GamerTab That was an excellent one.

Micransix Crappy film

Dorathen Better Late Then Never

MoPoshy Absolutely brilliant

lugonian MYSTERIOUS MR. MOTO (20th Century-Fox, 1938), as scripted and directed by Norman Foster, resumes Peter Lorre as the Japanese bespectacled sleuth, Kentaro Moto, based on the character created by John P. Marquand, in another well-paced crime caper. Though fifth in general release, this series is known by historians to be one to seldom be distributed to theaters in order of production. An improvement over its previous entry, MR. MOTO TAKES A CHANCE (1938), this edition resorts to the usual plotting with interesting results.The story opens with the escape of two convicts from Devil's Island: Paul Brissac (Leon Ames) and his Japanese cellmate, Mr. Moto (Peter Lorre), posing under the name of Ito Kartol. Chased by prison guards with sniffing hounds, the convicts dodge bullets and wild leopard on a tree before breaking away down the river inside a canoe. After a few days of uncertainty, the convicts make their way to freedom onto a steamer where they manage to obtain a new set of clothes. Arriving in London, Brissac goes under an assumed name of Romero with "Kartol" acting as his Japanese houseboy. Taking up residence at 27B Half Moon Street, Kartol is given the day off while Brissac gets to talk over business with visiting associates, Ernst Litmar (Harold Huber) and George Higgins (Forrester Harvey). As much as Litmar doesn't trust this Japanese servant, he at least has managed work into the trusted confidence of Brissac. In the meantime, Mr. Moto makes his contact with Sir Charles Murchison (Lester Matthews) of New Scotland Yard, updating him of his secret mission; and Lotus Liu (Karen Sorrell), another personal contact and undercover agent taking up residence on the second floor of the Blue Peter Tavern, with information leading Moto to the Park Lane Hotel to meet with Anton Darvak, a Czech inventor of a new steel formula. Through the course of the story, it is revealed that Mr. Moto is going undercover to learn the identity of the leader of the League of Assassins stationed in England, which explains his association with Brissac, who's first assignment is his connection with Darvak. As Moto converses with Anton Darvak (Henry Wilcoxon), his personal secretary, Ann Richman (Mary Maguire), reveals she's in fear of his life following a series of death threatening letters and phone calls. While Darvak refuses to be intimidated, David Scott Fresham (Erik Rhodes), his business associate, advises him not take these threats lightly. When Litmar discovers "Kartol" to be Mr. Moto of the International Police, he arranges for "Kartol" to meet with an "accident" while walking through the dangerous district of Gladstone Street while at the same time plotting an perfect "accident" on Darvak that's to take place at the Conventry Gallery Exhibition the following day.What makes this particular entry interesting besides its pacing is its casting of supporting players whose names mean very little today to contemporary viewers: Henry Wilcoxon, best known for his two breakthrough performances under director Cecil B. DeMille's epics as CLEOPATRA (1934) and THE CRUSADES (1935), who, by this time, after such a promising start in his career, having failed to enhance his career as an important actor of major movie productions; Erik Rhodes, the familiar Italian accented character actor immortalized from two Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers musicals, THE GAY Divorcée (1934) and TOP HAT (1935), here adding his familiarity and humor with the lessening in his accented speech; and Leon Ames, later to become a prominent father figure in many family oriented MGM movies of the 1940s and later television, as one of the bad guys. Among others in support are: Fredrik Vogeding (Gottfried Brunjo); John Rogers ("Sniffy"); Mitchell Lewis (Captain Nola); Sam Harris (Lord Gilford, a murder victim); and Billy Bevan (The Passport Inspector).Regardless of fine support from the aforementioned actors, Peter Lorre, as usual, gathers the most attention. Aside from posing as a houseboy speaking in Japanese lingo and at one point disguised as an eccentric bearded art critic, there's one intense scene placed in a bar where he must play a weakling surrounded by "violent types" so not to arouse suspicion to his true identity. There's also familiar scenes as Moto's self defense using jujitsu methods, near death experiences with hired thugs, and chase scenes before the big surprise of Moto's revealing the actual group leader before the 62 minutes is over.Commonly broadcast on commercial television anywhere between the 1960s to 1990s, MYSTERIOUS MR. MOTO, along with seven other entries in the series, have become available for viewing and enjoyment on DVD. In spite of some flaws, that could easily be overlooked, this entry is no disappointment. Next in the series, MR. MOTO'S LAST WARNING (1939). (**1/2)

kapelusznik18 ****SPOILERS*** International crime fighter Mister Moto, Peter Lorre goes under cover as an escaped murderer from Devil's Island with his cell-mate Paul Brissac, Leon Ames, to infiltrate Brissac league of Assassins. It's the Assassins who are targeting Czech industrialist Anton Darvak, Henry Wilcoxon, for death in him not playing ball with them. Darvak had developed this super steel formula that he's keeping it to himself not wanting it to fall into the wrong hands in case a war breaks out somewhere on the globe. Threatened with death if he doesn't give the league the formula Darvak fluffs the threats off until his good friend Lord Gilford, Sam Harris,, is killed in a truck, that crushed him, accident. That as a warning to him to give up the steel formula to those war mongering international gangsters that the League is working for.Mr. Moto who's now Brissac's manservant got all the information in what's planned for Darvak and all by himself tries to prevent it from happening. As it turns out Darvak is to be set up for elimination at the London Art Gallary by the head of the League of Assassins,????, who's in fact a close friend of his. This has Mr. Moto, who by then found out what's going down, try to prevent that from happening by going undercover as a German art critic. And by doing that have the man planning to do Darvak in get done in, with a 500 pound chandelier landing on his head, instead.***SPOILERS*** With his cover as an escaped murderer as well as manservant blown Mister Moto's life is now in danger of being snuffed out by the league of Assassins that has him use his acrobatic and martial skills to put them out of business. Even after the big man,???, was put out of action with a super splitting, caused by the 500 pound chandelier, headache Mister Moto had his hands full with Brissac who just had to finish the job that he at first started; To kill Anton Darvak on the orders of his now deceased boss the had man of the Assassion League. It was a futile effort on his part in that Mister Moto put Brissac away, with his martial art fighting skills, without as much as breaking out in a sweat in the knock down and drag out free for all he had with him at the end of the film.

zetes Of all the yellowface performances I've ever seen from classic Hollywood, Peter Lorre's Mr. Moto strikes me as the least offensive. The only times the character comes off as too stereotypical are when Mr. Moto is trying to trick dumb white people into thinking he's an ignorant heathen. Most of the time he's exceedingly intelligent, a Japanese Sherlock Holmes. He even has a couple of action sequences (apparently the audiences at the time ate up the Judo stuff). Lorre's just great in the role. The rest of the cast here is fine, too (the most recognizable actors are Henry Wilcoxon and Erik Rhodes). The Asian detective character was extremely popular at the time, the most famous of them being Charlie Chan (there's also Boris Karloff's Mr. Wong). I'm planning to take in a Charlie Chan and Mr. Wong film (n.b. I did end up watching Mr. Wong, Detective afterward, and it was pretty good, too) just for comparison. I also plan on watching all the other Mr. Moto films available to me. I love Lorre and very much enjoyed this film.

blanche-2 Peter Lorre is "Mysterious Mr. Moto," a Japanese detective who seems to know everything that's going on. A very likable character, Moto, not surprisingly, stopped solving crimes after Pearl Harbor.In this, the fifth entry into the series, Moto escapes Devil's Island with another man, Paul Brissac (Leon Ames), as Moto is on the trail of an assassination group, of which Brissac is a member. Moto wants the top man. Since Brissac trusts him, Moto becomes his houseboy and gets a look at the rest of the group. But not the leader. The group is threatening the life of a man, Anton Darvak (Henry Wilcoxon), who has a steel formula the group wants. Moto works to protect him.The film has a very lively denouement, and Moto dons several disguises during the film. Peter Lorre is wonderful. Moto has it all over Chan, as it takes Chan time to figure things out. Moto seems to know it all pretty early on, and he's quite an active participant in whatever it takes to solve the crime.It's impossible to believe, however, that a man one step up from the village idiot, Anton Darvak, has any type of a formula unless it's for adding 2 and 2. He's not worth protecting, that's for sure.This is a short movie, and the main thing it's got going for it is Lorre. The plot isn't great. And as short as it is, some of it moves slowly. But what action there is, is very good.