MR WONG IN CHINATOWN


US, 1939, 70 minutes, Black and white.
Boris Karloff, Grant Withers, Marjorie Reynolds.
Directed by William Nigh.

Mr. Wong in Chinatown is the third of the Mr. Wong murder mysteries featuring Boris Karloff as the very polished but enigmatic detective in San Francisco. There were five films in all, from 1939 to 1941.

Asian detectives were very popular in series at this time, the Mr. Moto series as well as the Charlie Chan series.

The film is topical, with a Chinese princess coming to San Francisco to buy planes for the war upheaval in China at the time, which was the period of the Japanese invasion prior to World War Two. She is murdered and the suspects are the captain of the ship she arrived on as well as the agent who would supply the planes. They act in a very suspicious manner. Also involved is the manager of the bank where the princess dealt, a respectable man, who is ultimately unmasked as the murderer of the princess, her maid and her dwarf attendant.

The film opens with the murder of the princess who was visiting Mr. Wong. He becomes involved in the detection work along with the police inspector, played by Grant Withers, who was in several of the films. This time Marjorie Reynolds is along as an over-eager reporter and get sense herself in danger but also contributes to the solution of the mystery.

The film is set in San Francisco, with visits to Chinatown. The police work in the usual way. The reporter is always trying to phone in her story. And Mr. Wong goes about his investigations with polite questions, and ultimately, his abduction with the bank manager.

The film is interesting of its kind, but a modest small-budget supporting film, of historical interest.

But the film will be of particular interest to followers of Boris Karloff’s career. This performance is quite far from his many appearances in horror films, a much more urbane and intelligent performance than many of his fans might be used to.