The Fatal Hour (1940)

Good concept, poorly executed.

A Masterpiece!

The acting in this movie is really good.

Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

Unlike a few others reviewers, I don't have much of an objection to Boris Karloff playing a Chinese detective in these "Mr. Wong" movies. His ethnicity may be wrong, but his calmness, his politeness, his acute observation powers, his gentle humor, just about every other aspect of the character seem to be just right. "The Fatal Hour" is very low-budget and very slow-moving, but the script does have some innovative ideas in its mystery, and Marjorie Reynolds is cute as the nosy-but-resourceful reporter. Her relationship with the gruff, loud, but deep down inside loving police captain is actually very similar to the relationship between Torchy Blane and Steve McBride in the Glenda Farrell series which ran from 1936 to 1939. ** out of 4.

What will you find in and around an oceanside watering hole called The Neptune Club? A little jewel smuggling, a little multiple murder and a whole lot of red herrings. San Francisco policeman Bill Street (Grant Withers) teams up with Chinese super sleuth James Lee Wong (Boris Karloff) to get to the bottom of things. This involves weeding through an almost never-ending parade of suspects to find out which one is going around murdering those who threaten to expose a back room crime operation. And there may, or may not, be more to it than meets the eye. And you may, or may not, even be interested in even viewing this creaky old chestnut. The first ten/fifteen minutes don't exactly do an adequate job of reeling the viewer in, but the film does pick up speed and becomes more interesting (and entertaining) after awhile.Though listed as a horror-mystery, this is more of a mystery with a slightly higher body count than usual, a few shadowy horror movie-like touches (particularly a hand brandishing a pistol emerging from a dark corner of the bar) and, of course, the presence of horror legend Karloff. It's entirely set bound; I don't recall a single scene taking place outdoors, though there is frequent mention of a harbor, shipping docks and a secret passageway we never get to see. It's also incredibly talky, with very little on-screen action. There's no style, no visual flourishes and the camera-work itself is strictly of the point-and-shoot variety. However, the dialogue isn't too bad and neither are the characters. The film also has a sense of humor; namely Marjorie Reynolds as a plucky reporter who annoys the heck out of the fuzz by showing up at every crime scene unannounced but still manages to uncover many of the important clues.Withers' aggressive, reactionary, often-screaming policeman is almost perfectly balanced out by Karloff's smooth, observant and very patient oriental detective. The supporting cast is mostly decent; particularly Frank Puglia as the shady owner of the Neptune Club. Still, I wouldn't go out of my way to see this unless you're a Karloff completist or enjoy creaky lightweight rainy day murder mysteries. There are worse ways to pass an hour or your time. This was either the fourth or fifth entry in the Wong series; Karloff played the same character in MR. WONG, DETECTIVE (1938), MR. WONG IN CHINATOWN (1939), THE MYSTERIOUS MR. WONG (1939) and DOOMED TO DIE (1940).

Before Charlie Chan switched from Fox to low-budget Monogram Studios, Monogram created its own Chan knockoff in the form of the Mr. Wong movies. Like the Chan films, the lead character is some white guy in cheesy makeup--in this case, Boris Karloff. Unlike the Chan movies, Wong speaks without any particularly noticeable accent and he works without the assistance of his kids or Birmingham Brown. Instead, while not exactly his sidekick, the same nosy female reporter follows him and the police inspector during all the Wong films. Unfortunately, while the two series were awfully similar, the Chan series just seemed a lot more fun. A sense of whimsy was definitely missing from this film. Now as for the plot, it isn't bad at all but it also isn't enough to lift this from the category of a "time passer" and I can certainly see why Monogram soon dropped the Wong series in favor of their own line of Chan films. An interesting but ultimately ordinary film from start to finish. I wish I could say more about the film, but even after just watching it, nothing whatsoever stands out in my mind--and that says a lot about the film.

Although not as legendary or eloquent as his contemporary British colleague Sherlock Holmes, Oriental detective Mr. Wong successfully solved quite a lot of difficult cases as well, with his splendid observation talents and marvelous deduction skills. "The Fatal Hour" is the fourth film in a series of six, all but one starring the unequaled master-actor Boris Karloff in the role James Lee Wong. Police Captain Bill Street always calls him upon for help whenever there's a complex murder case with connections to the oriental community of San Francisco. In "The Fatal Hour", Street's colleague and long time friend Dan O'Grady has been murdered during his investigation of an extended oriental jewelry smuggling network. The owner of the dubious Neptune bar near the harbor – where all the smuggling import and export takes place - is the obvious suspect, but there are a lot more people involved. This isn't a very sensational film in terms of violent bloodshed or wild car chases, but the plot is quite compelling and the dialogues are fluently written. There are a couple of ingenious red herrings and I liked the realistic aspect that Wong isn't a superhero who prevents further murders from happening and thus has to face several more dead bodies during his investigation. Even though pretty much performing on automatic pilot, Karloff is terrific and he receives good feedback from the supportive cast. Particularly Marjorie Reynolds is likable as the obtrusive yet helpful gossip reporter Bobby Logan. Recommended in case you have 70 minutes to spare.