Phantom of Chinatown (1940)

User Rating:

5.7/10   

Director:

Phil Rosen

Writers:

Hugh Wiley (characters from "James Lee Wong" series in Collier's Magazine)
Ralph Gilbert Bettison (story)

Release Date:

18 November 1940 (USA)

Genre:

Mystery

Tagline:

A thousand suspects... 20 fingerprints... a Chinese temple... Mr. Wong solves a murder!

Plot:

Detective James Lee Wong is on the scene as archeologist Dr. John Benton, recently returned from an...

Plot Keywords:

Lecture | Expedition | Detective | Scroll | Desert

Cast

Keye Luke	...	James Lee 'Jimmy' Wong
Grant Withers	...	Police Captain Street
Lotus Long	...	Win Lee, Benton's Secretary
Charles F. Miller	...	Dr. John Benton / Cyrus Benton in Newspaper (as Charles Miller)
Huntley Gordon	...	Dr. Norman Wilkes
Virginia Carpenter	...	Louise Benton
John Dilson	...	Charles 'Charlie' Fraser (as John H. Dilson)
Paul McVey	...	Detective Grady
John Holland	...	Co-Pilot Mason
Richard Terry	...	Toreno (as Dick Terry)
Robert Kellard	...	Pilot Tommy Dean
Willy Castello	...	Jonas, Benton's Butler (as William Castello)
Lee Tung Foo	...	Foo, Jimmy's Cook

Runtime:

62 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 #6779)

Company:

Monogram Pictures Corporation

Trivia:

This was the only Hollywood film of the period in which an Asian detective was played by, and top billing was given to, an actor (Keye Luke) who was actually Asian.

Quotes:

James Lee Wong: Greetings. Only the eyebrows of youth would have the temerity to call the beard of age at such an hour.

Movie Connections:

Follows The Fatal Hour (1940)

Key Luke is Wonderful!

No offense to Boris Karloff, who had previously played Mr. Wong, but this film shows how an "oriental" action-thriller can be improved by casting a gifted Chinese actor in the role. Key Luke is handsome, charming, dashing, brave, clever, and just downright sexy as James Lee Wong, and he meets his perfect match in Lotus Long, the mysterious Chinese secretary of a famous Anglo-American archaeologist. The ending, which would have featured some romance between Luke and Long had they both been Caucasians, is still satisfying, as Luke shows his feelings for Long with his eyes and smile. Lee Tung Foo also deserves mention in a fun turn as Wong's servant. Of the many oriental-exploitation films of the era, this is perhaps the best, featuring some fine Asian art objects, superb set decoration, social commentary about Westerm archaeological appropriation of cultural treasures, unusual documentary footage of an expedition to Mongolia, and real Chinese people playing Chinese people. It's by no means an "A" picture, and seeing the star-god Shou depicted as a "god of vengeance" is silly, but "Phantom of Chinatown" deserves a better reputation than others of its ilk.