The Return of Mr. Moto

I saw this film, as many probably do, because it is included as an extra on the Fox release of "Mr. Moto Takes A Vacation." The dvd print is fairly sharp' the 1965 film is in black and white.

The best moments of the film are a couple of action scenes, which are handled pretty well. Otherwise, it's just not very engaging. To me, that has two main causes: the film has virtually zero humor, and in Henry Silva's characterization, Mr. Moto seems a totally American person. There aren't even any little moments to indicate he's Japanese! Not in his taste in food, or dress, or habits, or manners, anything!

So, it seems like we're watching an American agent, who for some reason is named Moto, and who, rather oddly, everyone talks about as being Japanese. As for the plot of the film, it's like one of those early episodes of the Saint: frankly, it's a yawn.

Henry Silva's Moto is sort of likeable, but he's also super serious nearly all the time. His Moto just doesn't have much charm, which Peter Lorre always had in ample supply. I guess it comes down to, this movie is very much about the plot, and the plot has been done so many times on old TV shows that it's dull, and there's no humor to keep one engaged.

Suzanne Lloyd as the attractive woman character is good; I wish she had been in more scenes. Martin Wyldeck, who played the bad guy assassin, was very good; that part of the movie, involving him, was fine, but the film is a vehicle for Moto, and in that regard, the film is flat and under-powered. I'd say, it's OK to watch once if you have the Fox dvd.

I'm not one of the reviewers who apparently lined up to bash this movie; I think that 20th Century-Fox guaranteed it a hostile reception by inviting comparison with the fondly-remembered Peter Lorre series of thirty years before. On its own it's a efficiently-produced crime thriller that moves along briskly and offers some genuine surprises and suspense to open-minded viewers. It's been suggested by some (including Henry Silva himself, in the DVD's audio commentary) that Silva is physically unsuited to play an oriental, but the same could be said of the Hungarian Peter Lorre in the earlier series, or the Swedish Warner Oland who became the definitive Charlie Chan. And it's worth mentioning that Henry Silva has convincingly played characters of various nationality over the years.

A beautiful letterboxed transfer of this film can be found as an extra on the final disc of the Peter Lorre/Moto DVD series; I found it well worth seeing for its entertainment value as well as Henry Silva's fascinating audio commentary.

I first saw The Return of Mr. Moto on TV many years ago, and found it fascinating. I was a huge fan of the Mr. Moto movies starring Peter Lorre, and had no idea that Henry Silva had played the role. I enjoyed it then, and was thrilled to see the film included in one of the DVD collections of the Mr. Moto films starring Lorre. The movie looks better than ever, is every bit as fascinating as I remember, and the DVD commentary by Henry Silva is a blast! When all is said and done, I found The Return of Mr Moto to be a very entertaining film that is well worth watching, and collecting.

Whoever got the rights to "Mr. Moto" in 1965 did a decent job bringing back this odd character. Henry Silva did not need to have his eyes taped back to give a slanted look. Nor did they have to "Yellowize" him with makeup. What impressed me most about Mr. Silva's performance is that he did not succumb to a grossly characterized Asian accent. Heck, they barely mentioned him being Asian at all until he had to go in disguise as a Japanese ambassador. All these elements of how Mr. Silva (and the director) should show that his race is not always relevant.

While the script was not overly clever.. it was decent enough not to wallow into a parody of itself or the 007 franchise. They tried to make their own secret agent . I have to say, Donger (the former Nazi assassin) was rather brutal and straight forward. The pacing and plot are decent and entertaining enough.

What does bring the movie down for me is not allowing for the audience to unravel the mystery along with the main character. There are one too many times the film/script reveals too much. There are enough "Red Herrings' to keep one distracted,. Even so, We should have the story unravel as if we were solving the mystery along with Mr. Moto.

It's called The Return of Mr. Moto (1965) Henry Silva. "Last full length feature of Ian Fleming". Perhaps, but it's not our Mr. Moto (Peter Lorre). Filmed at Shepperton Studios, which might give you a hint to the boredom ahead.

In this one Mr. Moto works for Interpol, investigating an oil mogul murder. The setting is international, ala Bond. Very dry. Tedious. Moto (actually calls himself "Mr. Tugura" so there is no reason for the movie title) goes into disguise eventually as a Japanese who's doing a Charlie Chan impression.

It's not that it's cheesy. It's just boring. No camp. No charm. As a "Mystery/Thriller" it wasn't mysterious or thrilling. And I actually like Henry Silva… usually.