Mr. Wong in Chinatown (1939)

User Rating:

5.5/10   

Director:

William Nigh

Writers:

Hugh Wiley (characters: series in Collier's Magazine)
Scott Darling (screenplay)

Release Date:

1 August 1939 (USA)

Genre:

Mystery

Plot:

A pretty Chinese woman, seeking help from San Francisco detective James Lee Wong, is killed by a poisoned dart in his front hall...

Plot Keywords:

Princess | Detective | Mr Wong | Dart | Kidnapping

Cast

Boris Karloff	...	Mr. James Lee Wong
Marjorie Reynolds	...	Roberta 'Bobbie' Logan (reporter)
Grant Withers	...	Police Capt. Bill Street
Huntley Gordon	...	Mr. Davidson (bank president)
George Lynn	...	Capt. Guy Jackson (Aviation Corp. president) (as Peter George Lynn)
William Royle	...	Capt. Jaime (captain, Maid of the Orient)
James Flavin	...	Police Sgt. Jerry
Lotus Long	...	Princess Lin Hwa (murder victim)
Lee Tung Foo	...	Willie (Wong's servant) (as Lee Tong Foo)
Bessie Loo	...	Lilly May (Princess Lin Hwa's maid)
Richard Loo	...	Tong chief
Ernie Stanton	...	Burton (Davidson's butler)

Runtime:

71 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Certification:

Finland:K-16 | USA:Approved (PCA #5515) | Sweden:15

Company:

Monogram Pictures Corporation

Movie Connections:

Remade as The Chinese Ring (1947)

A very low-energy B detective film

I've seen several Mr. Wong films and I can definitely understand why Monogram Studios decided to drop the series in favor of making Charlie Chan films. Unlike the Chan films, the Wong series is pretty dull--with unlikable or bland supporting characters and a very low energy level in the movies. It's like the characters are just walking through the lines and putting little into it--particularly Boris Karloff, who was capable of so much better work than this. His supporting characters don't help, as Grant Withers is a pretty dull police inspector and Marjorie Reynolds in her first of four appearances in the Wong series as the nosy reporter is a tad annoying.

The film begins with a Chinese princess coming to Wong's house. When his butler goes to get Wong, an unseen person kills the lady with a poisonous dart! It turns out that the princess was in America to buy planes for their war with the Japanese, though since the US was not yet at war with Japan, they were never mentioned by name. Why she was killed and unable to complete her mission is mildly interesting, but that's about all. My advice is try to see a different B-detective series, such as Sherlock Holmes, The Falcon or Charlie Chan--they are just a lot more interesting and fun to watch.