Mr. Moto und der China-Schatz

This was the 2nd of the 8 Fox Moto's, and like its predecessor Think Fast, was a fast paced action/detective film with high production values and a fine cast of goodies and baddies.

It starts out in the Gobi Desert with Moto in possession of something valuable, stabbing an attacker to death and burying him without a pause – all becomes clear an hour later. Back in civilised China he and a bunch of gangsters are after 7 linen scrolls which indicate the whereabouts of Genghis Khan's fortune – Moto has one, nouveau poor Prince Chung and his rigid mother have the others … for the time being. When Moto finally gets to see them his monotone evaluation of their beauty: "The harmony of line and colour – this is truly a voiceless poem" – always makes me think of John Wayne's immortal line in The Greatest Story Ever Told. Non-Oriental Austrian Peter Lorre again plays the importer and detective with class, vim and believably if you understand you're using up your time watching a work of fantasy. Thomas Beck's in here playing handsome devil to glamorous Jayne Regan this time; both had short movie careers. And from the collection of baddies nasty Sidney Blackmer especially stood out, but even he didn't get to kill as many as Moto did! There's a chase sequence near the end which is brought to a rather dramatic conclusion – attention recommended!

Great stuff as usual for the enlightened, nothing here for the serious. You watch this, you savvy?

Exemplary Mr Moto entry is the darkest in the series and boasts a compelling emotional undertow that's as effective as it is unexpected. For once, the lame comic relief is expunged (studio execs, no doubt, forced its quick return) which allows Peter Lorre's wonderful characterization an extra bit of space to work in while following the procedural detective tropes and handling Moto's apt witticisms. (That's Lorre's stunt double handling the physical stuff.) The basic story involving some antique Chinese scrolls that make up a sort of treasure map was (atypically) based on a novel by Moto creator John P. Marquand and this may add to the tough, blunt tone hiding just below the surface. All the Moto films entertain, but this one sticks with you.

"Adventurer, explorer, soldier of fortune...one of the Orient's mysteries. No one knows much about him, except that when he shows up something usually happens." It would be wise to remember, also, that when Kentaro Moto fights an opponent, he most often wins by killing the man.

Mr. Moto (Peter Lorre), in his second film adventure for Twentieth Century Fox, is on the hunt for a rare scroll painting, one of seven that together hold the key to where in the Gobi desert lies the lost tomb of Genghis Khan...a tomb filled with gold, gems and legendary treasure. The scrolls themselves are priceless works of art from the time of Kublai Khan that had been in the possession of a noble handmaiden to the last great Chinese empress. But the seventh had been stolen from her and her son. Mr. Moto is on the trail, but so is a group of unscrupulous collectors and fortune hunters who won't stop at murder to achieve their end.

All this starts out in a caravan crossing the Gobi with Mr. Moto disguised to the nines and fending off a knife-wielding camel driver. Then we're in exotic Pekin (Beijing nowadays) for the rest of the movie, moving from posh hotels filled with wealthy Westerners (and Mr. Moto) wearing white suits and shoes to ancient, crowded streets filled with antique shops, hurrying Chinese, carts, rickshaws and gunmen. The climax is a struggle in a filthy river and aboard a huge junk. Mr. Moto's death toll is not excessive considering the provocations. The scrolls, now united, meet an honorable fate. We even get a bit of philosophy from Mr. Moto to ponder while we struggle for our last breath..."Birth is not a beginning...death is not an end."

Thank You, Mr. Moto works so well because it moves briskly and the Moto character is not condescended to, or at least not much. There also are some vivid character actors to enjoy. Two of my favorites are Sig Ruman as Colonel Tchernov, a wealthy and ruthless man who will have what he wants to have. Ruman, for me, always looked impressive as a nobleman or pompous boor. When I hear his voice and accent, I can't help but smile at the sound of all those comic Nazis he played later in movies such as To Be or Not to Be and Stalag 17. John Carradine shows up as Periera, a small but pungent part as an obsequious and unreliable antiques dealer. Most of all, however, the Mr. Moto movies are such good entertainment because of Peter Lorre. He manages to look innocent while being no one's fool. Lorre gives us a ruthless and amusing portrayal.

This is a fairly typical Mr. Moto film from the superb B-unit at Twentieth Century Fox, but I was quite surprised by certain elements of depth in the film. There are moments of brutality that exceed what was standard in films, especially B-films, of the time. But more interesting was the emotional factor. One scene, the last scene between Peter Lorre's Moto and Philip Ahn's Prince Chung, is really amazing for its humanity and poignant quality, something not readily found in 67-minute programmers of the period. The Moto films, like the Charlie Chans Fox made, are all splendidly made little pictures. This one is better than most.

...from 20th Century Fox and director Norman Foster. Mr. Moto (Peter Lorre) is in China tracking down members of a smuggling ring specializing in local artifacts, especially anything pertaining to the tomb of Genghis Khan. Also featuring Thomas Beck, Pauline Frederick, Sidney Blackmer, Sig Rumann, Jayne Regan, Philip Ahn, Wilhelm von Brincken, Nedda Harrigan, John Bleifer, Richard Loo, Victor Sen Yung, and John Carradine.

This was as enjoyable as the first. It's more outrageous than most of the other B mysteries of the period. Moto is still presented as an odd, creepy character that others in the story have trouble figuring out. He's ill-defined, with characters saying that he's a soldier of fortune, an adventurer, a freelance detective, or something in between. He's also very violent, a master of judo who seems to revel in throwing people around rooms and occasionally off balconies. He's also quick with a gun, and more people are shot and killed on screen in these first two Moto movies than in all of the Charlie Chan movies combined.