The Mysterious Mr. Wong

This pulp crime fiction, based on a story by Harry Stephen Keeler, is zippy enough and atmospheric enough to make it an okay view. Modern viewers may wince at the level of political incorrectness on display, but sometimes the ignorant characters are properly made to feel embarrassed. Front and centre is horror star Bela Lugosi in the dual role of nefarious Fu Manchu style Chinese villain Fu Wong, and kindly shopkeeper Li See. He wants to obtain the "twelve coins of Confucius" in order to have ultimate power. Following a trail of dead bodies is obnoxious reporter Jay Barton (Wallace Ford), whose investigation leads him to the mysterious Mr. Wong.

Old time movies like this clearly were never meant to be great cinema, but just simple, straightforward, amusing programmers that typically clocked in at barely over an hour. And it IS pretty amusing, provided you know what to expect. Elements of intrigue and suspense are heavily contrasted against a lot of wise ass comedy. Ford, certainly, had put the patent on the sort of character that he plays here, and guys like Barton popped up time and again in such tales. The script is actually pretty funny at times, and with the amount of quips that he utters, it's true that a role like Barton would be a natural for a comedy actor like Chevy Chase.

Lugosi is great fun as always, no matter if his accent rarely sounds like anything other than Hungarian. Ford is a hoot, as is the pretty and tough talking Arline Judge. She plays Peg, his leading lady. E. Alyn Warren is good as a Chinese secret agent, Lotus Long is lovely as Wongs' niece "Moonflower", and Robert Emmett O'Connor is spot on in a deliberately stereotypical portrait of an old Irish beat cop.

Although ultimately forgettable, this offers enough laughs and irreverence to make it pretty easy to take.

Five out of 10.

1934's "The Mysterious Mr. Wong" casts Hungarian Bela Lugosi in something of a dual role: Fu Wong the titular character a 'Mad Manchurian' (a Poverty Row Fu Manchu) seeking 12 coins given out by Confucius on his death bed, which would enable the owner to command the Chinese province of Keelat, and his elderly masquerade as herb dealer Li See, whose shop is connected to Wong's inner sanctum through a secret panel. The picture begins with a series of murders that have authorities believing there's another Tong war, Wong's henchmen successfully delivering 11 coins, each corpse identified by a piece of Chinese writing. The downward spiral introduces Wallace Ford as roving reporter Jason Barton, wisecracking with Irish cop McGillicuddy (Robert Emmet O'Connor), various comings and goings repeated endlessly as the elusive final coin is passed from person to person. Arline Judge gets in a few shots as Barton's sweetheart, but the comic relief overwhelms the rest of the film, leaving Lugosi in a vacuum to carry the burden on his own, as he so often did in low budget productions (not enough screen time at 18 minutes). Ford also opposed Bela in "Night of Terror" and "The Ape Man," but this nauseating newshound is his worst yet, on par with Lee Tracy's unfunny antics opposite Lionel Atwill in "Doctor X." This was Lugosi's only film for the original Monogram company, soon to be absorbed into Herbert J. Yates' Republic Pictures, a new Monogram emerging from the ashes to kick off Sam Katzman's infamous 9 picture deal in 1941. An entirely new Mr. Wong inspired by Charlie Chan would later allow Boris Karloff a crime solving respite during the horror blackout of the late 30s, a six film series concluding in 1940 with one shot Wong Keye Luke doing the honors in the closer "Phantom of Chinatown." Concluding a year playing heroes in "The Black Cat" and "The Return of Chandu," Lugosi returned to full time villainy back to back in both this and Columbia's forgotten programmer "The Best Man Wins," before well remembered roles in MGM's "Mark of the Vampire," and Universals "The Raven" and "The Invisible Ray."

It has some good sequences, but overall "The Mysterious Mr. Wong" doesn't really live up to its promise. With Bela Lugosi starring as a shadowy villain, a decent plot idea that involves artifacts from ancient history, and a couple of interesting-looking settings, it had the makings of a good B-feature, at least as long as you are willing to overlook some stereotypes and the like for the sake of entertainment.

Lugosi's character is interesting, as is his hideout, and Lugosi also gets the chance to play two different sides of his character. The script seems to miss a lot of opportunities, though, because the character really never comes to life as well as it could have. Wallace Ford actually gets the best opportunities, as the reporter who, along with Arline Judge, tries to contend with Wong's plots. Ford does pretty well in the role, and he has plenty of energy.

The story likewise holds some possibilities that are never realized. There are some fairly good sequences with the characters inside Wong's secret lair, but at other times the story doesn't always make a lot of sense, and the interesting ideas involved in Wong's quest for the coins are mostly mentioned only in passing. It's all right as light entertainment, but it could have been more.

Modern viewers must be forgiven if they're confused over the genre of this Bela Lugosi film. It's crime pulp, something hardly seen today except in Quentin Tarantino films. The focus is on the villain, in this case Lugosi as a Chinese(!) gangster tracking down the twelve coins of Confucius. The only mystery is how he will be stopped and whether or not he will escape to cause trouble another day.

Wallace Ford is fun as the wry reporter (reminding me a bit of Chevy Chase). And Arline Judge is as cute as a button as the switchboard operator he's trying to romance. It all takes place in Chinatown, for some reason, with plenty of casual bigotry, altho its sometimes turned around on the bigot for comic comeuppance (as when Ford talks pidgin to a Chinese girl only to be answered in fluent English).

If you like the era, this is a fun film and a good example of the genre. It's got the menacing thugs, mysterious murders, and secret passageways you expect and a bit of sassy dialog to boot.

The Mysterious Mr. Wong (1934)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

Reporter Jason Barton (Wallace Ford) begins to investigate a murder, which leads him to a set of twelve coins, which legend has can help a person control the world if they posses all of them. This investigation leads to Mr. Wong (Bela Lugosi) who appears to be willing to stop at nothing to get the final coin that he needs.

THE MYSTERIOUS MR. WONG is exactly the type of "B" film you'd expect Monogram to release during this era. Obviously Fox was doing outstanding business with their Charlie Chan series so smaller studios were taking Asian characters and doing their own thing. This low- budget movie is pretty typical for the era but with Lugosi in the lead that adds a lot more fun to it.

I said typical of the era because if you watch enough movies from this period then you'll realize that all sorts of them dealt with a reporter doing some sort of investigation. A lot of times these reporters were wise-cracking joksters who like to flirt with the ladies while throwing their nose at the real police. That form pretty much holds true here but thankfully Ford is a likable actor so he too helps keep the entertainment level high.

As far as Lugosi goes, that accent certainly doesn't help his Asian character but it's Monogram so who cares, right? He's fun in the lead role and certainly helps keep the film moving at a nice pace even though the story is nothing special. William Nigh does a nice job with the movie and keeps it running at a good pace through its 62- minutes.