The Return of Mr. Moto (1965)

Mr. Moto goes undercover to find out who has been blowing up oil wells and trying to gain total control of all the oil leases from a petroleum-rich Middle Eastern country.

Director:

Ernest Morris

Writer:

Fred Eggers

Stars:

Henry Silva, Terence Longdon, Suzanne Lloyd

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Henry Silva	...	Mr. Moto
Terence Longdon	...	Jonathan Westering, MI5
Suzanne Lloyd	...	Maxine Powell, Lennox's Secretary
Marne Maitland	...	Wasir Hussein, the Shahrdar's Assistant
Martin Wyldeck	...	Helmut 'Dargo' Engle
Brian Coburn	...	Magda, Hussein's Henchman
Stanley Morgan	...	Inspector Jim Halliday
Peter Zander	...	Charles Ginelli - Moto's Associate
Harold Kasket	...	Shahrdar of Wadi
Anthony Booth	...	Hovath, Dargo's Henchman with Taxi
Gordon Tanner	...	Russell McAllister
Henry Gilbert	...	David Lennox, Beta Oil
Richard Evans	...	Chief Inspector Marlow
Ian Fleming	...	Rogers, Westering's Butler
Denis Holmes	...	Chapel the fake Halliday

Storyline

Sinister forces are behind the blowing up of oil wells in an attempt to gain control of key oil fields. Moto is assigned by British-based Beta Oil Corporation and the Foreign Office to discover who is conspiring to control the oil leases of the petroleum-rich emirate of Wadi Shammar. After an attempt on his life fails, Moto goes undercover disguised as a Japanese businessman and discovers a plot against the life of the Shahrdar of Wadi Shammar. Moto is aided in his efforts by beautiful Beta Oil secretary Maxine Powell and Police Inspector Jim Halliday.

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Plot Keywords:

oil well | oil field | mr. moto | police inspector | corporation | 

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Taglines:

The Most Famous Secret Agent Of All Is Back In A New Adventure!

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

18 October 1965 (UK)

Filming Locations:

Shepperton Studios, Shepperton, Surrey, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

Lippert Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

71 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Last full length feature of Ian Fleming.

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Quotes

Mr. Moto: [in the darkness] Afraid, Engle? Is fear turning your legs to milk?

User Reviews

No classic but lots of fun; you be the judge!

I'm not one of the reviewers who apparently lined up to bash this movie; I think that 20th Century-Fox guaranteed it a hostile reception by inviting comparison with the fondly-remembered Peter Lorre series of thirty years before. On its own it's a efficiently-produced crime thriller that moves along briskly and offers some genuine surprises and suspense to open-minded viewers. It's been suggested by some (including Henry Silva himself, in the DVD's audio commentary) that Silva is physically unsuited to play an oriental, but the same could be said of the Hungarian Peter Lorre in the earlier series, or the Swedish Warner Oland who became the definitive Charlie Chan. And it's worth mentioning that Henry Silva has convincingly played characters of various nationality over the years.

A beautiful letterboxed transfer of this film can be found as an extra on the final disc of the Peter Lorre/Moto DVD series; I found it well worth seeing for its entertainment value as well as Henry Silva's fascinating audio commentary.