Starring Boris Karloff, Marjorie Reynolds, Grant Withers, William Stelling, Catherine Craig
Directed by William Nigh
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)
When her friend's fiancee is accused of the murder of a shipping magnate, reporter Bobbie Logan calls in Mr. Wong to try and clear the young man.
This was Boris Karloff's last go-round as Hugh Wiley's Oriental detective, and I found the script of the mystery, with a wealth of suspects and a few clever ideas, somewhat engaging before a hasty conclusion wraps things up without really spelling out the murderer's motive. Static camerawork and too-dark scenery doesn't help matters, but there are some notable character actors in the cast, including Angelo Rossitto of Freaks in a brief appearance as a midget newsboy. I found the film to fare no better or worse than Karloff's other Wong films, although the actor doesn't have much to do here, so overall I would rank this near the bottom of his filmography.
Showing posts with label Marjorie Reynolds. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Marjorie Reynolds. Show all posts
Tuesday, October 17, 2017
Friday, September 22, 2017
The Fatal Hour (1940)
Starring Boris Karloff, Marjorie Reynolds, Grant Withers, Charles Trowbridge, Frank Puglia
Directed by William Nigh
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)
Captain Street counts on the aid of Mr. Wong to unravel the murder of a fellow cop who was drowned while investigating a smuggling ring.
Oriental detectives seemed all the rage in the 1930s and 1940s, with Charlie Chan, Mr. Moto, and Boris Karloff's Mr. Wong all solving mysteries in their own series of pictures. The Mr. Wong series, distributed by Poverty Row studio Monogram Pictures, had Karloff, but had probably the lowest production values of all the series. Although it's difficult to imagine the British horror icon as passing for Chinese today, the actor had been cast in exotic roles for some time before, notably as the sinister Fu Manchu, and to his credit gives a dignified performance uncouched in stereotype. This installment is an at times boring affair, with long drawn out scenes and static photography, although I liked it more than other films in the series, due to the presence of Trowbridge, one of my favorite character actors, and a fairly clever plot device establishing a murderer's alibi late in the film.
Directed by William Nigh
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)
Captain Street counts on the aid of Mr. Wong to unravel the murder of a fellow cop who was drowned while investigating a smuggling ring.
Oriental detectives seemed all the rage in the 1930s and 1940s, with Charlie Chan, Mr. Moto, and Boris Karloff's Mr. Wong all solving mysteries in their own series of pictures. The Mr. Wong series, distributed by Poverty Row studio Monogram Pictures, had Karloff, but had probably the lowest production values of all the series. Although it's difficult to imagine the British horror icon as passing for Chinese today, the actor had been cast in exotic roles for some time before, notably as the sinister Fu Manchu, and to his credit gives a dignified performance uncouched in stereotype. This installment is an at times boring affair, with long drawn out scenes and static photography, although I liked it more than other films in the series, due to the presence of Trowbridge, one of my favorite character actors, and a fairly clever plot device establishing a murderer's alibi late in the film.
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