O Palpite de Mister Moto

Mr. Moto's Gamble (1938)

*** (out of 4)

Third in the Fox series has a boxer getting killed inside the ring. What first appears to be a simple accident turns out to be poison and soon Mr. Moto (Peter Lorre) is on the case. This film in the series really doesn't play out like the previous two and that's because this was originally intended to be a Charlie Chan movie but Oland was too ill at the time so the studio simply changed the script to Moto. The change really isn't too bad and this turns out to be another winner no matter who it was originally intended for. The movie contains a nice mystery to work with and there are plenty of possible suspects that pop up throughout the 72-minute running time. The gangsters and gamblers aspect was a nice one and they made for some good villains. Lorre is once again at his very best and we also get some nice supporting performances as well as brief appearances by George E. Stone and Lon Chaney, Jr.. Keye Luke, Chan's son, appears here as a student in Lorre's detective class and delivers a few nice smiles. Maxie Rosenbloom nearly steals the show as another student who can't help but steal things. The movie contains a lot of fun within its short running time so fans of the series will find plenty to enjoy and with the mix of boxing and gambling, those not familiar with the series should enjoy it as well.

Putting aside the racist implications of Fox's assumption that one yellowface detective is as good as another, plugging Mr. Moto into a Charlie Chan film only points out that Peter Lorre's Moto is both a more adaptable and infinitely more complex character than the stolid Chan. On one hand, it's quite out of character for the quick-witted Moto to go around mouthing lame aphorisms a la Chan, and Moto would never be as discourteous to anyone in his other films as he is to Lee Chan and his punchy sidekick Maxie Rosenbloom in this one. On the other hand, "Mr. Moto's Gamble" features a nice snappy story with more shape and suspense to it than the usual Moto scenario, and it's fun to see Moto interacting with other characters like a regular guy rather than as the enigmatic will-o-the-wisp of the earlier films. Unfortunately, the later Moto films tried to imitate the formula by giving him dopey sidekicks, which only weighed him down.

Due to the illness of Chan star Warner Oland, this film's script had to be turned into a Mr. Moto movie. I feel this is the weakest entry in the Fox Moto series with Peter Lorre. The film is set in the New York boxing world. I've never been a fan of boxing--so the atmosphere did nothing for me. Lorre is his usual great self. That can't be taken away. And the film has the bonus of Keye Luke reprising his role as Charlie's Number One Son, Lee Chan, for the last time at 20th Century Fox. (He would play the Lee role twice more in the last two Monogram Chans.) But even with Lorre and Luke, this one is a bit weak. It might have been better if filmed with Mr. Oland as an actual Charlie Chan film. Still--it is worth seeing.

Although originally intended as a Chan film maybe not surprisingly it's easy to switch to Moto Mode and enjoy what we've got. Not being a boxing fan is much harder to overcome!

A boxer is murdered mid-fight, under the eyes of the multitude and especially Moto's pair of roving eyes, the job is on to find whodunit and how. Peter Lorre was excellent as usual, even hampered with comedy duo no.2 Chan son Lee and kleptomaniac Knockout Wellington. Favourite bit : where someone shouts "Whoever heard of a crooked cop?" and everyone laughs uproariously - in disbelief! The best thing about this Moto though is the never ending stream of then current Fox background actors appearing, from Doug Fowley, chunky Cliff Clark, George E. Stone – even Lon Chaney Jr down to Paul Fix, Ward Bond, Fred Kelsey – why, everyone at the studio was here except Warner Oland!

A nice series entry [3/8], all well worth watching if you're a fan of the genre like me.

I'd consider this one of the better of Peter Lorre's eight Mr. Moto films, with a good story of ringside gambling and crooks. The mysterious Japanese investigator must unravel what happened when a boxer was killed during a match. This one's got a well rounded cast too, beginning with Keye Luke making an appearance as none other than Charlie Chan's son, who is enrolled in a class which Mr. Moto is teaching. Also featuring Lon Chaney Jr. as a thug, and John Hamilton (Perry White on TV's SUPERMAN), too. Former real-life boxer-turned-actor Maxie Roosenbloom is the dimwitted comic relief. While watching and enjoying this entry I had the feeling that this was not in the same mold as previous Moto films I've seen. It was after the movie ended that I learned why via an informative bonus feature on the DVD -- MR. MOTO'S GAMBLE was originally scripted to be another Warner Oland Charlie Chan film for Fox, but Oland was having problems at the time, so the script was rebooted as a Mr. Moto film, with Peter Lorre practically doing Warner Oland. *** out of ****