Mr. Wong in Chinatown (1939)

This has to be the best of the low budget Monogram series of crime programmers made briefly from 1938 to 1940, more for the sense of fun it provides, and partially for the more interesting plotline. The set-up is fascinating, too, showing the murder of Tong princess Lotus Long in Mr. Wong's apartment, shot in the neck by a teeny tiny poisoned darts. Long takes her time in expiring, dramatically writing down a clue for Boris Karloff's Wong to follow. A nosy reporter (Marjorie Reynolds) becomes a thorn in police detective Grant Withers' side, delighting in showing him up with her expertise in the breaking down of a murder investigation. Karloff, too, has a glint in his eye this time around, perhaps pleased by the fact that some thought went into the script which makes it more fun for the audience too.For once in the series, the investigation drops enough hints for the audience to get more involved, bringing in some interesting supporting characters, most notably Angelo Rossito ("Freaks", many Monogram programmers as Bela Lugosi's sidekick) as a mute Chinese dwarf and Bessie Loo as a Chinese matron. There's also a bit more action than normal, crisp dialog and not a lot of dramatic poses that made me fight to stay awake in others in the series. I really enjoyed the playful rivalry between Reynolds and Withers which had the potential to become a series itself. It reminded me of the later Monogram two part crime comedy/drama with Jean Parker as Detective Kitty O'Day and Tim Ryan as the flustered police detective. This is an example of how sometimes you can make a silk purse out of a sow's war.

A Chinese princess coming to Mr. Wong for help is killed in his home by a poisoned dart. This movie introduces a clichéd nosy reporter character, Bobbie Logan, played by the beautiful Marjorie Reynolds. She would appear in the rest of the Wong films. I take it as a sign they knew the Wong series wasn't working quite right and felt it needed some more side characters. Perhaps they just wanted to rip off Torchy Blane. Who knows? Grant Withers returns as Captain Street. He doesn't bark as much as he usually does, except when Bobbie's around. She's his girlfriend and he wants her to stay out of trouble. Another Torchy Blane similarity. Curiously, 1939 was also the year Torchy Blane in Chinatown was released. This is a watchable movie, as all the Wongs are, but nothing special.

Mr. Wong in Chinatown (1939)I've seen a number of these Boris Karloff movies where he plays the Chinese detective Mr. Wong, and I can never quite get used to the idea that they cast Karloff in that role. Oddly, he's the best part of the series (he was a great actor, really, going far beyond being a great Monster.There was the potential at first for some pre-WWII intrigue, because the key element behind the murders with the poison darts is a shipment of airplanes (which seem a bit tricky to smuggle, but whatever). Nothing really comes of it, however. Strickly low budget.For a full intro to the series, check out this very nice site: cheddarbay.com/0000celebrityfiles/films/wong/wong.htmlThis one is a routine affair, with the chipper female reporter to spice up the dialog. I'm not sure I'd recommend it in particular!

Hugh Wiley's Chinese detective Mr. Wong(Boris Karloff)finds a pretty Chinese Princess Lin Hwa(Lotus Long)dead on his study floor. Why did someone shoot the poison dart that killed her? An enterprising and attractive female newspaper reporter, Bobbie Logan(Marjorie Reynolds), seems to keep getting in the way of Wong and Police Captain Street's(Grant Withers)investigation. It is discovered that Princess Lin Hwa came to San Francisco's Chinatown to purchase airplanes to help defend her homeland. And embezzlers find it hard to outsmart Mr. Wong. This low budget movie from Monogram runs 71 minutes with Mr. Wong as a poor man's Charlie Chan. Also in the cast: Huntley Gordon, James Flavin and Bessie Loo.