The Mysterious Mr. Wong

This is one of the strangest I have watched in a good while. Of course an hour is not too long to devote to one of your horror film favorites. Disappointment sets in when you realize this is not horror, just odd. Bela Lugosi plays a ruthless Chinese villain that is not short in ordering murder in order to collect the fabled 'twelve coins of Confucius' for himself. Conveniently the coins are concentrated in New York City's Chinatown. Adding to the mystery and oddity of Lugosi's character...his thick Hungarian accent is not disguised.

Note:Lugosi's arch rival Boris Karloff had a series of Mr. Wong Chinese detective flicks also directed by William Nigh.

1934's "The Mysterious Mr. Wong" casts Hungarian Bela Lugosi in something of a dual role: Fu Wong the titular character a 'Mad Manchurian' (a Poverty Row Fu Manchu) seeking 12 coins given out by Confucius on his death bed, which would enable the owner to command the Chinese province of Keelat, and his elderly masquerade as herb dealer Li See, whose shop is connected to Wong's inner sanctum through a secret panel. The picture begins with a series of murders that have authorities believing there's another Tong war, Wong's henchmen successfully delivering 11 coins, each corpse identified by a piece of Chinese writing. The downward spiral introduces Wallace Ford as roving reporter Jason Barton, wisecracking with Irish cop McGillicuddy (Robert Emmet O'Connor), various comings and goings repeated endlessly as the elusive final coin is passed from person to person. Arline Judge gets in a few shots as Barton's sweetheart, but the comic relief overwhelms the rest of the film, leaving Lugosi in a vacuum to carry the burden on his own, as he so often did in low budget productions (not enough screen time at 18 minutes). Ford also opposed Bela in "Night of Terror" and "The Ape Man," but this nauseating newshound is his worst yet, on par with Lee Tracy's unfunny antics opposite Lionel Atwill in "Doctor X." This was Lugosi's only film for the original Monogram company, soon to be absorbed into Herbert J. Yates' Republic Pictures, a new Monogram emerging from the ashes to kick off Sam Katzman's infamous 9 picture deal in 1941. An entirely new Mr. Wong inspired by Charlie Chan would later allow Boris Karloff a crime solving respite during the horror blackout of the late 30s, a six film series concluding in 1940 with one shot Wong Keye Luke doing the honors in the closer "Phantom of Chinatown." Concluding a year playing heroes in "The Black Cat" and "The Return of Chandu," Lugosi returned to full time villainy back to back in both this and Columbia's forgotten programmer "The Best Man Wins," before well remembered roles in MGM's "Mark of the Vampire," and Universals "The Raven" and "The Invisible Ray."

Modern viewers must be forgiven if they're confused over the genre of this Bela Lugosi film. It's crime pulp, something hardly seen today except in Quentin Tarantino films. The focus is on the villain, in this case Lugosi as a Chinese(!) gangster tracking down the twelve coins of Confucius. The only mystery is how he will be stopped and whether or not he will escape to cause trouble another day.

Wallace Ford is fun as the wry reporter (reminding me a bit of Chevy Chase). And Arline Judge is as cute as a button as the switchboard operator he's trying to romance. It all takes place in Chinatown, for some reason, with plenty of casual bigotry, altho its sometimes turned around on the bigot for comic comeuppance (as when Ford talks pidgin to a Chinese girl only to be answered in fluent English).

If you like the era, this is a fun film and a good example of the genre. It's got the menacing thugs, mysterious murders, and secret passageways you expect and a bit of sassy dialog to boot.

This film is based on Harry Stephen Keeler's novel Sing Sing Nights. If you think the film is weird, read the book! It also inspired the movie "Sing Sing Nights." For more information on both films, see CULT MOVIES No. 26.

The Mysterious Mr. Wong (1934)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

Reporter Jason Barton (Wallace Ford) begins to investigate a murder, which leads him to a set of twelve coins, which legend has can help a person control the world if they posses all of them. This investigation leads to Mr. Wong (Bela Lugosi) who appears to be willing to stop at nothing to get the final coin that he needs.

THE MYSTERIOUS MR. WONG is exactly the type of "B" film you'd expect Monogram to release during this era. Obviously Fox was doing outstanding business with their Charlie Chan series so smaller studios were taking Asian characters and doing their own thing. This low- budget movie is pretty typical for the era but with Lugosi in the lead that adds a lot more fun to it.

I said typical of the era because if you watch enough movies from this period then you'll realize that all sorts of them dealt with a reporter doing some sort of investigation. A lot of times these reporters were wise-cracking joksters who like to flirt with the ladies while throwing their nose at the real police. That form pretty much holds true here but thankfully Ford is a likable actor so he too helps keep the entertainment level high.

As far as Lugosi goes, that accent certainly doesn't help his Asian character but it's Monogram so who cares, right? He's fun in the lead role and certainly helps keep the film moving at a nice pace even though the story is nothing special. William Nigh does a nice job with the movie and keeps it running at a good pace through its 62- minutes.