The Mystery of Mr. Wong

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.

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?

Yes, Mr. Wong is on hand when a murder of a friend takes place. He could not prevent it but works with Capt. Sam Street of the police to solve it. The means of death is not complicated or ingenious - shooting with a silencer. But there are a number of suspects. Ballistics prove that the bullet came from a high angle. Quickly, half of the suspects are off the hook and the film becomes a relatively easy whodunit. Elementary for Mr. Wong, but of course the police are on the wrong track. Good film to see late at night when the "little gray cells" need a rest or if complicated sleuthing is not your "expertise."

This second Mr. Wong film was given a bigger budget than the first, actually has some exterior scenes, and is a much more polished production. Boris Karloff is excellent as usual in his suave and quiet manner as the brilliant amateur Chinese detective of San Francisco. In this film, we learn more about him. We discover that he has degrees from both the University of Heidelberg and Oxford University. There is certainly no doubt about his high intelligence and his profound knowledge of Chinese literature and art. He is a connoisseur who is familiar with most types of precious Chinese objects. And hence it is that he is familiar with the background of the object which is at the centre of this story, a precious imperial gem known as The Eye of the Daughter of the Moon. It turns out that in the recent sack of Nanking (today called Nanjing) by the Japanese, numerous priceless gems, jades, and works of art from an Imperial Collection there have been pillaged and made their way into the hands of private collectors. The most priceless of all of these is the gem just mentioned which has been illegally acquired by a rich collector who is very soon murdered. There are two very annoying performances in this film. One is by Grant Withers as the Detective Inspector, shouting and over-acting as usual. The other is Dorothy Tree, who simply can't act at all. However, one ignores these faults in the interest of following the good story. Otherwise it is an excellent film, and lots of villains are to be found.

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.