense climax is guaranteed with Moto in the bag, and is ingenious when it arrives.

A great little film for those of us who like the genre, not unless.