Mr. Wong, Detective - The Complete Collection (1938)

Cashing in on the success of both Charlie Chan and Mr. Moto Monogram Pictures ushered in their own Oriental detective series in 1938 with Boris Karloff as Mr. Wong Detective. With horror films temporarily in the doldrums and his career needing a fresh tangent Karloff jumped at the chance to play the gentlemanly and dignified sleuth of Hugh Wiley stories. This turned out to be a lucky break for Monogram too. In 1939 horror films returned with a vengeance and Karloff who had been making more expensive thrillers for Universal and somewhat cheaper ones for Columbia was suddenly a much bigger name than Monogram could have afforded were he not already under contract. Karloff went on to star in a total of five Mr. Wong films for Monogram between 1938 and 1940. The sixth and final film in the series Phantom of Chinatown was issued in 1940 and actually starred Keye Luke who replaced Karloff as a younger Mr. Wong. MR. WONG DETECTIVE: When business magnate Simon Dayton is found dead inside his locked office moments after police detective Sam Street saw him at the window renowned private detective James Lee Wong joins forces with the homicide squad to interpret the only clues found at the scene--tiny fragments of delicate glass. Soon sinister agents of foreign powers start appearing in the shadows Dayton's business partners start dying under equally mysterious circumstances and Wong and Street have to race against time to prevent more murders including possibly their own. THE MYSTERY OF MR. WONG: When a wealthy collector of Chinese antiques with a list of enemies as long as a phone directory is accidentally shot during a game of charades brilliant Chinese detective James Lee Wong immediately suspects foul play. His suspicions are confirmed when it is discovered that a valuable gem has been stolen from the collector's safe and Captain Street of Homicide shows up mere moments after the shooting expla Product Description

A Real Suprise!

I had no idea Boris Karloff was such a versatile actor. The movies show a completely different side to his character and acting skill. Well worth the money. August 16, 2008

A TOUR DE FARCE

For those of you who didn't know that Boris Karloff did "campy" roles, as well as groaning monsters, here you go. With his British accent, he plays a Chinese sleuth in San Francisco, supported by a menagerie of Felliniesque characters.
See it. Believe it.
TONY HOROWITZ August 7, 2008

Wong is White

Poverty Row's answer to Charlie Chan's entire output is assembled on this cheap DVD. The picture's themselves are a mixed bag, but given their brevity they're never actually boring. (The second in the series is easily the best and is a serviceable whodunit. Like the Chan series Mr. Wong is less interesting when the stories are set in the underworld.) What's best about the series is Karloff's performance which forgoes racial caricature. He speaks in his regular voice and it's cultured, unbroken English. I'd like to think his famed courtly manner wouldn't allow for anything else. (Or maybe this is an apology for his earlier Fu Manchu.)

The bargain basement cast and sets are re-used from picture to picture. Some of the actors are so unstudied that in some scenes they project something approaching naturalism. Similarly, there are fights that are so under-rehearsed that they come across as unusually realistic and violent for the period.

The really curious entry is the last in the series which stars Keye Luke. Here we have the novelty of an Asian actor playing an Asian detective -- there's even a hint of romance with an Asian actress! (And there's a biting and subversive little throw-away line he delivers about raiding the tombs of Chinese antiquity.) Of course, elsewhere this entry also includes the worst stereotypes of the series. But there are some location scenes that take the series away from their dreary backlot. July 29, 2008

MR WONG

ITS HARD TO CONCEIVE BORIS KARLOFF AS AN ASIAN, WITH HIS SPEECH AND HEIGHT.
BUT HE PULLS IT OFF WITH SOME GOOD MOVIES.
SOME OF THE SCRIPTS WERE USED IN OTHER MOVIES OF THE ERA, BUT ITS STILL GOOD VIEWING. April 20, 2008

Mr. Wong ROCKS.....

If your a fan of Boris Karloff, then this is a must have. Great plots that will keep you watching. April 5, 2008

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