Doomed to Die (1940)

Good movie but grossly overrated

I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.

Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

Shortly after a fire at sea that lead to the death of over four hundred passengers Cyrus Wentworth, the owner of the shipping line, is murdered. The police are convinced that the killer is Dick Fleming, the son of a rival shipping magnate, who was engaged to Cynthia, the dead man's daughter, against his will... he had also been head arguing moments before the fatal shot was heard. Cynthia is friends with reporter Roberta 'Bobbie' Logan and she calls in the detective Mr Wong to prove Dick's innocence. He soon finds another potential motive for murder; the ship was carrying a large number of Chinese bonds which have disappeared along with the passenger who was carrying them. There is also a disgruntled, recently sacked chauffeur and a Chinese servant who has disappeared to consider.With these films one has to accept having a Chinese character being played by an actor who clearly isn't Chinese... this isn't too difficult as apart from his name it is easy to forget where Mr Wong is meant to be from! The mystery is intriguing enough and there are a decent number of suspects to keep the viewer guessing right up until the final reveal. There is also a fair amount of humour; mostly due to policeman Capt. William Street being exasperated by Bobbie Logan; in a running gag the feather in her hat keeps poking him... silly but amusing. The cast are solid enough with Boris Karloff being reliable as Wong and Marjorie Reynolds putting in a spirited performance as Bobbie. Overall this is far from a classic but it is fun if you enjoy films of the era.

A great opening sets up Boris Karloff's last appearance as the Chinese detective who isn't a thorn in the side of police investigator Grant Withers. That would be reporter Marjorie Reynolds who continues to taunt Withers for her abilities (and his apparent disabilities) in crime solving. In this case, it's the murder of a wealthy businessmen with the main suspect being young Guy Usher who wanted to marry the man's daughter (Catherine Craig) which her father violently opposed. Of course, there's other suspects, of the business rival variety, and those aren't as interesting as the family aspect of the case. This is the one time in the series where Wong gets a bit too close for someone's comfort, resulting in a few close calls for him, the only real notable element in this film. The Reynolds/Withers antagonism here goes a bit too far, with Reynolds becoming so obnoxiously annoying at one point that it wouldn't be beyond reason for Withers to stuff something in her mouth and lock her in a closet, or dispatch her himself and gladly turn himself in for the crime. Karloff ends his participation in the series seemingly relieved, and never worked at Monogram studios again.

I'm working my way through the Horror Classics 50 Movie Pack Collection and DOOMED TO DIE is one of the movies in the set.Why DOOMED TO DIE is included in a collection of Horror Classics is a mystery. But having seen THE FATAL HOUR, I have to say that Boris Karloff cast is more convincing in DOOMED TO DIE as the Chinese detective, Mr. Wong. The makeup was certainly better.Marjorie Reynolds, as the pushy reporter Bobbie Logan is an absolute hoot -- she is brash, bossy, feminine; and, smart. She alone is reason enough for me to run out and buy the whole Wong collection! Mr. Wong is investigating the murder of a shipping magnate. The son of a rival, who was last seen with the deceased stands accused of the murder. After tracking down leads at the waterfront bar, another murder victim surfaces! With, of course, the ultimate conclusion (which I won't spoil for you.) The movie was entertaining; and, well-paced. The acting was fine, as I knew all the characters. The plot was plausible; but, a bit convoluted.

**SPOILERS** Last of Monograms James Lee Wong detective series with the great Boris Karloff playing the witty and preceptive Chinese sleuth. Wong gets involved in the mass murder of some 400 passengers of a cruise ship to cover up an illegal bond smuggling operation. Nowhere as good as the much better Charlie Chan detectives movies that James Lee Wong was an obvious spin off from but Karloff, as James Lee Wong, gives the series that class that it needs to make it at least watchable.As the president of the shipping company that owns the cruise ship Wentworth Castle Paul Wentworth realizes that he's been unknowingly involved in illegal bond smuggling and that his flagship, the Wentworth Castle, was sabotaged in order to cover that fact up, from the Maritime Commission and FBI. Wentworth is suddenly confronted by his rival in the shipping business Paul Fleming, who came over to Wentworth's office to offer his sympathies. This leads to a violent argument over Wenthworths son Dick's involvement with Fleming's daughter Cynthia.It turns out that Dick Fleming is in love with Wentworth's daughter Cynthia and wants her hand in marriage which the mad as hell Paul Wentworth, who feels that Fleming is trying to take over his shipping company, is totally against. In no time at all with young Dick showing, as his father left, up to talk some sense into the crazy old Wentworth's head there's a shot heard, off camera, and before you know it Wentworth is dead as a door nail! Dick is seen fleeing from his office and suspected by the police for Wentworth's murder.Seeing enough of these kind of films you just know that Dick is innocent but the cop on the scene, a captain no less, Bill Street in convinced that Dick is the killer For the rest of the movie Street makes a complete jerk of himself trying to prove it with all the evidence to Paul Wentworth's murder showing that it was someone else. Capt. Street is also hampered by this nosy and pesky reporter Bobbie Logan who, unlike him, feels that Dick didn't do it and in the end has the by them embarrassed cop, after being shown how completely wrong he was, forced to eat his hat with a little salt and pepper sprinkled on it to give it some taste.Wong who comes on the scene late in the film is convinced that, like everyone in the audience, Dick is innocent which leads the real killer to take aim on him wounding Wong when he's out on the street looking for evidence in the case. It turns out that a passenger on the cruise ship, Kia Ling who survived, which the unlucky 400 others didn't, was involved in this smuggling operating of illegal bonds. Kia after being discovered by Wong and Capt. Street in his dockside home murdered it's also discovered that he isn't Kia Ling who we and Det. Wong were lead to believe but Mr. Wentworth's Chinese houseboy and all around handyman Lem Hou!Hou had been working with someone very close to the late Mr. Wentworth in the smuggling operation and was himself knocked off when the real Mr. Big got a bit paranoid and wanted no one to be around to be able to finger him for one of the largest mass murder in US crime history. He didn't at all expect that Chinese/American super-sleuth James Lee Wong was to be put on the case by the Flemings. When Wong finally went to work to get Paul Fleming's son Dick off it was just a matter of time before the real killer of Paul Wentworth was apprehended. That is if the killer didn't get, or murder, James Lee Wong first.