The Fatal Hour (1940)

When Detective Dan Grady is found murdered in San Francisco Bay his friend Captain Bill Street is in charge of the investigation. Early evidence suggests that Grady was investigating the smuggling of precious Chinese Jade. Due to the Chinese connection Street calls Detective Wong to assist in his investigations. Reporter Roberta 'Bobbie' Logan also assists although Street wishes she wouldn't. Early clues lead to the 'Neptune Club' and its shady owner and a Jewellery Store that may be involved in selling the jade. As the investigation continues more murders take place; the problem is the main suspects have cast iron alibis for the time of one of the murders.This might not be a classic film but it is still entertaining with a good central mystery and it isn't obvious who did it prior to the final reveal. The characters are fun if a bit over the top... this is particularly true of Street who rarely stops shouting at whoever he is talking to. It must be said that in this day and age the idea of having a white actor play a Chinese character would not be acceptable but here it didn't really bother me; partly because of the film's age but mostly because if it weren't for his name and the fact that he is described as 'The Chinese Copper' I wouldn't have realised Wong was meant to be Chinese! Still Karloff was interesting in the role. Much of the film's fun is provided by Marjorie Reynolds's portrayal of Bobbie Logan, particularly in the scenes between her and Grant Withers's Captain Street. Overall I thought this was a fun little B movie.

Now here's a good mystery film starring Boris Karloff as Inspector Wong, 'the Chinese Copper' as one non-PC character calls him. Here, he's helping out the San Francisco police track down the killer of an undercover cop, who's been killed while working for a smuggling racket. Wong teams up with Detective Street and a journalist named Logan (well, she always snooping around at least) and heads off to the place the copper was last seen – The Neptune Bar.The owner of the bar, Hard Way Harry, is a wise guy who looks like he did for the copper, but there are other spanners in the works – A piece of jade Wong finds leads him to a jeweller who's in debt, and who's son is hanging around the Neptune Bar with a piece of skirt Hard Way Harry knows. At first I was scratching my head trying to understand what was going on (and spending a lot of time wondering what age Jason Robards would be when he appeared – turned out it was his dad…I'm so stupid), but then things start to gel as the killer started taking out some witnesses and what not.So Wong's got a race against time to find out who the killer actually is (the killer even kills a guy at the police station) - eventually he figures it out, but even then he might be too late as the killer has figured him out too! This quick moving thriller was a lot of fun to watch, as there's plenty of red herrings, twists, and suspenseful noir-ish set pieces to enjoy. A nice surprise, this one, as I expected to be a bit bored (it's another non-horror included in Mill Creek's 50 Horror Classics - essential for folks curious about old films).There's your plug, Mill Creek - send money to Bezenby, 12 Biscuit Island, Button Moon.

Unlike a few others reviewers, I don't have much of an objection to Boris Karloff playing a Chinese detective in these "Mr. Wong" movies. His ethnicity may be wrong, but his calmness, his politeness, his acute observation powers, his gentle humor, just about every other aspect of the character seem to be just right. "The Fatal Hour" is very low-budget and very slow-moving, but the script does have some innovative ideas in its mystery, and Marjorie Reynolds is cute as the nosy-but-resourceful reporter. Her relationship with the gruff, loud, but deep down inside loving police captain is actually very similar to the relationship between Torchy Blane and Steve McBride in the Glenda Farrell series which ran from 1936 to 1939. ** out of 4.

"In his latest case, Mr. Wong is investigating the murder of a police office (sic) at the request of his friend Captain Street. The murder investigation leads Mr. Wong to a smuggling ring operating on the San Francisco waterfront. After three additional murders take place, Mr. Wong is able to track down the killer and expose the smugglers," according to the DVD sleeve's synopsis.This episode's most interesting plot development is Mr. Wong (Boris Karloff)'s discovery of the killer's use of a "remote control" radio device. The plot isn't very interesting, but the relatively large "remote control" is; perhaps it was developed for movie plots only, however. Capt. Street (Grant Withers) shouts his lines excessively, which gets other actors involved. Blonde reporter Marjorie Reynolds adds her feminine charms. Still, the Monogram series is lifeless and obnoxious.** The Fatal Hour (1940) William Nigh ~ Boris Karloff, Marjorie Reynolds, Grant Withers