Mr. Wong, Detective is a 1938 American crime mystery film about a businessman in fear of his life who hires the Chinese sleuth.
The movie was directed by William Nigh (The Strange Case of Doctor Rx; Black Dragons; The Ape; Doomed to Die; The Fatal Hour; Mr. Wong in Chinatown; The Mystery of Mr. Wong) from a screenplay by Houston Branch based on the James Lee Wong series in Collier’s Magazine written by Hugh Wiley.
The Monogram Pictures production stars Boris Karloff, Grant Withers, Maxine Jennings, Evelyn Brent, George Lloyd and Lucien Prival.
Plot [contains spoilers]:
Simon Dayton is in fear for his life and seeks the help of Mr. Wong (Boris Karloff) to protect him. Just prior to meeting Mr. Wong, Dayton is found dead in his office in San Francisco without a mark on him.
Several witnesses testify Dayton was alone in his office that was locked from the inside. Though the police view Dayton’s death as due to a heart attack, Mr. Wong discovers a broken glass ball that contained poison gas.
Among the suspects are agents of a foreign power wishing to stop Dayton’s chemicals being sent to use on the foreign power in the form of the same poison gas that killed Dayton, Dayton’s business partners who will have Dayton’s share of the business come to them after Dayton’s death and the actual inventor of the chemical who has been cheated out of profits and recognition by Dayton.
Cast and characters:
Boris Karloff as Mr. James Lee Wong
Grant Withers as Capt. Sam Street
Maxine Jennings as Myra Ross
Evelyn Brent as Olga – aka Countess Dubois
George Lloyd as Devlin
Lucien Prival as Anton Mohl
John St. Polis as Carl Roemer
William Gould as Theodore Meisle
Hooper Atchley as Christian Wilk
John Hamilton as Simon Dayton
Wilbur Mack as Russell
Lee Tung Foo as Tchin
Lynton Brent as Tommy
Grace Wood as Mrs. Roemer
Tech specs:
1h 9m (69 minutes)
Black and white
Aspect ratio: 1.37: 1
Free to watch online on YouTube [4K]:
Discover more from MOVIES & MANIA
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
