Overview
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Release Date:
5 October 1938 (USA)
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Tagline:
HIS HOBBY IS MURDER! Mr. Wong's main interest is solving murders - and he's an expert at it! Watch Collier's Magazine's famous Chinese sleuth trick a triple-killer into giving himself away...for the mystery thrill of you life! (original poster)
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Plot:
When a chemical manufacturer is killed after asking detective James Wong to help him, Wong investigates this and two subsequent murders...
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User Comments:
Plain-Looking But Interesting Mystery Feature With a Good Performance From Karloff
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Crew believed to be complete
Additional Details
Runtime:
69 min | USA:70 min (copyright length)
Aspect Ratio:
1.37 : 1
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Sound Mix:
Mono (Western Electric Sound System)
Fun Stuff
Goofs:
Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): Mr. Wong's servant waits on him on what we are told is his day off.
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Movie Connections:
Referenced in
Mammoth (2006) (TV)
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FAQ
Is this available on DVD?
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Although most of the production is pretty plain, the basic mystery story in "Mr. Wong, Detective" is rather interesting, and Boris Karloff's good performance as the detective also makes it worth seeing. Karloff brought a human touch to every role that he played, and even though this is an atypical part for him, he is a believable Mr. Wong. Most of the other characters are somewhat nondescript, except for Grant Withers's abrasive police officer, and aside from Karloff the cast is nothing special, but the story itself is enough to hold your interest.
In the story, the detective must patiently solve a mystery from the slightest of clues. Some of the developments strain credibility, but if you can accept the premise, it's an interesting idea and it makes decent use of the details. There are several places where it could have been written better or edited more effectively, but the pacing is pretty good, and as it proceeds, it often gives you what you need to know in order to try to anticipate what happens next.
The climactic sequence is one of the better ones that you'll see in this kind of B-movie. The production values are lower than a Karloff feature deserves, but with a solid story and Karloff in the lead, it's definitely worth seeing.