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IMDbPro

Phantom of Chinatown

  • 19401940
  • ApprovedApproved
  • 1h 2m
IMDb RATING
5.8/10
748
YOUR RATING
Lotus Long, Keye Luke, and Grant Withers in Phantom of Chinatown (1940)
Mystery
Detective James Lee Wong is on the scene as archaeologist Dr. John Benton, recently returned from an expedition in China where a valuable ancient scroll was recovered, is murdered while givi... Read allDetective James Lee Wong is on the scene as archaeologist Dr. John Benton, recently returned from an expedition in China where a valuable ancient scroll was recovered, is murdered while giving a lecture on the expedition.Detective James Lee Wong is on the scene as archaeologist Dr. John Benton, recently returned from an expedition in China where a valuable ancient scroll was recovered, is murdered while giving a lecture on the expedition.
IMDb RATING
5.8/10
748
YOUR RATING
    • Phil Rosen
    • George Waggner(screenplay)
    • Ralph Gilbert Bettison(original story)
    • Hugh Wiley(characters from "James Lee Wong" series in Collier's Magazine)
  • Stars
    • Keye Luke
    • Lotus Long
    • Grant Withers
    • Phil Rosen
    • George Waggner(screenplay)
    • Ralph Gilbert Bettison(original story)
    • Hugh Wiley(characters from "James Lee Wong" series in Collier's Magazine)
  • Stars
    • Keye Luke
    • Lotus Long
    • Grant Withers
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 31User reviews
    • 17Critic reviews
  • See production, box office & company info
  • See more at IMDbPro
  • Photos6

    Lotus Long in Phantom of Chinatown (1940)
    John Dilson, Lotus Long, Keye Luke, and Grant Withers in Phantom of Chinatown (1940)
    Lotus Long, Keye Luke, and Grant Withers in Phantom of Chinatown (1940)
    Lotus Long, Victor Wong, Keye Luke, and Grant Withers in Phantom of Chinatown (1940)
    Lotus Long, Victor Wong, Keye Luke, and Grant Withers in Phantom of Chinatown (1940)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Keye Luke
    Keye Luke
    • James Lee 'Jimmy' Wong
    Lotus Long
    Lotus Long
    • Win Len
    Grant Withers
    Grant Withers
    • Police Captain Street
    Charles Miller
    • Dr. John Benton
    Huntley Gordon
    Huntley Gordon
    • Dr. Norman Wilkes
    Virginia Carpenter
    • Louise Benton
    John Dilson
    John Dilson
    • Charlie Frasier
    • (as John H. Dilson)
    Paul McVey
    Paul McVey
    • Detective Grady
    John Holland
    John Holland
    • Mason
    Richard Terry
    • Toreno
    • (as Dick Terry)
    Robert Kellard
    Robert Kellard
    • Tommy Dean
    Willy Castello
    Willy Castello
    • Jonas
    • (as William Castello)
    Lee Tong Foo
    Lee Tong Foo
    • Foo
    • (as Lee Tung Foo)
    Lynton Brent
    Lynton Brent
    • Radio News Broadcaster
    • (uncredited)
    Morgan Brown
    Morgan Brown
    • Lecture Guest
    • (uncredited)
    Jack Cheatham
    Jack Cheatham
    • Hospital Stakeout Cop
    • (uncredited)
    Heinie Conklin
    Heinie Conklin
    • Detective in Refrigerator
    • (uncredited)
    William Gould
    William Gould
    • Hospital Stakeout Cop
    • (uncredited)
      • Phil Rosen
      • George Waggner(screenplay)
      • Ralph Gilbert Bettison(original story)
      • Hugh Wiley(characters from "James Lee Wong" series in Collier's Magazine)
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Possibly the very first instance where Hollywood produced a 'prequel,' because this last entry in the series depicts the first meeting between Mr. Wong and Capt. Street.
    • Goofs
      When Captain Street and James Lee Wong notice a secret compartment in Charlie's restaurant leading to a hidden room; they break open the door by shooting off the lock. But on the following cut when Captain Street returns to that same hidden room after the two criminals escape in a motorboat; the previously broken door and the lock are now intact enabling Charlie to lock Captain Street in the room.
    • Quotes

      Capt. Street: What's this?

      Jonas: The sarcophagus from the Chinese tomb sir, that once contained the body of a Ming Emperor.

      James Lee Wong: They tell me that a Chinese archaeological expedition is digging up the body of George Washington in exchange.

    • Connections
      Edited into Who Dunit Theater: Phantom of Chinatown (2015)

    User reviews31

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    5/10
    Unheard Of
    As Boris Karloff moved on to bigger and better things in the horror film genre, the Mr. Wong series from Monogram got a final run with an actual person of Oriental heritage in the title role. Fascinating the mind set of Hollywood in those days.

    And who would it have to be for, but a poverty row outfit like Monogram in one of their series films. Keye Luke who moviegoers knew better as the number one son of that other Chinese detective Charlie Chan, gets to play a younger version of that noted scholar and criminologist James Lee Wong. Luke plays him just as Boris Karloff did as a man who went to both Oxford and Heidelburg and did not speak in fortune cookie aphorisms.

    But I'm sure it must have confused the living daylights out of the Mr. Wong audiences when the relationship between Wong and homicide police captain Street of the SFPD was so different. Grant Withers played Street in all the Wong films and he was not at all resentful about deferring to the older man's knowledge. The same way Captain Stottlemeyer defers to Adrian Monk on that show.

    But with Luke, Withers is at first downright hostile, in fact this film of necessity is set back to when they first meet and Withers most reluctantly bows to Luke's skill for investigation.

    The leader of an expedition to China where an ancient scroll was taken from a Ming Emperor's tomb is murdered while giving a lecture. And the scroll goes missing as well. There are a whole host of suspects, including a pilot that had been lost in the desert, but he turns up rather early in the film.

    It might have been nice if Keye Luke had inaugurated the series instead of an Occidental like Karloff, good as he was. History could have been made.
    helpful•14
    2
    • bkoganbing
    • Oct 30, 2008

    FAQ2

    • What is notable about this film?
    • Is this available on DVD?

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • November 18, 1940 (United States)
      • United States
      • English
    • Also known as
    • Production company
      • Monogram Pictures
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Technical specs

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    • 1 hour 2 minutes
      • Black and White

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