| Peter Lorre | ... | Kentaro Moto | |
| Virginia Field | ... | Gloria Danton aka Tanya Barov | |
| Thomas Beck | ... | Robert 'Bob' Hitchings Jr. | |
| Sig Ruman | ... | Nicolas Marloff (as Sig Rumann) | |
| Murray Kinnell | ... | Joseph B. Wilkie | |
| John Rogers | ... | Carson, steward-henchman | |
| Lotus Long | ... | Lela Liu | |
| George Cooper | ... | Muggs Blake | |
| J. Carrol Naish | ... | Adram, shopkeeper | |
| Frederick Vogeding | ... | Chinatown Curio Dealer | |
| rest of cast listed alphabetically: | |||
| Philip Ahn | ... | Switchboard operator (uncredited) | |
| Richard Alexander | ... | Ivan, Doorman (uncredited) | |
| Jack Chefe | ... | Nightclub Extra (uncredited) | |
| Paul Fung | ... | Chauffeur (uncredited) | |
| George Hassell | ... | Robert Hitchings Sr. (uncredited) | |
| Ray Hendricks | ... | Soloist (uncredited) | |
| Tom Herbert | ... | Seasick Male Passenger (uncredited) | |
| Charles Irwin | ... | Replacement Steward (uncredited) | |
| Sam Labrador | ... | Menial (uncredited) | |
| Isabel La Mal | ... | Seasick Female Passenger (uncredited) | |
| William Law | ... | Shanghai Police Chief (uncredited) | |
| Frank Mayo | ... | Ship's Captain Marshall (uncredited) | |
| Louis Mercier | ... | French sailor on Telephone (uncredited) | |
| Lee Phelps | ... | Chinatown Detective (uncredited) | |
| Bert Roach | ... | Ship's Bartender (uncredited) | |
| Virginia Sale | ... | Ship's Stewardess (uncredited) | |
| Charles Tannen | ... | One of Bob's Friends (uncredited) | |
| Harry Tenbrook | ... | Henchman (uncredited) | |
| Sammee Tong | ... | Cheela, Marloff's houseboy (uncredited) | |
| Tom Ung | ... | Scarfaced Man (uncredited) | |
| Howard Wilson | ... | Bob's Drunken Pal (uncredited) | |
| Beal Wong | ... | Chinese Nightclub Waiter (uncredited) | |
| Soo Yong | ... | Telephone Operator (uncredited) | |
Directed by | |||
| Norman Foster | |||
Writing credits | ||
| John P. Marquand | (novel) (as J.P. Marquand) | |
| Wyllis Cooper | uncredited | |
| Norman Foster | writer | |
| Charles Kenyon | uncredited | |
| Howard Ellis Smith | writer | |
Produced by | |||
| Sol M. Wurtzel | .... | producer | |
Original Music by | |||
| R.H. Bassett | (uncredited) | ||
| Samuel Kaylin | (uncredited) | ||
Cinematography by | |||
| Harry Jackson | |||
Film Editing by | |||
| Alex Troffey | |||
Art Direction by | |||
| Lewis H. Creber | (as Lewis Creber) | ||
Set Decoration by | |||
| Walter M. Scott | (uncredited) | ||
Costume Design by | |||
| Herschel McCoy | (as Herschel) | ||
Makeup Department | |||
| Babe Carey | .... | hair stylist (uncredited) | |
| Ray Romero | .... | makeup artist (uncredited) | |
Production Management | |||
| Ed Ebele | .... | production manager (uncredited) | |
| Sam Wurtzel | .... | unit manager (uncredited) | |
Second Unit Director or Assistant Director | |||
| Sol M. Wurtzel | .... | assistant director (as Solly Wurtzel) | |
| Sol Michaels | .... | assistant director (uncredited) | |
Art Department | |||
| M. Duke Abrahams | .... | property master (uncredited) | |
| Aaron Wolf | .... | assistant property master (uncredited) | |
Sound Department | |||
| Harry M. Leonard | .... | sound | |
| George Leverett | .... | sound | |
Special Effects by | |||
| Joe Farley | .... | process photography (uncredited) | |
| Sol Halperin | .... | process photography (uncredited) | |
Stunts | |||
| Johnny Kascier | .... | stunt double: Peter Lorre (uncredited) | |
| Harvey Parry | .... | stunt double: Peter Lorre (uncredited) | |
Camera and Electrical Department | |||
| Ray Nolan | .... | still photographer (uncredited) | |
Costume and Wardrobe Department | |||
| Sam Benson | .... | wardrobe supervisor (uncredited) | |
| Adele Farnum | .... | wardrobe supervisor (uncredited) | |
Music Department | |||
| Samuel Kaylin | .... | musical director | |
| Gene Rose | .... | composer: additional music (uncredited) | |
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| Secret Agent X-9 | Sea Tiger | The Secret of Treasure Island | The House Without a Key | I Wake Up Screaming |
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| Full cast and crew | Company credits | External reviews |
| IMDb Crime section | IMDb USA section | Add this title to MyMovies |
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!