Mr. Moto's Last Warning (1939)

For a dedicated film buff I've not had too much luck with franchises; I hadn't seen a single Andy Hardy film until Channel 4 screened them in sequence on succeeding Saturday mornings about fifteen years ago, I've still to see a single film featuring Ann Sothern as 'Maisie' and only now have I finally caught up with Mr. Moto. In each case I knew of the existence of these characters and I even read a couple of John P. Marquand's Mr. Moto potboilers but this is my first exposure to the celluloid detective. It was good to see Peter Lorre playing something other than a heavy or a coward but that doesn't quite outweigh the risible plot - why, I asked myself, would a Music Hall in Port Said have signs - No Smoking, Exit, et - in English, why indeed, it it comes to that would there even BE an English type Music Hall in Port Said at all and do Egyptians really go for vent acts? Presumably in the late thirties no one was asking awkward questions and elaborate plans to blow up the harbor were accepted at face value. I'm glad I've now seen at least one title in the franchise but I'm not rushing to locate any more.

1939's "Mr. Moto's Last Warning" stars Peter Lorre as the Japanese detective, of whom nothing was heard once the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor. Lorre is surrounded by a great cast, which includes Ricardo Cortez, Virginia Field, John Carradine, and George Sanders. Lorre not only plays Moto, but his cover, who runs an antique store.The story concerns Moto's investigation of a conspiracy against the British and French governments. One of the "conspirators" is a British agent, and the two of them discover that the group has put mines in the harbor in order to blow up the French fleet -- the group had been desperately trying to find out the arrival date, and once they got it, set the bombs in place. Obviously, this is before Churchill blew the French fleet up in 1940 when the French refused to do so, which would thus give the Germans access to the fleet. The conspirators plan to blame the British for the bombing, hoping to start the Second World War.Lorre does a great job, and Ricardo Cortez, as the head of the group whose works as a ventriloquist as his cover, makes an effective villain. Sanders uses a strange accent. Virginia Field, one of the "ice cream blondes" of that era was under contract to 20th Century Fox at the time; unfortunately, she never made it to the top, but she was in a lot of good films and is very pretty. John Carradine is in top form.Entertaining as well as interesting, this is a good entry into the series featuring the brilliant and delightful "Mr. Moto."

Moto's first name "Kentaro" suggests he's meant to be Japanese instead of Chinese, and besides TCF already has a Chinese sleuth in Charlie Chan. Then too, when Chan is in a scene, he's always the center of attention. But not so with the recessive Moto. Note how he kind of lurks around the edges. Sometimes you even forget he's there. It's a really shrewd way to use the cagey Lorre since physically he's hardly a commanding presence. But he does convey a sly and calculating presence, such that when Moto chooses to pounce, he's very believable. It's a cleverly thought out character, a distinctive contrast to the many other sleuths of the period.Of course, Moto is not really a sleuth; instead, he's an agent of international intrigue. Sort of an unglamorous, non-gimmicky James Bond of the 1930's, skilled in what was then the exotic martial arts. The narrative contains no mystery, only the suspense of how Moto will foil an international plot to blow up French ships and start a war. What lifts this entry above standard series entries of the day are the production values. Notice the diving-bell sequence and how well done it is, both in detail and in concept. Cheaper productions could not have mounted this set-piece. Also, the sets are better furnished than normal, lending more atmosphere to the results. True, the action never leaves the back lot, but the attention to detail really helps. I also like the business going on in the background of the seedy saloon, where for example a drunk gets his nose plopped into a flagon of beer. It's colorful touches like this that raise a production above the routine.There's also the eerie business with the ventriloquist's dummy. I kept wondering if someone connected with that great British horror trilogy Dead of Night (1945) had seen this programmer. My only reservations are with the sometimes hard-to-follow screenplay and with George Sanders' awful French accent. Odd too, to find the imposing Sanders in such a secondary role—likely the result of being under contract. Anyway, it's a colorful little entry in the Moto series.

This one starts out especially murky, bristling with bad hats rubbing shoulders with innocent Westerners in a strange land. What they're all up to takes some resolving, but be reassured Moto's in charge, even though he unwittingly sends 2 of his cohorts to their deaths along the way. High production values compliment an interesting if far-fetched storyline.A gang of jittery international spies working for an un-named foreign power aim to disrupt the French fleet heading into Port Said in Egypt and cause rupture between those very old long-standing allies Britain and France, Moto's aim is to disrupt the baddies first. All-knowing Ricardo Cortez has a strange job as ventriloquist to his unexplained Cockney dummy Alf, while his second George Sanders puts on a seedy French accent with gusto if not skill. Poor old John Carradine though! And good for Cortez's moll with moral fibre Virginia Field! A tense climax is guaranteed with Moto in the bag, and is ingenious when it arrives.A great little film for those of us who like the genre, not unless.