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Nine out of ten films that make use of metaphysical matters such as palmistry or crystal gazing in their plots employ them merely as gimmicky window-dressing. This movie is different in that every bit of astrological business mentioned is accurate according to the principles of Western astrology -- which is odd, because Anna May Wong, the film's astrological expert, is Chinese-American and could have been expected to employ Chinese astrology.

What was most interesting to me was not that all of the actors were portraying people of zodiacal signs other than their own, or that the characters they portrayed were virtually stereotypical of Sun-sign astrology, but that there were many throw-away lines that only an actual astrologer would recognize.

For instance, when Wong is reading the chart of Miss Kenton, the Cancer, she speaks of her having "certain habits." The woman admits to drinking, but a glance at her chart shows Saturn square Neptune, which can also imply drug addiction. Likewise, when the Pisces policeman says he's been having a hard time lately, Wong mentions that Saturn is currently in Pisces -- which it actually was during both 1937 and 1938.

In the end, however, despite such wonderful touches, and the delightful introduction by Manly P. Hall, a Pisces, whose feet doubtless hurt him, i could not rate this movie higher than 6/10 because the directing was set-bound and stodgy and much of the acting was wooden. In fact, aside from Miss Wong's pet monkey, the only character with any life in him was Dr. Fenton, the eccentric little Jewish crime expert -- but although Fenton was said to be a Capricorn, Russian-born Maurice Cass, who played him, was actually a Libra.

This supremely entertaining B-mystery from Warner Bros features a wonderful lead performance by Anna May Wong as an astrologer in San Francisco's Chinatown who helps the police solve a murder by using her uncanny star-gazing talents. Anyone even remotely interested in astrology will find the story-line quite pleasing (and pretty accurate, given the participation of Manly Hall, a noted astrologer of the day). Even those without much interest in astrology (except those who are stubbornly judgmental and predisposed to be negative about these things) should find this fast-paced, amusing mystery a cut well above the average. The adroitly talented supporting cast--including Margaret Lindsay, Lola Lane, Jeffrey Lynn, James Stephenson and Olin Howland--give the film an additional sheen. Highly recommended; definitely check it out whenever it turns up on Turner Classic Movies.

This B-movie murder mystery is unquestionably different than most films of it's time. The clap-trap about using astrology as a crime fighting tool is an odd gimmick, but what the heck?

This sort of programmer benefits from the unusual astrology "window-dressing", and though it is supposedly solved by using astrology, this pat little mystery can be figured out by the characters simply using their heads, anyway!

The cast is entirely competent, and the pace is swift. The pre-war San Francisco Chinatown background, the hidden passage-ways in the Chinatown home, and Miss Wong's monkey, all add to the enjoyment of this film.

As a devoted fan of B-movie murder yarns of this period, I may be somewhat prejudiced, but I loved watching this film, and highly recommend it to fellow fans of the genre.

--D.--

When Were You Born? (1938)

An interesting angle on the murder mystery genre adding astrology to the caper flick. It's a simple B movie, but very entertaining. It comes off kind serious with a mysterious Manley P. Hall telling us about astrology (sort of like Ed Wood style). Naturally, all twelve characters of the zodiac will be featured in this film.

Beautiful Anna May Wong is the Chinese-American astrologer, Mei Lei Ming, who has a lot of insight to the people she meets. She meets Phil Corey (James Stephenson) on board a ship from China to San Francisco, U.S.A. and predicts that he will die within a couple of days. When Corey is killed, Miss Ming is one of the prime suspects.

Soon a very doubting taurus, Inspector Jim Gregg (Charles C. Wilson) considers having Miss Ming hang around just to give her insights over the various suspects.

Aside from this film giving astrology ludicrous powers to predict literally every aspect of every character - all sorts of details rattled off by the astrologer (Anna May Wong) immediately after she asks when they're born - the storytelling here is awful. It starts with a 5 minute exposition of the "science" of astrology and description of all signs from Manly P. Hall (credited "Manley"), and then for the next hour, it's almost all wooden dialogue as a murder mystery is unraveled. Hall was a preacher or pseudo-scientist of sorts who made a long career out of hokey mysticism, and he also wrote the original story for this film, which felt like propaganda without a shred of artistry.

The only reason to see this is for Anna May Wong, who at 33 and having returned from her trip to China got a few parts, but saw her film career waning. She brings respect to a thankless role, performing it with dignity and speaking in both English and Cantonese. There are some issues here - the Western astrology that Wong's character is expert in is touted as being long-practiced in China but has nothing to do with Chinese astrology, and there is a character in yellowface - but honestly these pale in comparison to the film being both ridiculous and a snooze. There is a little tension late and a nice little action moment from Wong, but by that point I had long since checked out. I wish I had counted how many times the title question was asked; definitely don't play the drinking game over that one.

Since I've always felt that astrology can be described at best as fraudulent, the goings on here annoyed me very much. Tell Anna May Wong your birthday and she can look up your chart and tell you everything about you. She tells James Stephenson he has two days to live; Jeffrey Lynn that his wife will have twins; Inspector Charles Wilson that there will be two more murders, etc. It goes on and on and she's never wrong! Mind you, she says these predictions are only generalizations, because she doesn't have the exact time of your birth. The opening scenes has Manley P. Hall (the one who concocted the original story) on-screen telling how astrology enables you to predict the future and he cites laughable examples of it. He also explains the 12 signs of the zodiac and the characteristics of the people born under those signs. To me it was all nonsense. You might note that the character of each of the 12 credited actors was born under a different zodiac sign which was specified on-screen.

The film is well directed by William McGann, who sets a nice pace for the 65 minute length of the film, and it was somewhat fun to watch the mystery unfold. But I cringed every time Wong opened her mouth with some item seemingly picked out of the air. If you believe in astrology, you may like this film. I didn't.

Anna May Wong is one of my favourite actresses of the 30s and 40S. She wasn't much of an actress really. However ,like her pal Marlene Dietrich, she had incredible charisma , sexuality, and beauty. Plus her own very unique style which was much copied at the time. Other reviewers have been harping on the astrology bit to solve crimes. I took it all with a grain of salt and found it very amusing in the same way that Sherlock Holmes might solve a crime base on his otherwordly observational skills. It's a bit stodgy most of it taking place in the police office but still works as an effective light entertainment. Warner Bros were the best at these kinds of crime melodramas during the Golden Age of Cinema.

I've never seen a movie that preached astrology as superior to science, until now. The whole concept is laughable. If it's supposed to be serious, then it's even worse. I know there were old movies containing seances, mediums, ghosts, and so on, but most of them were rather tongue-in-cheek and did not try to preach. This movie preaches outrageously.

Oh heck...I gave it practically a rave review because I was not bored for one minute. Those that stated the astrological slant being ridiculous due to so few facts to cast a chart...well...the movie is for astrology semi-buffs that do nothing more extensive zodiac-wise than read their daily horoscope.

It was a neat tale supported on GENERAL characteristics of each of the zodiac signs. All the actors were great and seemed to be treating the material with respect.

For the plot read the others' reviews.. I just had to put my two-cents in by saying, PLEASE do not take this fun short film too seriously.

1938 is represented in Chinese astrology as the Year of the Tiger, and so a pet tiger would have been a more suitable companion for astrologer Anna May Wong (Ming) instead of that silly monkey she carried around with her. The film has an interesting premise in using astrology as a tool to investigate a murder. It's similar to using a psychic in similar circumstances although probably not as accurate. Still, it's nice to see this approach to life represented on film. Unfortunately, the film is pretty stupid, complicated and badly acted.

Each character is meant to represent one of the 12 signs of the zodiac. I'm a Pisces and was horrified to see who represented me in the film - it's the overweight comedy cynical policeman. Worse, his birthday is given as 2nd March - the same as me. My wife found that very funny and every time I looked over to her during the film, she hadn't stopped laughing about it. So, I disliked the film even more after being given this mis-representation!

...because of ANNA MAE WONG!!!

Typically tight (65") WARNER BROTHERS' mystery 'B' programmer that was churned out from the 1930s' till the mid 1950s', when T.V. took over. This story is wrapped up in the 'pseudo science' of Astrology. Which each character is given a sign and a sub-plot of the Zodiac. It starts off with the 'horoscope' of Nita Kenton (Lola Lane/Cancer) whose character disappears after the proclamation of doom for Philip Corey (James Stephenson/Libra). The rest of the story weaves around his murder and how it is deciphered by Mei Lei Ming (Anna Mae Wong/Aquarius) and her astrological expertise.

Though billed second after Margaret Lindsay (Doris Kane/Leo) it is ANNA MAE WONG that drives this story. Ms. Wong gives her usual professional performance dominating every scene she is in. Unfortunately like most of her Hollywood productions of this time it is in a 'B' effort. Most of her more accomplished efforts having been done earlier or in England/Europe. This was because of the racial discrimination of the time. Today her career would have had a entirely different course.

Due to how Chinese or Oriental characters where portrayed at that time Ms. Wong appeared in what was considered traditional dress. While all other characters appeared in period apparel. It would have been better if she had been shown off in some of the 'chic' fashions she normally wore. There is no doubt of her physical appeal, Ms. Wong being strikingly attractive.

For those who have not seen Ms. Wong this is a good start, but do not stop here. See her early work like THE THIEF OF BAGDAD (1924), PICADILLY (1929) or the SHANGHEI EXPRESS (1933). She is a wonder to behold.

Love this time period especially the murder mysteries. Caught this movie recently and watch it over and over. It's addicting!! It's fascinating. I really love it!! Mei Ling is a wonderful character & so interesting. I don't believe in Astology but this is just a fun and intriguing movie! It has a good cast of characters and keeps you guessing until the very end about who committed the crime. The pieces of evidence as presented keep you fascinated as the police attempt to solve the crime. I loved the Mei Ling character and wish there were many more movies made like this. A series like they did with Charlie Chan would have been nice!! I highly recommend it for a good flick.

I agree with the first reviewer that it's a bit much to believe the astrologer can be so accurate with every utterance, but the movie is light fun, and Anna May Wong gets a lot of good screen time. She doesn't just recite star charts; she also helps the police ferret out legitimate clues and solve puzzle or two. Don't take it too seriously.

When Were You Born (1938) is an non-credited remake of From Headquarters (1933).

The plot is the same. The differences are WWYB introduces an astrologer to aid the police, while FH is a straight police procedural.

While both are interesting "B" pictures, FH is, in my opinion, the better of the two. It has more stylish photography, moves along a bit faster, and has a somewhat better cast (though Margaret Lindsay appears in both films as a lead).

Watch closely in this version, however, and you will see TV's The Lone Ranger (Clayton Moore) without his mask. (by Dr. Charles G. Waugh)

Or, at least, the story's the thing, and this is a murder mystery - and the story is pretty good. At 65 minutes it goes by quickly, so the viewer must pay attention or something will be lost. Nowadays, we have DVR's and can rewind if needed - and it's needed. The solution hinges on a specific time frame and several characters give the times of their alibi, and it's hard to keep them straight.

The plot is a good one, but much is made of the fact that Anna May Wong's character is an astrologist, which was very popular around the time this was produced. She has a habit of giving people the pros and cons of their zodiac sign after asking the title question, and it becomes tiresome. Her acting seems stilted, as though reciting from memory and not natural.

In any case, you won't guess the murderer; as I said, the story is a good one. Two things; it is told at breakneck speed, and the time frames of the alibis are crucial to solving the murder. As I said in the beginning, pay attention, especially towards the end.

Wacky programmer that fails for the most part. Looks like WB was trying to rival Charlie Chan with the much prettier Anna Mae Wong, except Mei Lei (Wong) uses astrology to crack cases instead of logic. Well that is a different approach, for sure, and the script's not shy about reinforcing Mei Lei's star-gazing powers. To make their premise go down easier, science is treated as supplementary to Libra, Taurus, et al, and not in conflict with the mystical signs. I wonder how that goes down with Sherlock Holmes, never mind Cal Tech or MIT.

Wong is the best thing about the 65-minutes, treating a troublesome part with genuine authority. It's really she who deserves top billing even though Lindsey and Lane furnish abundant eye candy. Maybe my planets are in the wrong house, but I found the whodunit a messy bore. There's not much action, while the talkfest seldom leaves interior sets. All in all, I can see why there were no movie sequels, at the same time the ladies went on to bigger and better things. Anyway it's an oddball idea even for adventurous WB. (In passing-- Watch for Clayton Moore, TV's Lone Ranger {1949-57}, in a minor part as Ass't DA, but don't look for the mask or Tonto.)