El misterio de Mr. Wong

1939's "The Mystery of Mr. Wong" was Boris Karloff's second entry in the six picture Monogram detective series, shooting in early February following completion of Universal's horror comeback "Son of Frankenstein." Lacking the numerous twists offered in his debut, number two just might be the better picture, boasting a superior cast and a more restrained Grant Withers, making his teamwork with Wong more believable. Morgan Wallace, present in the final Moto release "Mr. Moto Takes a Vacation," plays overbearing art collector Brendan Edwards, who smuggles out of China a priceless stone known as the 'Eye of the Daughter of the Moon,' which signals death for anyone who dares to steal it. Sure enough, Edwards is shot dead during a game of charades in front of dozens of guests, the would be shooter, Peter Harrison (Craig Reynolds), firing a pistol filled with blanks while playing a jealous husband, the victim's young wife Valerie (Dorothy Tree) also standing next to her spouse. Mr. Wong had learned of Edwards' possession of the jewel shortly before his death, and was aware of a note naming his killer in the event of his demise; naturally, both are missing from the safe in his upstairs study, though we see the maid Drina (Lotus Long) remove the message herself from an already opened safe. It's clear that Peter has developed feelings for Mrs. Edwards, as has houseguest Michael Strogonoff (Ivan Lebedeff), who has been living with the Edwards in the hopes of starting a singing career in America. Also attending the ill-fated party is fellow criminologist Ed Janney (Holmes Herbert), quick to assist in the murder investigation, while the Edwards attorney, Carslake (Hooper Atchley), supplies another motive with his client's insistence on making out a new will disinheriting wife Valerie, but not living long enough to sign it. After the maid perishes from a poisoned cigarette, Wong gathers all the suspects at his home to examine the missing document naming the culprit, going over each suspect and their reasoning before coming upon the guilty party in a well thought out and logical fashion; were it not for a significant bit of information kept from the audience, it might have been the best climax of them all (the plot was a rehash of the 1931 Tiffany independent "Murder at Midnight"). Craig Reynolds would return for 4th entry "The Fatal Hour," Lotus Long would feature twice more, and Dorothy Tree would actually graduate to a Sidney Toler entry at Fox, "Charlie Chan in City in Darkness." Boris moved on to complete his Warner Brothers pact with "British Intelligence" before reporting back to Monogram for "Mr. Wong in Chinatown."

Having a popular, first-rate actor like Boris Karloff in the title role of its Mr. Wong mystery series added an unaccustomed touch of class to poverty row studio Monogram's usual low-budget lineup of undistinguished programmers. The portrayal of the genteel Chinese detective must have likewise been a nice change of pace for the refined Englishman from the run of monsters and other sinister types he had been typically cast. Okay, so Karloff looked about as much like a Percheron ice wagon horse as a Chinaman. Let's just assume he was one of a those half-British Hong Kong Wongs. In any case he manages to project a convincing Oriental ambiance with only a minimum of makeup, while showing the maximum of sophisticated acting talent his fans have come to expect. Monogram seems to have responded by giving the Mr. Wong series the best staff and the biggest budget the financially disadvantaged studio could scrape together to support Karloff, who was a bigger name than they were used to having around.

The Mystery Of Mr. Wong, second in the series, is immeasurably better produced than the first entry. Nice sets, both interior and exterior, smart, well-lighted cinematography and tight editing complement William Nigh's sharp direction. A full-bodied, original score by Edward J. Kay enhances the drama, action, and suspense while setting the just-right mysterious, exotic, and sometimes spooky atmosphere. The Scott Darling screenplay is complex and intelligent with engaging, at times even snappy, dialog. It presents a classic drawing room style mystery. The principle murder victim is a cad hated by all, which makes practically every character a suspect. Clues appear and disappear, sometimes even falling out of pictures on the wall. Karloff gets a competent supporting cast including elegant, if not so well-known leading lady Dorothy Tree, polished, oft-seen character actor Holmes Herbert, and stalwart Grant Withers in his reoccurring role as tough cop Captain Street. The police in this one are portrayed as less overbearing and bumbling than in the previous entry -- perhaps there were complaints from the policemen's benevolent associations. It's a mixed blessing. While the cops here are more efficient and less disruptive to the cagey Mr. Wong's efforts to solve the case, they are inevitably and sadly less humorous. While those of the politically correct persuasion may complain about an Occidental playing the Chinese detective, these little movies nevertheless gave good employment to a number of Oriental supporting actors, notably in this one Lotus Long, as a maid who knows more than she should about the mystery, Chester Gan as the no-nonsense butler who tries to help the police, and Lee Tung Foo in a reoccurring role as Mr. Wong's efficient manservant. The producers of the series gave pretty Ms. Long parts in two other Mr. Wong numbers, including the leading lady role in Phantom Of Chinatown (1940).

The Mystery of Mr. Wong nimbly belies its cheap origins all the way through -- so well put together, intriguing, smoothly paced, and entertaining, it seems almost like an "A" picture, or at least a big studio a "B" production. Karloff is a delight. Viewing the first two movies in the set, has made the fifteen bucks I sprang for VCI's well restored two-disk album of all six Mr. Wong movies look like the shopping coup of the season. If you like off-beat little mystery potboilers that pack a load of entertainment into a short running time, then Mr. Wong is wight for you! Sorry, I couldn't resist.

Having seen a number of these Mr. Wong movies, I was expecting to see a much more minimal production. They must have had a little more money for this one. As usual, the plot is a little obtuse. The jewel that is at the center of all the activity apparently has a curse on it. The "bad guy" who aren't really the bad guys want to return it to its proper setting, in a museum in China. The master collector whose house looks like a museum, with lots of Oriental artifacts, doesn't listen when warned. A young man, who has a thing for the collector's wife, is implicated in his murder (the death occurs at the time he fires a stunt gun during a game of charades). Mr. Wong realizes that there are some extenuating circumstances and that a silencer was brought into play. There is nice action and some good suspects. It keeps us guessing to the very conclusion. Even the murderer isn't without sympathy. Not a bad little whodunnit.

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?

When compared to the typical genre mystery of it's time, this movie is quite good. Karloff raises the level with his measured acting, and the film is mercifully free of the comic relief clowning that was so common at the time.

This is one of those 'house' mysteries. Most of the action occurs in one house - the house of a wealthy man, as always. And, as is so often true in the genre, the detective just happens to be on the scene when the murder occurs. Another plus for this film is that the policeman - Detective Street - is not a buffoon. Street is less a foil than an aid to Mr Wong, allowing us to take the story seriously - although we can't be too serious. There are obvious red herrings, and sudden reveals of facts we didn't have. For all that, the Wong series came after the clunkiness of the early talkies had been worked out, and the acting is much closer to what we would come to expect from classic studio products.

Although I always struggle with Karloff as a Chinese - unlike the Chan series, for some reason - I have to say the role he played got the job done. This film is out of copyright, and is available online for free, and on at least one low-priced mystery collection. I found it at the library in a 5 CD Mystery and Murder set.