The Mystery of Mr. Wong (1939)

Too much of everything

It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

Blistering performances.

Mr. Wong (Boris Karloff) attends a party where the host is murdered right in front of him. The host was kind of a d-bag and a thief who had stolen Chinese antiques in his possession. But still, Mr. Wong investigates to find out who killed him. As with any Wong movie, Karloff is the main reason to see it. Valerie Tree plays to the balcony. Ham city, kids. Craig Reynolds isn't much better, at least when he's with her. Every scene the two share is played like Romeo & Juliet. Grant Withers once again plays the police detective. He's less grumpy here than in his first Wong film. Lotus Long and Chester Gan are good in supporting roles. Decent time-killer. The Wong series was never on par with Charlie Chan but it was generally entertaining.

This second entry in the "Mr. Wong" series has a classic mystery setup: a game of charades at a party turns deadly when a gun supposedly loaded with blanks actually kills someone. Or is that really what happens? Luckily (or unluckily, for the murderer), the eminent detective Mr. Wong is among the guests, and is more than willing to help the police solve the murder. The sinister suspects, red herrings and other traditions of the genre are all present and accounted for, and while the direction may not be fanciful, it is efficient. Boris Karloff is very good as the calm, polite, observant, analytical Mr. Wong, helping you ignore the "wrong ethnicity" barrier. What is harder to ignore is that, in order to get to its admittedly unpredictable resolution, the script withholds vital information about the motive of the murderer; we never suspect him/her because we are given absolutely no reason to! Even with that reservation, I think most mystery buffs will find enough to enjoy in this film. **1/2 out of 4.

A prize sapphire has been stolen and received by collector Morgan Wallace right off a freighter in San Francisco bay before docking, thereby eluding customs. It's been stolen during the Japanese occupation in Nanking and Wallace is naturally in fear of his life as a result. It's no accident he's invited the great scholar and criminologist James Lee Wong as played by Boris Karloff to a reception that evening creating The Mystery Of Mr. Wong.Despite I think was a grammatically incorrect title and given this is a production from Monogram Pictures, this is not a bad mystery and very topical at the time. The news of the war waged on the Chinese by Japan was in the papers all the time.When the murder of Farley is actually committed it's during a game of charades where guest Grant Reynolds shoots Farley during a sketch and the man doesn't get up. In a manner worthy of Agatha Christie there are a whole host of subjects present at the mansion. It was just the killer's bad luck to do this with Wong present.One of these days I'll be bowled over when I find out that someone actually decides to call of a planned crime when some famous detective appears unplanned on the screen. Don't these people go to the movies?

Although this is a typical "B" movie from the 1930s, it is way above the average suspense flick from that period. It has a lot of interesting elements such as the presence of a valuable gem sapphire called "The Daughter of the Moon", a gunshot out of nowhere, a creepy old house, and a gathering of sinister characters in which all would have motives to commit murder.Karloff may seem superficially miscast seeming to look just passably Chinese with the makeup used, but one must consider the premise that Mr. Wong is supposed to be raised in England and educated at Heidelberg, Germany and Oxford, England which would account for his heavy British accent.The film continues at a fine pace throughout the film with the various characters functioning as red herrings (love triangles, attempts to reclaim the gem, another murder, an attempt on Mr. Wong's life) until the true murderer is revealed at the end of the film (which I won't reveal here).Worthy to be mentioned along with the best of the "Charlie Chan" and "Mr. Wong" series from the same period.10/10.Dan Basinger