Mr. Wong in Chinatown is a 1939 murder mystery film in which a young Chinese woman is killed by a poisoned dart, having time to only scrawl “Captain J” on a sheet of paper. She proves to be Princess Lin Hwa. This was the third in the series of Mr. Wong/Boris Karloff movies.
The movie was directed by William Nigh (The Strange Case of Doctor Rx; Black Dragons; The Ape; Doomed to Die; The Fatal Hour; The Mystery of Mr. Wong; Mr. Wong, Detective) from a screenplay by Scott Darling based on the James Lee Wong series in Collier’s Magazine written by Hugh Wiley.
The Monogram Pictures production stars Boris Karloff, Marjorie Reynolds, Grant Withers, Huntley Gordon, George Lynn, William Royle, James Flavin, Lotus Long, Lee Tung Foo, Bessie Loo and Angelo Rossitto
Plot [includes spoilers]:
A beautiful Chinese woman (Lotus Long) visits Mr. Wong (Boris Karloff) late at night but is murdered before she can tell him why she needs his help. Wong discovers that she is Princess Lin Hwa, the sister of a powerful Chinese general, and that she was killed with a poisoned dart fired from a Chinese “sleeve gun.”
As with some of his previous investigations, Wong is given important information by the leader of a powerful tong (Chinese secret society). The tong leader tells Wong that the princess had come to the United States with almost $1-million to arrange the secret purchase of airplanes that were to be smuggled into China.
As Wong continues the investigation he learns that all the money that the princess deposited in a local bank has been paid out and that the signature on most of the checks is a forgery. Wong becomes the target of a killer, and is aided in his investigation by a blonde, beautiful and energetic newspaper reporter.
Was the princess killed by enemies of her brother to prevent the shipment of the planes to China? Or was she killed to hide the fact that there actually were no planes and the whole scheme was a scam?
Wong’s careful conversations with the captain of the ship the princess travelled on, the owner of the aviation company that owned the planes she was going to buy, and the president of the bank where the princess deposited her money, result in him uncovering the identity of the killer.
Cast and characters:
Boris Karloff as Mr. James Lee Wong
Marjorie Reynolds as Roberta ‘Bobbie’ Logan (reporter)
Grant Withers as Police Capt. Bill Street
Huntley Gordon as Mr. Davidson (bank president)
George Lynn as Capt. Guy Jackson (Aviation Corp. president)
William Royle as Capt. Jaime (captain, Maid of the Orient)
James Flavin as Police Sgt. Jerry
Lotus Long as Princess Lin Hwa (murder victim)
Lee Tung Foo as Willie (Wong’s servant) (as Lee Tong Foo)
Bessie Loo as Lilly May (Princess Lin Hwa’s maid)
Richard Loo as Tong chief
Ernie Stanton as Burton (Davidson’s butler)
I. Stanford Jolley as Hotel clerk
Angelo Rossitto as Mute dwarf
Tech specs:
1h 11m (71 min)
Black and white
Aspect ratio: 1.37: 1
Free online on YouTube [1080p Premium HD]:
Free online on YouTube [720p]:
Free online on YouTube [480p]:
Related:
MR. WONG, DETECTIVE Boris Karloff! Crime mystery – free online [4K]
THE MYSTERY OF MR. WONG Boris Karloff! Crime mystery – free online
THE FATAL HOUR Boris Karloff! Free on BloodStream and YouTube in 4K
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