Mr. Moto's Last Warning

The Mr. Moto films went out of circulation immediately after Pearl Harbor. As we can see in this film, they reflected a hope that circulated in John P. Marquand's England (and had some currency in the US) that a reasonably 'civilized' (in the European sense) Japan could be negotiated with over China and then used for political leverage against Russia and Germany. This film was released in early 1939; by September of that year, Germany was in Poland, and England and France were allied against it, so the basic premise of the film was made worthless. Shortly after, the Japanese kicked the British out of China, so the basic hope underlying the film became worthless. The film is thus best approached as a kind of fantasy.

It is, specifically, a spy thriller, not a mystery at all; it's more closely related to the James Bond films (which are also largely fantasies) than to the Charlie Chan style 'oriental detective' movies of its own day.

This is the only widely - and cheaply - available Moto film. I've only seen one other Mr. Moto film, a long time ago, and I don't remember it well. It was a fairly faithful adaptation from the original Marquand material, and seemed very complicated, much as the Marquand novels can be. This film, to the contrary, is an original story. It is streamlined and linear in plotting. It appears to have been made rather quickly on not a lot of money, but the film-making is strictly professional. The pacing avoids a lot of lags, and there are moments of real suspense and real surprise.

Thus we have a well-made, enjoyable genre film here; but the main delight of the film is undoubtedly the performance of Peter Lorre. Lorre achieved some respect in Germany and England before coming to Hollywood - where, alas, he was not treated well, as the type for which he was usually cast - 'suspicious foreigner' - was very narrow. Mr. Moto here allows Lorre a star-turn, a hero's part, and surprisingly considerable latitude in interpretation. He is obviously having a grand time here, and delivers a wonderful performance.

Overall, an excellent B-movie, very entertaining if taken on its own terms.

I've always enjoyed Peter Lorre. When you run the gamut of actors from the inception of the motion picture, I can think of no one to match him. Here he plays a Chinese detective. His credibility is in question because of that very fact. Nevertheless, there is a sort of acceptance due to the wisdom of Asians. I suppose this all came out of the Charlie Chan mythos. In this one there is a plot to blow up the French fleet. It would be a major act of war and a great defeat. Mr. Moto is forced to make his way among a bevy of bad guys. There's espionage, double dealing, but he makes his solitary way through this confusing mess. One of the bad guys is a ventriloquist who seems to have a sick fascination with his dummy. Of course, this all works into the plot. Mr. Moto manages to engage the help of several other characters and finds a way to save the day.

1939's "Mr. Moto's Last Warning" stars Peter Lorre as the Japanese detective, of whom nothing was heard once the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor. Lorre is surrounded by a great cast, which includes Ricardo Cortez, Virginia Field, John Carradine, and George Sanders. Lorre not only plays Moto, but his cover, who runs an antique store.

The story concerns Moto's investigation of a conspiracy against the British and French governments. One of the "conspirators" is a British agent, and the two of them discover that the group has put mines in the harbor in order to blow up the French fleet -- the group had been desperately trying to find out the arrival date, and once they got it, set the bombs in place. Obviously, this is before Churchill blew the French fleet up in 1940 when the French refused to do so, which would thus give the Germans access to the fleet. The conspirators plan to blame the British for the bombing, hoping to start the Second World War.

Lorre does a great job, and Ricardo Cortez, as the head of the group whose works as a ventriloquist as his cover, makes an effective villain. Sanders uses a strange accent. Virginia Field, one of the "ice cream blondes" of that era was under contract to 20th Century Fox at the time; unfortunately, she never made it to the top, but she was in a lot of good films and is very pretty. John Carradine is in top form.

Entertaining as well as interesting, this is a good entry into the series featuring the brilliant and delightful "Mr. Moto."

This one starts out especially murky, bristling with bad hats rubbing shoulders with innocent Westerners in a strange land. What they're all up to takes some resolving, but be reassured Moto's in charge, even though he unwittingly sends 2 of his cohorts to their deaths along the way. High production values compliment an interesting if far-fetched storyline.

A gang of jittery international spies working for an un-named foreign power aim to disrupt the French fleet heading into Port Said in Egypt and cause rupture between those very old long-standing allies Britain and France, Moto's aim is to disrupt the baddies first. All-knowing Ricardo Cortez has a strange job as ventriloquist to his unexplained Cockney dummy Alf, while his second George Sanders puts on a seedy French accent with gusto if not skill. Poor old John Carradine though! And good for Cortez's moll with moral fibre Virginia Field! A tense climax is guaranteed with Moto in the bag, and is ingenious when it arrives.

A great little film for those of us who like the genre, not unless.

Mr. Moto's Last Warning (1939)

*** (out of 4)

Mr. Moto (Peter Lorre), believed dead, is assisted by an undercover British agent (John Carradine) as the two try to stop a couple international agents (Ricardo Cortez, George Sanders) from using the Suez Canal to blow up some French ships and blaming the British. This sixth entry in the series is a major step up from the previous two entries and one could say this one here was the best of the series. The story is a pretty good one but what really works here is the wonderful cast of character actors who really make this a must see. It's fun seeing Lorre's Moto up against various other actors who played famous roles themselves and that includes Perry Mason and Sam Spade (Cortez), The Saint (Sanders) and Dracula (Carradine) too. Seeing the four character actors share the same film makes for a lot of fun and the story itself also helps build some drama and that includes a wonderful underwater sequence that certainly won't be forgotten by anyone who sees it. The story is certainly a bit far fetched but it's made believable due to the actors all giving very good performances and Foster handles the material very well. The ending contains some great action with our hero kicking it into high gear to do major damage. The guys get to have a lot of fun but so does Virginia Fields in her small but fun role. Lorre is great as usual but it's actually Cortez who steals the film as the ruthless villain. Carradine also offers up an excellent performance and his scene at the bottom of the ocean is quite creepy and highly effective. Overall this here is certainly one of the best films in the series and one that even non-fans should be able to enjoy.