Mr. Moto und der Dschungelprinz

Peter Lorre stars in "Mr. Moto Takes a Chance," in this 1938 entry into the series. Lorre, of course, as Moto is the main reason for watching this film, but the rest of the cast here is very good: Rochelle Hudson, J. Edward Bromberg, Robert Kent, and Chick Chandler.

Working for the government, Moto is on assignment in French Cambodia to defuse two antigovernment plots, one lead by a holy man, Bokor against the local leader, Rajah Ali, and the other plot, led by Rajah Ali, who wants to start war against French rule. Parachuting into all this is Victoria Mason, aviatrix, an Amelia Earhart type but awfully pretty, flirtatious, and glamorous for someone whose plane just caught on fire. There are also two goofy newsreel photographers who keep getting into trouble.

Moto plays a double role here, that of Moto and an elderly mystic who looks like he could be over 150. Lorre gives that role just the right touch - he's not fooling the audience and he knows it. Petite Rochelle Hudson is very pretty and vivacious.

This film was the second Moto film but held back because it was thought to be not as strong as Thank You, Mr. Moto, to follow the first film. Like another poster, I'm not buying it, so the holdup remains a mystery. It's highly unlikely that Darryl Zanuck wasted five minutes thinking about the Mr. Moto series, except, of course, when the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor. Then he thought about the series long enough to pull it.

In the jungle near Angkor Wat in Cambodia, Mr. Moto (Peter Lorre) poses as an ineffectual archaeologist and a venerable holy man with mystical powers to help foil two insurgencies against the government.

When one of the characters say this of Lorre, you know the film is a winner: "If I was casting a horror picture, I'd have him playing the murderer." Just a brilliant nod to Lorre's career at that point, with such notable films as "M" and "Mad Love" under his belt.

One cannot deny the excellent makeup, which remains creepy even close up. Although uncredited, the work seems to have been done by Bill Cooley, a largely unknown figure. Of the mere twelve makeup jobs IMDb lists for him, only three were actually credited on screen. How much other work did he do and go unrecognized?

Mr. Moto goes undercover in the Cambodian jungle as an archaeologist. There he tangles with a nefarious high priest and a Rajah (J. Edward Bromberg) who's more threatening than he seems. Also in the mix are a couple of goofy newsreel photographers (Robert Kent, Chick Chandler) and an aviatrix (Rochelle Hudson).

In most of these Moto films, Peter Lorre seems to be having lots of fun and this one's no exception. He's great to watch. As another reviewer pointed out, Moto uses a disguise that strongly resembles Yoda. Chick Chandler is often annoying. Robert Kent isn't much better. The movie could only have been improved by removing their characters. J. Edward Bromberg seems like comic relief at first but his character's pretty sinister. He serves Mr. Moto his carrier pigeon for dinner! Next to Lorre, Rochelle Hudson is the best reason to watch this. She's gorgeous and does a great job playing the adventuress. She has more sex appeal with a ripped shirt exposing one bare shoulder than most actresses have fully nude.

This one plays more like a jungle adventure film than a detective one. But it's pretty fun, with neat temple sets and nice performances from Lorre and Hudson.

Another reviewer has disparaged this film, indicating that P. L. has a small part and that HE is the sole reason to watch it.

Not true.

Rochelle Hudson is an important addition to this film. Her performance in this Mr. Moto movie is well worth watching. She is also one of the most beautiful actresses you're ever likely to see.

If this movie ever becomes available on DVD, I hope I learn of it--I would gladly purchase same.

On the basis chiefly of Rochelle Hudson's contributions, I would rate this film 3 1/2 stars out of 5--or 7 out of 10. Viewers who are real Rochelle Hudson fans might well give it a 9 or a 10.

Mr. Moto is posing as an archaeologist but in reality he's investigating reports that there is soon to be an uprising against the colonial government. Soon after he arrives, an Amelia Earhart-like woman conveniently "drops in" as well as two wildlife documentary film makers--making this part of rural Thailand about the busiest place in the entire country!!

Some things about MR. MOTO TAKES A CHANCE are very good and make this a stand out film. First, instead of being stuck on a cruise ship or in the big city, Moto is in Thailand--a nice departure indeed. Second, like the earliest Moto films, our hero is NOT above killing his enemies--making Moto quite the different from Charlie Chan. Later Moto films are quite different, with Moto acting almost exactly like Chan--so in general, the later the films were made the worse they were.

Unfortunately, the film also had more than its share of dopey moments, such as the bats that flew up out of the trap door. Not only were they obviously fake, but you could very, very clearly see the strings! There was also an overuse of stock footage. While fortunately the animals were correct (such as Asian elephants, tigers and orangutans) but sometimes the clips were a bit grainy and seemed like they were thrown in for padding. In addition, the one cameraman character (the obviously "goofy" one) was a bit annoying. He seemed to be some sort of unnecessary comic relief and really detracted from the film.''

Overall, not a particularly inspired film and far from one of the better films in the series. Watchable but it's only a time-passer for everyone but Moto fans.