Mr. Moto in Danger Island (1939)

The Worst Film Ever

Purely Joyful Movie!

I don't have all the words right now but this film is a work of art.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

The U.S. government asks Mr. Moto (Peter Lorre) to go to Puerto Rico to investigate diamond smuggling after an earlier investigator is murdered.This was the final film of Mr. Moto, at least until his very brief revival decades later (with mixed results). As much as Peter Lorre excelled in the role, it ran its course and few have probably mourned the loss.The script was initially a Charlie Chan story, but quickly turned into a Moto tale. What does this say about the two that they could be interchangeably altered so easily? What is interesting is that for all the concerns of racism this series may provoke (with a German portraying a Japanese man), the possibly more racist portrayal is the black boat captain. Looking back today, it is often surprising how few black actors their were in mainstream films, and those that were present were treated as comic relief.

Mr. Moto (Peter Lorre) investigates diamond smuggling in Puerto Rico with comic relief sidekick Twister McGuirk (Warren Hymer). Pretty good entry in the Moto series. The second-to-last, sadly. Lorre's flawlessly fun, as usual. A lot of people don't seem to like the addition of a sidekick for Moto and I sympathize with that. However, it's really not that bad if you like Hymer's shtick, which I do. If you judge it on its own and not by comparison to the best of the series, I think you'll like it. Exceptional supporting cast features Jean Hersholt, Leon Ames, Richard Lane, Douglas Dumbrille, Robert Lowery, and Paul Harvey. Amanda Duff fulfills the movie's quota for pretty. Ward Bond appears in the opening scene as a wrestler who gets tossed around by Mr. Moto. Also, watch how they drive those big old cars around those tight street sets. I kept expecting someone to clip a building!

Mr. Moto has been called to Puerto Rico to investigate diamond smuggling. As his predecessor was found murdered, Moto knows that the gang he's up against will kill to keep their illicit business in operation. Moto quickly comes to the conclusion that there must be leak within the Governor's inner circle. But these are trusted men! Surely Moto must be wrong. And what does the swamp that once harbored pirates have to do with the band of modern day criminals? It's up to Moto to put the pieces together.While none of the movies in the Moto series could be called "high art", most provide at least an entertaining way to spend just over an hour. Of the 6 or so Moto movies I've now seen, Mr. Moto in Danger Island is easily the least of the bunch. While Peter Lorre is as entertaining as always and seems to be giving it his all, the plot lets him down at every turn. In many of these movies from the 30s, the plots rely on coincidence (or plain old dumb luck) to solve the mystery. The set of circumstances required to solve the mystery in Mr. Moto in Danger Island borders on being ridiculous. And while I'm on the subject of things in the movie that bothered me, I'll mention that not once did the movie feel like it was actually set in Puerto Rico. I cannot remember seeing anyone who even resembled a Puerto Rican. Given all the white guys present, the movie looks like it should have been set in Des Moines instead of Puerto Rico.Still, it's Moto and I'm a sucker for this kind of stuff. I just love these stage-bound adventure type movies form the 30s. As I mentioned, Lorre is entertaining. For the most part, the supporting cast is just as strong. I always enjoy Leon Ames and Douglass Dumbrille every time I see them pop-up in one of these movies. Also on the positive side, while it may not have looked like Puerto Rico, the movie still looked great. I'm not all that familiar with the cinematographer, Lucien N. Andriot, but I'll give him the credit for making Mr. Moto in Danger Island look far better than it should have given its meager budget.In the end, it's not great, but I can think of far worse ways spend and hour. Fans of the Moto series will find enough to make them happy. For what it's worth, I'll give Mr. Moto in Danger Island a 6/10.

Another entry in the late 1930's Mr. Moto series from Twentieth Century Fox, this one finds the Japanese sleuth in an adventure on the island of Puerto Rico. As in the first film, "Think Fast, Mr. Moto", the plot involves a diamond smuggling operation, and it too involves transport of the gems via cruise ships, however most of Mr. Moto's (Peter Lorre) investigation takes place on dry land.One of the things I liked about the early Charlie Chan movies from Fox were the references often made to events in a prior picture. In this story, Moto allows himself to be mistaken for a Japanese outlaw named Shimura. When Commissioner Gordon (Richard Lane) converses with a government official in the U.S., he learns that Moto will use any ruse as part of his investigation, learning of the escape from a Devil's Island prison camp in the prior movie, "Mysterious Mr. Moto". It's those little insertions that make the Oriental Detective movies so much fun for me.As in all the Moto films, this one features the sleuth in various martial arts scenes, but with a noticeable difference. In all the prior stories, the fights were almost always staged in very dim, even dark locations. The ones on display here are done in broad daylight, but even so, it's impossible to detect the stunt man (Harvey Parry) responsible for the flips and throws. Speaking of which, even Douglas Dumbrille's character La Costa manages to get a round house kick in on Moto's sidekick in the film, wrestler Twister McGurk (Warren Hymer). Twister becomes Moto's shadow for virtually the entire picture, thanks in part to Moto's distraction of opponent Sailor Sam in the film's opening sequence. Anyone else do a double take to see Ward Bond in that role?Keep an eye on the scenes involving Moto's second trip into the swamp in the latter half of the film. The lower half of Mr. Moto's pants are alternately muddy and clean in scenes that take place at the villains' camp.Some viewers may find the later pictures in the Moto series to be inferior to the early ones, but I have to say that this one was as entertaining to me as the ones that went before. By now one has a pretty good sense of how Moto operates, solving the crime via a series of masquerades, martial arts and clever analysis. The addition of some comic relief to this film by way of Twister's malapropisms was just the right touch to keep things moving along briskly.