Il fantasma della città

As Boris Karloff moved on to bigger and better things in the horror film genre, the Mr. Wong series from Monogram got a final run with an actual person of Oriental heritage in the title role. Fascinating the mind set of Hollywood in those days.

And who would it have to be for, but a poverty row outfit like Monogram in one of their series films. Keye Luke who moviegoers knew better as the number one son of that other Chinese detective Charlie Chan, gets to play a younger version of that noted scholar and criminologist James Lee Wong. Luke plays him just as Boris Karloff did as a man who went to both Oxford and Heidelburg and did not speak in fortune cookie aphorisms.

But I'm sure it must have confused the living daylights out of the Mr. Wong audiences when the relationship between Wong and homicide police captain Street of the SFPD was so different. Grant Withers played Street in all the Wong films and he was not at all resentful about deferring to the older man's knowledge. The same way Captain Stottlemeyer defers to Adrian Monk on that show.

But with Luke, Withers is at first downright hostile, in fact this film of necessity is set back to when they first meet and Withers most reluctantly bows to Luke's skill for investigation.

The leader of an expedition to China where an ancient scroll was taken from a Ming Emperor's tomb is murdered while giving a lecture. And the scroll goes missing as well. There are a whole host of suspects, including a pilot that had been lost in the desert, but he turns up rather early in the film.

It might have been nice if Keye Luke had inaugurated the series instead of an Occidental like Karloff, good as he was. History could have been made.

The 6 Mr Wong films(five of which with Boris Karloff in the title role) are not great films, however they are all far from bad either. Phantom of Chinatown may not have Karloff but it is for whatever foibles it has one of the better films in the series. The photography can lack finesse in places while the film is scripted competently if routinely though with a fair few bright spots. And Grant Withers still doesn't do much for me, going for shouting his lines and frozen facial expressions, though not quite as badly as in Mr Wong in Chinatown, rather than subtlety. The sets are very nicely done though, and the music score is jaunty and eerie as to expect. There is some humour here and it manages to be of the funny and witty kind, the Chinese treasures and Washington Bones comparison agreed is the most inspired. The story is not exceptional but it is diverting and has a good deal of mystery and suspense. It also doesn't try to do too much so it is not as convoluted as a couple of Karloff's entries were, especially Mr Wong in Chinatown(you may have guessed already that that it is my least favourite of the 6, though it's still not a bad film). Luckily too, despite there being the risk of being there Chinese are portrayed sympathetically and any stereotyping(if any at all) is equally tastefully done, nothing at all to be offended at. Phantom of Chinatown moves along at a brisk pace, so the film was never a dull watch. Keye Luke may not be as enigmatic as Karloff but he for obvious reasons is still much more convincing as a Chineseman. He had big shoes to fill and fills them admirably, giving a very charming and sometimes amusing performance. Lotus Long is also wonderfully mysterious, and while not of the outstanding kind the supporting cast are competent at the least. To conclude, a decent film and one of the better Mr Wong films, even without Karloff. 7/10 Bethany Cox

Asian detectives were usually played by Caucasian actors at the time this movie was made, but Phantom of Chinatown is an exception and features Keye Luke in the role of Mr. Wong. Luke makes a likable and younger version of Wong and it's great fun to see how Wong and Captain Street first met. Grant Withers as Captain Street is one of my favorites elements of the Mr Wong movies. Withers is exceptionally good in this one. Some have said that Withers should have been replaced with a younger actor for this "prequel", but I don't agree. Luke and Withers make a fun pair. I enjoy all of the Mr Wong series, but Phantom of Chinatown is one of my absolute favorites.

Smilin' Leonard Maltin rates this one a bomb, but he couldn't be more wrong. It's a real forgotten gem and the best of the Mr. Wong detective series. Why? For whatever reason, the producers decided to cast Keye Luke--an Asian actor--in the role of the cinematic sleuth. Many similar films were made throughout the 30s and 40s, with Warner Oland and Sidney Toler cast as Charlie Chan and Peter Lorre as Mr. Moto. Luke was preceded by Bela Lugosi and Boris Karloff as Wong. This seems to be the only example of an Asian detective being played by an Asian actor, and I'd love to know how Luke's casting came about. He's merely adequate as an actor, but his work gives the film an appealing realism (albeit as much as a film about an eternal flame and a lost scroll can be realistic). There are also reasonably good supporting roles for Asian actors, including Lotus Long as the leading lady, Lee Tung Foo in a comic role, and other uncredited actors. Series regular Grant Withers is on hand, wearing a rather unattractive and ill-fitting hat, as the bumbling police detective who needs Wong's help to crack the case. The film actually seems to take place in a somewhat realistic world, San Francisco's Chinatown, where Asian-Americans miraculously man and operate the telephone exchange! At 61 minutes the film is brisk entertainment that will keep your attention. It also manages to feel fresher than better acted and better budgeted genre films of the same period. Strongly recommended to sleuthing fans.

Final film in the Mr Wong series loses Boris Karloff and in its place has Keye Luke as James Wong detective. Luke best known as Charlie Chan's number one son was forever in support so its nice to see him in a lead role. It also gives mystery, and especially Charlie Chan fans a glimpse at how Luke might have played the classic detective.

The mystery here is rather bland. During a lecture about an expedition to China the professor giving the talk is killed right in front of everyone. The question is how was it done and by who. You'll have to see the film to find out the why and who, I will tell you why, and thats because of the information that is contained on a scroll that was found in a tomb that will lead to great riches. Its a been there done that sort of affair that reminded me of one of the Mr Moto movies. Its not bad, certainly the cast is game, however the script just doesn't have any real life in it. It just doesn't have any life in it.

Still, I have to say that bland or no its an okay time passer best left for a late night or rainy day movie marathon when these kind of movies seem oh so much better.