The Mysterious Mr. Wong (1934)

User Rating:

4.8/10   

Director:

William Nigh

Writers:

Harry Stephen Keeler (story)
Lew Levenson (adaptation)

Release Date:

22 December 1934 (USA)

Genre:

Mystery | Horror

Tagline:

A fight for an empire behind the curtained mysteries of San Francisco's Chinatown!

Plot:

Investigating a series of murders in Chinatown, wise-guy reporter Jason Barton is captured by the megalomaniacal Mr...

Plot Keywords:

Murder | Mr Wong | Chinatown | Reporter | Fight

Cast

Bela Lugosi	...	Mr. Fu Wong, aka Lysee (as Béla Lugosi)
Wallace Ford	...	Jason H. 'Jay' Barton
Arline Judge	...	Peg
E. Alyn Warren	...	Phillip Tsang (as Fred Warren)
Lotus Long	...	Moonflower, Wong's Niece
Robert Emmett O'Connor	...	Officer 'Mac' McGillicuddy (as Robert Emmet O'Connor)
Edward Peil Sr.	...	Jen Wu, Wong Henchman (as Edward Peil)
Luke Chan	...	Professor Chan Fu
Lee Shumway	...	Editor Steve Brandon
Etta Lee	...	Lusan, Moonflower's Attendant
Ernest F. Young	...	Reporter Chuck Roberts

Runtime:

63 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

USA:Approved (PCA #423)

Filming Locations:

RKO-Pathé Studios - 9336 Washington Blvd., Culver City, California, USA

Company:

Monogram Pictures Corporation

Trivia:

This film is sometimes incorrectly identified as one of the films of the "Mr.Wong" series which was also produced by Monogram (in the late 1930s) starring Boris Karloff as a Chinese detective.

Quotes:

Editor: Did you ever run into a Chinaman by the name of Wong?
Barton: Have I ever run into one that ain't named Wong?

Movie Connections:

Featured in The Slanted Screen (2006)

A Chinese Man With a Romanian Accent

I've always been intrigued with Bela Lugosi. It's been an ambition of mine to see all the films he made. This effort must have been done to capitalize on his star power. For whatever reason, he (as Mr. Wong), is collecting Confucian coins. Men who possess them are being murdered and Wong's henchmen bring the coins to him. A silly reporter and his girlfriend get wrapped up in the case and find their way to Wong's lair. Leading up to a somewhat interesting conclusion, are a series of lame, tiresome interactions within the evil man's lair. Lugosi looks ridiculous and speaks with that heavy European accent, and, of course, Hollywood's version of an Asian. There is a lot of political incorrectness and Chinese stereotyping. It's interesting that so many movies have a criminal genius who does stupid things and gets himself caught. Even though a murderer, Mr. Wong doesn't kill the person who is the most danger to him. Then, again, it's all based on the cliffhanger and killing off the hero wouldn't be much fun.