A Man of Action
This series was a competitor to the more long-running Charlie Chan
stories. The differences are striking. Chan seems to never know what is going on until the end, when he has sussed out an amazingly complex set of circumstances. Our job during the movie is simply to collect facts that will only mean something when the final story is told. During this task we are given a few jokes. Chan's job is precisely the same as ours and we are always with him when he discovers something. He's just smarter, the product of a more clever race. Moto knows ahead of time much of what's going on. The stories aren't detective stories; they're adventure stories. Moto isn't a passive, simple observer on the viewer's side of the stage, but a participant, an actor who plays a role in disguise. He fights. He thwarts the bad guys. In his normal persona, he's much more poised, more genteel. More schooled. Its the superiority of the man, not the race. These each are sides of Sherlock Holmes in the two variants of stories. Interesting to see how they were bifurcated during this period. They'd stay separated until now, each developing into its own genre. Ted's Evaluation -- 2 of 3: Has some interesting elements.. 
A solid entry in the Mr. Moto series
It's interesting to me that it's the "B" films of the 30s and 40s that
seem to be so popular today. I sincerely doubt that anyone involved in the making of these movies could have imagined or cared that there would be an audience for their work almost 70 years later. Mysterious Mr. Moto is an enjoyable "B" that features everything you could ask for in one of these movies – a nice mystery, good action, sets that far exceed the film's limited budgets, exotic and quirky characters, and a sense of fun about the whole thing. Peter Lorre is back as the mysterious Japanese detective, Mr. Moto. In this installment in the series, Mr. Moto has himself imprisoned on Devil's Island so that he might gain the trust of one of the other prisoners who happens to be involved with a gang of international murderers for hire. They escape and head to America. Acting as the other man's servant, Mr. Moto is in a perfect position to put a stop to the group's activities. Mysterious Mr. Moto will never be confused with a deep, meaningful example of film-making. But it's not supposed to. It's a fun romp. And even if identity of the leader of the gang of murderers is obvious early on, it hardly matters. It's just fun watching Moto get to the answer. Lorre is as good as billed and he has a cast of familiar faces backing him up. Fans will recognize Harold Huber, Leon Ames, and Erik Rhodes from their numerous roles in other 30s "B" films. Each does a nice job of adding a bit of fun to the film.. |
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