PETER LORRE as MR MOTO

[Dr Doran]

Has anyone seen these films? Peter Lorre plays a Japanese Interpol agent, a man of many disguises, a martial arts expert. If you haven't seen these, it's Lorre as you have never seen him before. Not Lorre saying "you fat fool!" but as a brilliant spy. I watched one yesterday that was in my "Mystery Classics 50-Pack" (Amazon, about $25) and it was good. Moto cleverly manipulates Western stereotypes of the inscrutable oriental to pull the wool over the bad guys' eyes; he outwits everyone, and everyone, of course, wears stunning suits and has terrific cars. The one I saw last night was called Mr Moto's Last Warning. George Sanders (always marvellous!) and Ricardo Cortez were the villains. I am not sure what year it was; sadly this info is never given in the "Mystery Classics 50-Pack."

 

[Dagwood]

I own both box sets of Mr. Moto. Lorre is brilliant (as usual), and the movies are generally entertaining. However, I still find that the Charlie Chan movies with Warner Oland are much better. Keye Luke (as "Number One Son") was also great and, in my opinion, one of the best dressed actors.

Mr. Moto's Last Warning was released in 1939. I would recommend getting the box sets.

 

[Shaul-Ike Cohen]

Yes, they're worth getting if you're comfortable with watching B movies (I am).

The wife and I happened to watch the Danger Island one the other day - I don't give away too much when I say I knew right away the guy in the cream-coloured DB suit and the panama was it. (Seriously, towards the end, in the scene at the hospital, pay attention to the giant pointed collar the young man is wearing.)

In the last of the series, in a short take, Lorre plays Japanese Mr Moto disguised as an Austrian professor - I guess they didn't need to pay a coach to teach him the accent.

Oh, a caveat for people on this side of the ocean - British Amazon didn't have the boxes, so we ordered them from A.com. Our zone-free (!) DVD player won't play it. (Luckily, we had another super-cheap one we once got as a gift, and which is US-coded.) This is not about NTSC/PAL/SECAM, but the region code - the DVDs will only play on a zone-1 device, not even a zone-free (zone 0) one.

 

[Dr Doran]

Thanks, gents. Good to know.

 

[jake_fink]

The Moto series is great B movie stuff. I like them even more than the Charlie Chan films which were being produced simultaneously by the same studio.

 

[The Reno Kid]

I have the box sets as well. Highly recommended! These films have a bit more of an edge than the Chan movies. Mr. Moto can be quite ruthless when he needs to be.

 

[Dr Doran]

I have the box sets as well. Highly recommended! These films have a bit more of an edge than the Chan movies. Mr. Moto can be quite ruthless when he needs to be.

I like ruthless and dark ... I hate light and 100% virtuous ... that's why I cannot stand Superman as a character and that's why I love film noir and the newest, thuglike incarnation of James Bond.

That is a gorgeous still above!

 

[Mike1939]

I'm also a big fan of Mr. Moto.

Martial arts, mystery, classic style, set in the late 1930's...What more could you ask for? I also find it interesting that there was a popular Japanese hero on the silver screen from 1937- 1939.

 

[Shaul-Ike Cohen]

Oh, yes, and his fake-Japanese accent and general way of speaking is awkward, of course, but much less annoying the Oland's. In fact, the whole "yellow face" thing is less prominent, and also less offensive, I think.

(Remember Twain correcting Wang in Murder By Death - I can understand him.)

 

[Dr Doran]

Oh, yes, and his fake-Japanese accent and general way of speaking is awkward, of course, but much less annoying the Oland's. In fact, the whole "yellow face" thing is less prominent, and also less offensive, I think.

(Remember Twain correcting Wang in Murder By Death - I can understand him.)

In my opinion an imperfect image of a largely ignored ethnic group is better than them continuing to be ignored. Moto WAS really, really cool, not just a twit for Whitey to laugh at. That's extremely impressive in 1938!

Often, I see glasses as half-full.

Besides, the illusion that each group will see every other group in optimal terms is a pipe dream, for the past at least.