User reviews

I love these Moto flicks. I'll tell you that right out of the gate, and the history of these low budget detective films is almost more interesting then the films themselves. First of all, Peter Lorre was one of the most underrated actors in cinema history. In fact, those who knew him thought he would have been a psychiatrist had he not been an actor, which tells me he studied people and learned a lot about how a little goes a long way in a portrayal. The director reportedly wanted character actor J. Edward Bromberg to play the lead but the studio gave him this Hungarian Jew just out of Hitler's Germany to play the part, which made the director go berserk. He needn't have worried.

Forget the fact that Lorre was in such poor health in those days after starving in Europe for most of his adult life and had to have a stuntman do his jiu-jitsu scenes for him. (Harvey Parry was his name. Another underrated genius in cinema history who did stunts for everyone from Douglas Fairbanks Sr. to Buster Keaton and Harold Lloyd) Lorre is just terrific and with almost no make-up, he is damned convincing as a Japanese detective.

A short side note here. Please pretend that there was never a 1960s Moto movie with Henry Silva. The eight 20th Century Fox Motos are to be treasured. It's only a shame that World War II stopped the series for good.

As for J. Edward Bromberg, he even acted in one of the Moto films as a Rajah in Thailand (which acerbic yet clever critic referred to as "Indoors China") before he was hurt by the blacklist and died a sad and broken man, who unintentionally hurt the career of actress Lee Grant when she attended his funeral and was herself blacklisted until the movie "In The Heat Of The Night."

Watching Peter Lorre in any film is always a delight and the Motos never disappoint for pure entertainment value.

Ah, the Thirties. What could be more elegant and enjoyable than an ocean liner to the Orient, with two heartbreakingly beautiful people having a shipboard romance while criminal intrigue sort-of-kind-of goes on around them and they are watched over by a genial Japanese man who may or may not be a good guy? And that's really about all there is to the slapdash plot of the first movie in the Mr. Moto series. Yes, there's something about diamond smuggling and murder, but the main point of this story seems to be to introduce the world to the polite but dangerous gentleman from Japan.

And that is something that surprised me about this little movie (it clocks in at under 70 minutes) -- just how dangerous Mr. Moto is. Throughout the first hour he is presented as someone who's more interested in making an allegiance with the smugglers than stopping them. The movie begins with him in disguise looking into the San Francisco end of the smugglers, seeing -- but not reporting -- a murdered body and getting away so he can quietly head for Shanghai. He shows he's a black belt in jiu-jitsu by tossing a few disrespectful drunks around, including the son of the man who owns the ocean liner he's traveling on. And he kills a killer in such a way that no one can find the body...then calmly, albeit a bit sadly, continues his secretive journey. It's not until the last few minutes of the movie that his real purpose and superior intelligence is revealed. To have a Japanese man out-thinking all the sneaky Caucasian minds around him is really quite startling for 1937, considering the casual xenophobia of the time.

"Think Fast, Mr. Moto" may be an obvious attempt to capitalize on the hugely popular (and usually much better) "Charlie Chan" series of mysteries, but it works very well in its own right. Peter Lorre does a fine job (of course) pretending to be Japanese, but something that I've never understood is why Thomas Beck never got to be big in Hollywood. He has such a natural grace in front of the camera, and he's extremely good-looking. The same holds for Virginia Field, though she did have more of a career than he. The production values are above average for a "B" movie and the pace is relatively brisk. If they'd just done a better job with the script, it could have been on the same level as "Charlie Chan in Shanghai." But as it is, it's still surprisingly fun.

Ah! the 1930's! A time when it was generally perceived that anything that came out of the Orient was a threat. The Yellow Peril loomed over all of Western Europe and America, so it was to be believed, with the likes of Fu Manchu and his minions and other deadly men out to take over the world. Despite this generalized, popular stereotype, Hollywood made strings of films with Oriental detectives that, while still unfortunately maintaining certain Oriental prejudices and mannerisms, bucked this trend with the likes of the wise, sententious Charlie Chan, the inimitable Mr. Wong, and Mr. Moto of course. None of the series used Oriental actors, but the films gave the likes of Warner Oland, Sidney Toler, Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi, and Peter Lorre jobs. The Mr. Moto series, based on the works of John Marquand, began with Think Fast, Mr. Moto. The film is somewhat confusing in spots, but generally a rousing success of creating an endearing screen character that went on to make several more films. Mr. Moto, unlike Chan or Wong, is Oriental yet very Western in many ways. He is quiet, circumspect, wearing very small rounded glasses. Lorre captured his character wonderfully. The story details how Moto is following the workings of a smuggling ring in Singapore. He travels from San Francisco to the Orient on a luxury liner, where he meets the son of the tycoon that owns the boat and who also may have information that can lead Moto to the smugglers. A pretty good mystery that was not real hard to figure out at the end. It's Lorre's portrayal that gives the film real life, and definitely has set me out to see the other films in the series. By the way, great character actor Sig Ruman plays the heavy...quite nicely!

This was the first of the eight Mr. Moto movies but not necessarily the best of the early group, although not bad. I thought the second and third ones were the best of the first grouping of four. This got bogged down a little too much early on with Thomas Beck's infatuation with Virginia Field ("Gloria Danton"). In subsequent Moto movies, the romance angle was lesser and Moto featured more, which is better. However, some of the sappy guy's lust for his girl turns out to tie in with the head crook, so all is not lost in having to sit through the dull romance spots. (Dull because the dialog was affected, especially Beck's as "Bob Hitchings," the son of the shipping magnate and the man pursuing Gloria.

When the script featured the crime angle (smuggling), as in the beginning and in the last 25 minutes, it's interesting and gets involving. The long break in the middle of the film makes it easy for the viewer to lose track what exactly is going on here: who is smuggling what. We have to piece things together again when the action re-gains in the last third of the film. There is an interesting twist near the end and we hear Mr. Moto sum everything up a la Charlie Chan.

The exotic setting is Shanghai and viewers can enjoy the hectic sets with lots of people running to and fro; obnoxious British and Americans making racist statements to the locals, treating them as insignificant young kids and, of course, all the Asians played by the Anglos. That was part of '30s Hollywood, and you just accept it.

The last 40 percent of this movie makes up for any shortcomings and makes the viewing worthwhile. Mr. Moto is definitely one cool guy, who seems to have it all - except height. Peter Lorre was just great playing this role and I hope I get the opportunity to see all eight feature films in the series. I always enjoy his disguises, too, even though they don't fool us for a minute!

This was the first by 20th Century-Fox in a series of several films which tried to emulate the success of their own popular Charlie Chan series. THINK FAST, MR. MOTO introduced us to Peter Lorre's portrayal of a seemingly meek and mild mannered Asian man in glasses who secretly becomes a very clever and rough and tumble detective, excelling in martial arts and physical combat. The story involves jewel smuggling aboard a cruise ship, and while it comes off a tad clumsy the film remains brisk and enjoyable mainly because of Lorre's characterization, but also through the use of some very good seasoned professional actors (in this case, Sig Ruman and J. Carrol Naish). **1/2 out of ****

... loosely based on the books by John Marquand, from 20th Century Fox and director Norman Foster. After a series of murders occurs in San Francisco, the mysterious Mr. Moto (Peter Lorre) boards a cruise ship to China, where he befriends Bob Hitchings (Thomas Beck), the son of the owner of the cruise line. Bob has fallen for a moody passenger named Gloria (Virginia Field). Once they make landfall in China, things get dangerous for them all.

This initial outing in the series is different in at least one respect: Mr. Moto's motives and allegiances are kept a mystery for most of the picture. In fact, he's even presented as a possible suspect, or at least in league with the villains. Despite it being another regrettable instance of casting, Peter Lorre is outstanding as Moto, charming, funny, mischievous, and just a little creepy. His performance elevates what would have been just another routine mystery programmer of the day.

On a freighter going from San Francisco to Shanghai, Mr. Moto (Peter Lorre) solves mysteries caused by a gang of smugglers. First of the series.

Director Norman Foster was given this B-movie assignment, but it is probably better remembered today than many of the A pictures that came out at the time. With Peter Lorre, a strong (if under-appreciated) actor taking the lead, this was guaranteed to be something special.

Say what you will about the racism, sexism, or anything else of this nature. Such things have to be overlooked sometimes, and this is one of those times. The film is just too clever to be faulted.

The first of the Lorre Moto's is also the best, and from under the opening titles to the snappy ending you do have some fast thinking to do. The production values were high, the script intelligent and the acting ... fairly good, all adding up to a non-condescending film. Moto's effortless jujitsu was always a laugh, though.

On the other hand it is chock full of the usual racial, sexual and social stereotypes that bother lots of serious people nowadays. But for it not to be present would be like meat without fat: pretty tasteless and indigestible. All present-day Austrians might be outraged by Peter Lorre's casting as a Japanese, and a warning should be given before every screening. I should have been warned that the ship's English steward would be Battling Burrows' son (see "Broken Blossoms" 1919)!

Dapper Moto is going after an international gang of smugglers operating out of Shanghai, where he seems to be up against the whole population much the same as Chan was 2 years earlier. Sig Rumann plays an ugly customer but Thomas Beck and Virginia Field never looked more handsome and lovelier playing the romantic leads. I don't know how many Moto's and Chan's in total they appeared in, but I tend to look out for Beck in every one just in case!

TFMM fills just over an hour pleasantly, and I have no hesitation in recommending it to the 21st century.

This series of Mr. Moto films were very low budget films and during the year 1937 the country was not in prosperity like it is today. Actors like Peter Lorre had to find work and therefore, we find him in pictures like Mr. Moto. Lorre was also starting out his career in America and this was a great opportunity for Peter Lorre to become a great character actor! Peter Lorre (Kentaro Moto), "The Beast With Five Fingers",'46, did a great job of performing a role like Charlie Chan and manged to keep you guessing just who the criminal really was. Virginia Field, (Gloria Danton),"The Earth Dies Screaming",'65 gave a great supporting role and appeared in quite a few of these Mr. Moto films. Sig Ruman, (Nicholas Marloff),"Doom of Dracula",'66, played a different role and did all he could to trick Mr. Moto. If you look real close, you will see J. Carrol Naish,(Adram,Shop Keeper), who adds some mystery to the plot. These Mr. Moto films were usually shown as a second feature at the local movie houses along with Newsreels and Cartoons which created a big Saturday night treat for the local families during 1937!

WITH THE SUCCESS and high popularity of the CHARLIE CHAN Series of movies, the logical next step was for some one to bring us another outstanding sleuth of Oriental extraction. There would be inevitable comparisons and "copycat" accusations. Certainly there is some similarity and there are some definite signs of, if not stealing, at least borrowing from the established CHAN franchise.

BUT THAT IS where the similarities end. For Moto is much more of a solitary operator; even though he does employ some operatives in this, the first movie in the series. Also, Moto's deducting appears to be much more introspective, silent and quietly disarming to friend and adversary alike.

THAT THE CHARACTER proved to be popular enough to have his own series of seven more entries into the series was largely due to the performance of the former Laszlo Lowenstein; now known to the world as Peter Lorre.

BUT THIS STAR'S tour de force, excellent production values, talented & ample supporting cast and memorable musical score wasn't enough to carry the series for more that its three years and eight movies. For the year was 1937 and the Imperial Japanese war machine was already conducting a war of conquest against China; after having conquered Manchuria in 1931.

THE ATROCITIES OF Pearl Harbor, Manila and Singapore, among others, would soon follow. The days of a Japanese super sleuth on our movie screens were numbered.

I fell asleep. The reason I haven't given this film a lower score is because whilst it was boring - hence the falling asleep, it wasn't annoying. That combination is when you get into the 0 out of 10, 1 out of 10, and 2 out of 10 territory.

The story isn't really clear from the beginning. Peter Lorre (Mr Moto) starts off trying to sell a diamond in a curiosity shop in Shanghai and ends up fighting a couple of people and unrealistically winning. In fact, he has several physical encounters where he throws people over his shoulder and it's just a complete nonsense. From the beginning it isn't particularly obvious that Lorre is a good guy - I still don't really know that he is. He doesn't say the stereotypical "Ah, so!" but he does say "Oh, so!" which just sounds ridiculous. At least give it some "Ah, so!"

So, this is my second Mr Moto film and that's it for me. No more.

The shame of the Japanese-American concentration camps has cast a shadow over the Mr. Moto series, giving it a sorry reputation as an artifact of Hollywood racism. The truth is that as far as European-in-yellowface portrayals of Asians went, Peter Lorre's Moto was far less racist and considerably more sympathetic than the clownish, epigram-spouting Charlie Chan. In fact, it's easy to forget Moto's Japaneseness altogether and just view him as yet another wondrous manifestation of the white-linen-suited, Austrian-accented Lorreness so prevalent between the wars in films like "Strange Cargo," "Island of Doomed Men," und so wieter. Audiences certainly took to the little fellow in this first entry in the series, which introduces Moto in all his enigmatic glory--the bemused, politely ironical man of action with his love of kittycats, preference for cow's milk over whiskey, and disdainful conviction that beautiful women only confuse a man. Though Lorre reportedly had no idea what the whole thing was supposed to mean and spent his time offstage disconsolately listening to his archenemy Hitler on the radio, the eight Moto films established him as one of Hollywood's most beloved personalities and gave millions of small men who wore glasses the hope that they, too, could be strong and adorable.

Decent lower budget flix with suspense, good plotting, fine character work, action, etc. You much more offensive ethnic stereotyping in yer average westerns of the 30s-60s than in any of the Moto flix, especially in the 60s westerns ala Bonanza or Gunsmoke or Dakota or the Big Valley. Lorre seemed to be trying for a respectful, well rounded portrayal here, and I think he succeeded.

About 10 years ago channel 38 in Boston carried these, and I never missed a one. Very enjoyable. If you get a chance to see'em, do so. It's worth yer time.

*** outta **** of course.

Mr. Moto investigates a smuggling ring. There's also a subplot about Thomas Beck pursuing romance with pretty Virginia Field, who is connected to the smugglers. This is the first of Fox's Mr. Moto series with Peter Lorre. I guess Fox decided since the Charlie Chan series was so successful, they should try their luck with another Asian detective series. While I enjoy the Chan films more, the Moto films are pretty good too. Anything with Peter Lorre is worth seeing. Besides, Chan and Moto couldn't be more different, especially early in the series. Whereas Charlie Chan is passive and gentle, Mr. Moto will mess you up! Sig Ruman, Murray Kinnell, and J. Carrol Naish appear in supporting roles. The romance angle with Beck and Field is surprisingly not nauseating as these things often are in these movies. Field is lovely eye candy, too. A good start to the series.

Peter Lorre stars as Kentaro Moto in "Think Fast, Mr. Moto" from 1937. It's said that Lorre did not want this role, but having just been released from a sanitarium for substance abuse, he didn't have much choice. Nevertheless, he was very successful in the role.

Moto in this story is in the employ of the owner of a shipping line. He thinks his ship is being used to smuggle Asian artifacts. So he is on a ship to Shanghai with the owner's son (Thomas Beck), who carouses and carries on with all the wrong people.

Moto is a sly one, easily ignored by people until they get a look at his jiu jitsu skills, just as an example. He's also a master of disguise and unflappable.

This was the first of the eight films in the series. Very enjoyable.

Peter Lorre made his big screen debut as the deceptively mild mannered Moto Kentaro forever after in cinema history as Mr. Moto. This is the only film that Lorre did in the series for 20th Century Fox where we actually learn Moto's given name. He's strictly Mr. Moto from thereon.

Think Fast Mr. Moto has him doing just that. Lorre had Clark Kent type persona down pat as crooks who don't know he is a detective just dismiss him to their peril.

In this case Moto has been hired by the president of a shipping line to investigate his own company as rumors are being heard that it is being used for a smuggling racket for Asian artifacts. Doing that Lorre has to accompany the playboy son on an ocean voyage to Shanghai played by Thomas Beck. The young man is somewhat dissolute and his choice of companions isn't the best.

Moto's mastery of jiu jitsu is exhibited for the first time here. One of the crooks here is a ship steward played by Joseph Rogers, a cockney who gets rather ruthlessly tossed overboard mid voyage.

Of course in the end the crooks are rounded up and the steamship line's reputation is preserved. You're in for a treat as you see how he does it and how Lorre survives a gunshot wound to do it.

Good debut for this movie series.

Peter Lorre shines from the outset as Mr. Moto, the Japanese trader in artifacts and hobby detective. Here he helps a young man and woman. He is the son of a rich shipping tycoon and she is a mysterious woman who is helping some smugglers. Moto makes their acquaintance on board an ocean liner, the Marco Polo, headed for Shanghai. He must deal with spies on board and reveals himself to be quite proficient in killing when necessary. The show begins with one of the best scenes as he transforms himself from a street peddler to his real identity during the Chinese New Year celebration in San Francisco. He is adept at martial arts and knowledge of using the strengths of others against themselves. Like so many mysteries of the time, we are given numerous suspects. There's no question who the basic bad guys are, but we know that there are some surprises. Moto is so cool as he wanders in his white coat, always drawing attention.

THINK FAST, MR. MOTO (20th Century-Fox, 1937), directed by Norman Foster (who also scripted), based on the story by John P. Marquand, introduces Peter Lorre as the Oriental sleuth, Kentaro Moto. With the studio's success to what developed into a long running "Charlie Chan" movie series starring Warner Oland, "Mr. Moto" was another attempt for another franchise of Oriental detectives. The slight difference between Chan and Moto is that Chan was a Chinese inspector with a wife and family while Moto was a Japanese detective only as a hobby who occasionally lives and works alone, acquiring assistants along the way, usually comic foils most commonly found in the latter theatrical episodes to come.

For its first installment to an eight film series, based on Marquand's third written "Moto" novel, the story begins during the Chinese New Year in San Francisco where Mr. Moto (Peter Lorre), disguised as a street peddler, enters a Jacob Berger Curio Shop attempting to sell a precious Romanov stone collection to its owner (Fredrik Vogeding). Having earlier taking notice of a disguised man with a tattoo mark on his arm leaving the shop, Moto silently notices a hand from a dead body sticking out from a wicker basket beneath the counter. Moments later a man of authority arrives to arrest the disguised Moto for peddling without a license, but manages to make his escape dodging gunfire. Once entering his apartment and removing his disguise, Moto, on a secret mission to locate narcotics smugglers, telephones to make reservations for a stateroom on the Monte Carlo Pacific steamer bound for Shanghai. While on board, Moto befriends Bob Hitchings (Thomas Beck), a millionaire playboy whose father (George Hassell), owner of the ship, entrusts his son with a confidential sealed letter to be delivered to his branch manager, Joseph B. Wilkie, stationed in Shanghai. Coming on board the ship during a stopover in Honolulu is Gloria Danton (Virginia Field), who, at first, gives Bob a hard time when trying to make her acquaintance. Prior to the ship docking for Shanghai, a series of mysterious circumstances have occurred: Carson (John Rogers), a steward, gets tossed overboard after being caught snooping in one of the staterooms; Gloria, with whom Bob has fallen in love, makes a sudden departure; and the note Bill is to give Mr. WIlkie (Murray Kinnell) turns out to be a blank piece of paper. Aside from an assortment of characters involved, including Lela (Lotus Long), a hotel telephone operator, and the bearded Adram (J. Carroll Naish) of the East India Bizarre, Mr. Moto must think fast when falling victim to danger of Nicholas Marloff (Sig Ruman), proprietor of the International Club, along with his associate, "Muggs" Blake (George Blake), with intentions of doing away with Moto before the little man discovers any more evidence that's to expose the actual ringleader responsible for a series of murderous activities.

Also in the cast are: Charles Irwin (The Steward); Frank Mayo (Captain Marshall); Tom Herbert (The Seasick Passenger); and William Law (Steve, the Shanghai Police Chief). Virginia Field playing the mysterious Gloria Banton, introduces a song, "The Shy Violet" by Sidney Clare and Harry Akst, while Bert Roach participates in one of the film's few comedic moments as a bartender who confusingly prepares a drink for Mr. Moto as instructed by him.

Other than Peter Lorre's know-how ability to hold the viewer's interest throughout this fast-paced 67 minutes, what makes THINK FAST, MR. MOTO so enjoyable viewing is keeping the audience guessing to which assortment of characters involved are the villains and which ones are undercover agents. Suspense really builds once Moto and Bob reach the International Club where, at the risk of their lives, to discover more than they realize. Other than the natural fight and last minute rescues, Lorre's Moto acquires a new method of self defense uncommonly found on screen at that time, which happens to be jujitsu.

Of the eight installments, oddly enough, THINK FAST, MR. MOTO, was strangely the least known and revived of the series, especially in the New York City area. It wasn't until sometime in the mid 1980s did this initial entry, along with its seven other Moto/Lorre mysteries did it become available for viewing on broadcast television and eventually onto DVD a couple of decades later for its rediscovery. Next installment, THANK YOU, MR. MOTO (1937) with Lorre resuming his title role, and Thomas Beck and Sig Rumann making return engagements in different character roles, is another gem that's just as good. (***)

The Mr. Moto films are poorly written. The Mr. Moto films are poorly acted. The Mr. Moto films are poorly directed. The Mr. Moto films, in short, have not stood the test of time. But I wouldn't have it any other way. I love them, not just for their few strengths but also for their many failures. Much like 'The Adventures Of Tintin' and other adventure serials, they are a window into the past; an entirely fictional past, endlessly exciting and full of ridiculous characters, exotic locations and crowbarred romance subplots.